Waltham Cultural Council celebrates 2025 art, culture grant recipients

Members of the Waltham Cultural Council and leaders of arts organizations across the city gathered at  Waltham Fields Community Farm on Saturday, Sept. 15, to celebrate projects funded over the past year.

About 30 people attended the potluck-style event. Council president Eileen Peng told attendees the gathering was meant to recognize everyone who received one of the group’s grants during the year.

Among those present were representatives of Waltham Fields Community Farm — itself a funding recipient for its annual Farm Day this October — as well as music, arts, and community organizations such as Opportunities for Inclusion, the Dinosaur Annex Music Ensemble, the Waltham Public Library and Watch City Arts.

The featured projects ranged from Waltham Philharmonic Orchestra concerts; arts and culture coverage by The Waltham Times; and a bilingual storytelling series highlighting Latin American legends, to senior center programs including hip-hop chair dancing and calligraphy inspired by Silk Road artifacts from Dunhuang, China.

Tal Shalom-Kobi, a member of Women in World Jazz, spoke about how the group used its grant to provide role models for children who may not see themselves reflected in musical fields traditionally dominated by men.

The ensemble, formed by five musicians and educators, highlights women songwriters and composers from around the world. The group has used its WCC grant to perform concerts at Waltham elementary schools, reaching an estimated 300 to 400 students each year. Shalom-Kobi said they hope to expand the programming to middle schools in the future.

What is the WCC?

The Waltham Cultural Council is a local chapter of the statewide Massachusetts Cultural Council, which calls itself the largest grassroots cultural funding network in the nation. The MCC distributes state and national funding to arts and culture projects, in part through local boards like Waltham’s.

Local councils are run by volunteer boards appointed at the municipal level, following standardized timelines, requirements and procedures. They allocate annual funds for arts, sciences and humanities projects, with an emphasis on cultural diversity and local history.

The WCC considers applications from both individuals and organizations, but projects must benefit the Waltham community. That means prioritizing programs that are accessible, promote local engagement and support area artists and institutions.

“Grantees really span the whole spectrum,” Peng said. “The focus is always arts and culture … and then within that, one way to look at it is anything from individual artists doing artwork on their own to Farm Day, large community events right from community institutions.”

In 2025, the WCC distributed more than $44,000 to 50 projects throughout the city.

What’s next?

The WCC held its first meeting of the 2026 grant cycle Sept. 4. The council began accepting applications Sept. 2, and the deadline is Oct. 16 through the MCC website.

This year, the council is distributing $32,200 in state-provided MCC grant funding, plus any unused funds from last year. The city of Waltham has also contributed an additional $10,000.

The council meets online, and sessions are open to the public. Meetings will continue through the fall before the January deadline to finalize funding decisions.

Disclosure: The Waltham Times received a 2025 WCC grant to fund its arts coverage.