NYSCA/Wave Farm: Media Arts Assistance Fund

MAAF for Artists 2026

For New York State artists, the Media Arts Assistance Fund (MAAF) provides support for the completion and/or public presentation of a new or recently completed artwork in all genres of sound and moving image art, including emergent technology. Grant awards assist artists in completing new work, reaching public audiences, and advancing artistic exploration and public engagement in the media arts. Artists may apply for up to $7,500 in support by January 15, 2026. The Media Arts Assistance Fund is a regrant program in partnership with New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA). Review this page for program timeline, eligibility information, frequently asked questions, the application, and details on the review process.

• Apply by: January 15, 2026*
• Notification to Applicants: April 2026
• Public Announcement of Grantees: May 2026
• Project Period April 1, 2026 - December 31, 2026
• Final Report Deadline: January 31, 2027

*Applicants are strongly encouraged to submit one week in advance, at minimum, of the posted deadline. Please note that no late applications will be accepted. No exceptions will be made, including in response to technical difficulties.

• MAAF supports the completion of new work, and the public presentation of recently completed work. For completion support for an in-progress media artwork, the proposed project must be in the final stages of creation (at least 75 percent complete) at the time of application, and ready for completion within the 2026 calendar year. For public presentation support in calendar 2026, your project must have been completed in 2025 or will be completed in 2026.
• Applicant Artist must reside in New York State.
• Public Presentations must serve New York State audiences.
• Funding may not be used for travel expenses outside of New York State.
• Applicants must demonstrate media art to be the core discipline of the submitted work; in order to be eligible for support, cross or multi-disciplinary work must demonstrate media art to be the primary discipline.
• MAAF is a regrant program of NYSCA Electronic Media and Film. As such, media artworks including sound art are eligible. Music projects, including electronic music are not eligible. Click here for more information about NYSCA's Music funding area.
• MAAF is able to support individual artist made experimental documentary works.
• For the purpose of this grant, in FY2026, MAAF is not able to support non-fiction, feature-length, team-driven narrative documentary works. See Independent Documentary Association's Grants Directory for Nonfiction Film for a listing of funding opportunities.
• MAAF does not support unlimited episodic work, such as an ongoing web series or podcast.
• Applicants may not apply for NYSCA Support for Artists and Wave Farm MAAF Artist Support in the same funding year. Note: If you applied to NYSCA Support for Artists for their June 26, 2025 deadline, regardless of whether you received funding, you may NOT apply to the MAAF for Artists 2026 opportunity. Applicants may however receive NYSCA Support for Artists in one contract year, and apply for MAAF for Artists in a subsequent funding year. (So, if you applied to NYSCA Support for Artists for their July 13, 2024 deadline, for 2025 support, you may apply to the MAAF for Artists 2026 opportunity).
• Applicants may not apply for a NYSCA Statewide Community Regrant center's Artist Grant, where funding originates from NYSCA, and Wave Farm MAAF Artist Support in the same funding year.
• Applicants to the NYFA Fellowship opportunity are eligible to apply to MAAF for Artists in the same funding year.
• The applicant must have all rights to distribute and exhibit the work as proposed.
• Proposals from full-time enrolled students are not eligible, exceptions may be made on a case-by-case basis for career artists who may have returned to school for postgraduate work. However, note that student works, such as thesis projects or exhibitions, are not eligible.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the application deadline?

Applications are submitted electronically through Fillout and must be submitted online by 11:59 p.m. EST January 15, 2026.

May I submit materials offline?

No. All applications materials must be submitted online.

When will applicants be notified about funding?

Award notification will be sent to all applicants in April.

May I submit more than one application?

No, only one application may be submitted by an artist/collective.

Can my application cover more than one work?

No, an application may consist only of one artwork, by one artist/collective.

Does this grant support expenses related to travel outside of New York State?

No, it does not. A public presentation plan at large may include out of state travel, but you must show other income in your budget that meets this expense.

If I am incurring related expenses prior to the notification date, and my project receives support, am I able to allocate funds towards those past expenses?

No. Funding awarded through MAAF must be used to meet eligible expenses incurred during the Grant Period, which follows notification of support.

Is it possible to apply as or have my grant award paid to an LLC?

No. Funding is awarded to an individual artist, who will receive an IRS Form 1099 in January the following year with the grant amount noted as "Other Income."

Applications Must Be Submitted Online

Wave Farm uses Fillout for the MAAF application submission process. Applicants are strongly encouraged to carefully and comprehensively read the information on this page before submitting an application. The application is accessible in its entirety by clicking on the below link. IMPORTANT NOTE: The application form must be completed in a single session. As such, it is highly recommended that you prepare your application in another document before submitting via our application portal.

2026 Application

Review Process

• Applications will be reviewed by Wave Farm staff for eligibility, completeness, and guideline compliance.
• Eligible applications are then reviewed by a peer panel comprised of NYS media arts professionals.
• The peer review panel reviews and rates all applications.
• Panel then convenes in March to review and rate a top-tier of applications.
• Panel ratings/recommendations are then reviewed by Wave Farm and NYSCA EMF for final determination; funding recommendations are based on panel review ratings.
• All applications and proposals will be reviewed in a manner consistent with NYSCA policies and procedures.
• Grantee decisions are final. There is no appeal process for MAAF.