CAST Grants

Apply for Funding from the Center for Art, Science & Technology

The Center for Art, Science & Technology (CAST) was established to create new opportunities for art, science, and technology to thrive as interrelated, mutually-informing modes of exploration, knowledge, and discovery at MIT.

The Center also supports projects that may be difficult to fund through traditional sources or are exploratory in nature but may lead to creative works, significant research, or interesting collaborations in the future.

Faculty, full-time instructional staff, and directors or principal researchers of centers and labs are encouraged to submit a proposal for evaluation in the biannual review cycle.

CAST encourages submission of proposals that focus on racial and social justice and/or amplify the artistic work and voices of Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC).

CAST is committed to responding to the creative needs of the MIT community. The grant categories below are general guidelines. CAST encourages a wide range of cross-disciplinary proposals for artistic projects and welcomes inquiries from MIT faculty, instructional staff, and directors of centers and labs about how proposals might be shaped in accordance with these guidelines and CAST’s overall mission. Please contact us at castgrants@mit.edu for assistance at any stage, questions about CAST, or guidance on the grant proposal process.

Questions? Contact castgrants@mit.edu

Evan Ziporyn, Faculty Director of CAST and Kenan Sahin Distinguished Professor of Music
Leila W. Kinney, Executive Director of Arts Initiatives and CAST
Katherine Higgins, Senior Producer
Philana Brown, Producer
Rayna Yun Chou, Producer
Lydia Brosnahan, Associate Producer


Initial Inquiry deadline: February 23, 2024

Funding Categories

Application and Selection Process

For all funding categories above except Distinguished Visiting Artist Appointments. For CAST DVA Nomination information, see this page.

How to Apply

  • Initial Inquiry: The Initial Inquiry aims to ensure basic information is provided without requiring extensive proposals in the first stage. The form requests a summary of the proposed project (up to 1,500 characters), and there is an optional field for additional information.
  • Full Proposal: Individuals or groups invited to submit full proposals will develop the application in consultation with CAST Directors and Producers.
  • Interview: All applicants invited to submit a full proposal will be asked to arrange a 20-minute interview with CAST Directors after submission of the full proposal.

MIT full-time faculty, instructional staff, or program directors are invited to nominate artists with pre-existing collaborations with MIT that would benefit from further development and longer duration for a Distinguished Visiting Artist appointment. CAST Distinguished Visiting Artist Curatorial Committee (DVACC) reviews and ranks nominations on a rolling basis.

Past Grants Awarded by CAST

CAST Annual Program Reports

2021-22

Open Collectives, an immersive installation featuring digital platforms and architectural projects, exhibited at the 2021 Venice Architecture Biennale.

2020-21

Birdseye view of a participant engaged in the Invisible College VR experience while standing on the Sol LeWitt floor at MIT.

2019-20

2018-19

2016-18

2015-16

2014-15

Cover of a booklet with an image of a man working with a large complex device.

2012-14