A pitch competition for makers who shift culture.

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Applications due November 5

Pitch Haus is your platform, your canvas, your stage to showcase the culture makers who call your community home.

Four $25,000 grants will be awarded to host and activate the Make/Shift Pitch Haus across Michigan.

Pitch Haus is a fully tricked out shipping container that serves as your blank canvas for a multi-functional art activation. How you choose to active the Haus is limited only by your imagination. Fashion shows, art gallery, podcast studio, dinner party, DJ booth, performance space, classroom? It’s your Haus. Just invite us to the party.

Make your Pitch. Make it Creative.

Make it Michigan.

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“When we invest in creativity, we amplify the culture that makes Michigan a magnet for population growth."

- Hilary Doe,
Michigan’s first Chief Growth Officer

OUR GOAL.

Michigan’s creative class is one of our greatest assets. The Make/Shift Pitch Haus is about celebrating our creative energy —spotlighting the artists, makers, and entrepreneurs whose work defines our state’s cultural identity and attracts new people to call Michigan home.

Through the competition element, Pitch Haus will invest in creators from different corners of our state, while highlighting the importance of talent retention and community growth to Michigan’s economic future. Pitch Haus serves as a catalyst for additional impact in support of critical creative industries as well as important population growth efforts statewide.

WHAT TO KNOW.

  • Applicants must be a culture maker - an artist, business or non-profit entity engage in creating culture in Michigan.

    Collaborations are welcome!

    Applicants must be based in Michigan.

  • Wednesday, November 5 at 11:59PM.

  • $25,000 cash grant

    AND

    Host and activate the “Pitch Haus,” in your community

  • It’s a tricked out shipping container that serves as your blank canvas for a multi-functional art activation. It has built in lighting, AV capabilities and plenty of electrical outlets. It has massive windows that slide open so you can transform it into a stage. It has blank walls to hang art or do projection mapping.

    Technical specs coming soon. It’s built from a 20’ long x 8’ tall x 8’wide shipping container.

    It is not conditioned (no heating and cooling).

  • This is a competitive application process to determine award winners. Your application will be scored based on three criteria:

    #1 - THE VISION. Tell us how you’ll bring the Pitch Haus to life. How will you use the Pitch Haus to showcase creativity in your community? (40 pts)

    #2 - YOUR COMMUNITY. Who will you engage at Pitch Haus and how will you engage with them? How will this experience leave a lasting impression or impact on your community? (30 pts)

    #3 - YOUR EXPERIENCE. Who is the creative curator leading the project and who are you working with? How have they made their communities more creative, more livable and more engaging? (30 pts)

  • Grant funding must be used the host and activate the Pitch Haus. Activation can be inside, outside, adjacent or virtual, it’s all fair game.

    The majority of funding must be allocated to creatives and creative programming.

    PRO TIPS:

    If you’re collaborating on the project, the award will be issued to a single entity. That entity will be responsible for managing expenses and payments.

    Incorporate some contingency in your budget to cover unforeseen or changing costs.

    If you’re integrating the Pitch Haus into an existing event or project, that’s great. We love to leverage cultural work already happening in communities. Tell us how the $25K will amplify your event or project.

  • Any time between January 1 and September 30, 2026.

  • It could be a weekend, a week, a month or more. You tell us.

    We may need to adjust your proposed hosting schedule to accommodate other winners. We’ll discuss in advance.

  • Anywhere in Michigan.

    Hosting the Pitch Haus outside is probably your best bet. Find a piece of prime real estate with flat ground and get permission for temporary use.

    If you’re planning multi-site activations in your community, that’s fair game. Awardees are responsible for transport between sites while you host the Haus.

    If you’re planning to host Pitch Haus inside a building or structure, make sure you can get a shipping container in and out.

  • Our goal is to:

    1 - Select winners by November 14, 2025.

    2 - Complete grant agreements and disburse funds by December 31, 2025.

    3 - Complete your projects and activations from January 1, 2025 to September 30, 2026.

  • See below for virtual information sessions.

  • The Make/Shift Pitch Haus competition is hosted by the Michigan Growth Office, which is part of the Michigan Economic Development Corporation.

    The Michigan Growth Office is partnering with the dynamic team of Creative Place Consulting and Studio M Detroit to lead the design and execution of Make/Shift Pitch Haus competition.

  • Permitting is the responsibility of the awardee. Permitting costs should be included in your budget. Ask your local planning or permitting department about the process for securing a “temporary use permit.”

  • We’ll work with awardees to get Pitch Haus onsite prior to your activation. Shipping costs to and from the activation will be split 50:50 between the awardee and the program.

  • No. Pitch Haus is just for temporary activations between Jan 1 and Sept 30, 2026. That said, Pitch Haus is a great tool to test the feasibility of permanent activations in your community!

APPLY NOW.

APPLY NOW.

Applications are due November 5

APPLY NOW

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