Read the Overview of Artists Fellowships for general eligibility criteria, a description of program goals and requirements and a selection process schedule.

Eligibility

This category is open to:

• Artists who work in basketry, ceramics, enamel, fiber, glass, jewelry, leather, metal, mixed media, natural materials, paper, textiles or wood
• Artists who self-identify as craft artists

Please note: Artists working in media associated with craft may apply in the visual arts category. However, artists may apply in only one fellowship category per year. Collaborators should submit only one application.

How to Apply

You will submit your application electronically using Arts Grants Online (AGO), a comprehensive electronic application website. . The system will accept all of your application materials, including work samples. No hard copy of the application is required. Online submissions are due by 5 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 1, 2011.

The AGO site includes step-by-step instructions on how to apply. However, we have highlighted a few important points below that you will want to consider. AGO works best if you use Mozilla Firefox as your browser, though other browsers, including Internet Explorer, are also functional. If you don’t have a computer at home, all public libraries have computers available for public use. Click here for the statewide library directory.

A complete fellowship application will have five components:

• Applicant profile
• Narrative
• Résumé
• Work samples
• Work sample descriptions

Applicant Profile
This page provides us with your basic information, such as your name and ways to contact you during and at the conclusion of the process.

If you are new to our online application system, you will need to create a profile. Make sure to check “Individual” when creating your profile. In the Primary Contact Information fields, enter your name the way you would like to be listed on our database and in our application records. If you go by your middle name, you may enter it in the field for middle initial.

If you have applied previously using the AGO online system, please review your profile and update information, as needed. Should any of your contact information change during the course of the review, please correct your profile in AGO and let us know so we can update your records on our database.

At the bottom of the profile on the Web Address line, enter your own website address, if you have one; otherwise, leave it blank.

Once your profile is complete, go to Current Programs and Applications and click on Start Application below the heading for N.C. Artist Fellowship 2012–13.

Narrative
Before you answer the narrative questions, you will select the discipline panel you want to review your application. The discipline does not have to coincide with how you have identified yourself in the profile, though it should be reflected in the work samples you submit.

You will also indicate if your application is a collaboration with one or more other artists. Only one member of an artist team should submit an application for the group. Work samples should represent work by the current members of the collaborative team and, ideally, work done as a team. Members of a team may not also submit separate fellowship applications to support their own work. Eligibility requirements apply to all members of the team.

Your narrative will address the following questions:

• How do you plan to use the fellowship?
• How will receiving a fellowship affect your artistic development?
• Why is it important that you receive a fellowship at this time?

Each question will be answered in a separate text box, with a specified character limit, but the total space required to respond to all three questions is roughly one typed page. A budget page is not requested with your narrative.

The narrative is an essential part of your fellowship application. In responding to the questions, you will want to consider what a panelist, who has seen the work samples you submitted, will want to know about the direction and ambitions you have for your work.

Résumé
You will upload a PDF of your typewritten résumé with information about your education, employment and accomplishments, with an emphasis on art-related activities. Include any other pertinent biographical details. You should also include information about your exhibitions, commissions, residencies and honors and provide a select bibliography of articles and publications written about your work. We recommend that you limit the length of your résumé to no more than five pages.

Work Samples
Work samples are the most important part of your fellowship application. Fellowship awards are made primarily on the basis of artistic merit and your work samples are the only means panelists have to assess it. In order to give yourself the best chance for a competitive application, you will need to be thoughtful about the selection of your work samples and spend the time necessary to prepare them to be viewed by the panel.

For the great majority of applicants, you will upload 10 JPEGs of recent work following the instructions on the AGO site. AGO has specific image formatting and size requirements to enable uploads to the site. You should read the tutorial Image Preparation for detailed information about how to prepare your images before attempting to upload them to the AGO site.

Samples should represent the best of your creative ability and be of the highest possible viewing quality. Work should have been completed within the past three years. Generally speaking, it is preferable to show a coherent body of work.

Artists submitting works with kinetic or other time-based elements may choose to present their work in digital video format, instead of with JPEG images. Work samples should be concise; five minutes or less total running time is recommended. You will upload samples to AGO in MP4 format using the Video Samples tool, or provide a link(s) to a work(s) on the Web using the Web Link Collection Form (a link is provided on the Work Sample Selection page). The maximum for total uploads to AGO per applicant is 500 MB.

Original works of art and other work sample formats (e.g., JPEGs on CD, slides, or videotapes) will not be accepted for review. Manuscripts will not be accepted.

Work Sample Descriptions
When you upload images or video to the AGO site, you will have the opportunity to provide descriptions of your work. There are text boxes for the title, year completed and dimensions, all of which you should fill in, as appropriate to the sample. In the text box entitled Artwork Description, please supply the medium or media for each work. You may, space permitting, briefly annotate your work to illuminate technical, functional or contextual details not apparent in the sample. Most work should not require annotation. (See the tip sheet for further explanation.)

Please do not provide values for your work, even though there are text boxes for this purpose. If you do, the information will be deleted before going to panel. Similarly, you do not need to fill in the Artist Name text box, as that is understood. The Collaborator fields should be completed only if you share credit for the work with other individuals.

The descriptive information about your work samples will be automatically linked to the images described and will be reviewable on-screen before you submit the application. For time-based work samples you upload to AGO, applicants should also fill out the work sample description form which you can find on the Work Sample Selection page. For Web link submissions, you should provide information on the Web Link Collection Form, including title, media, dimensions, date of completion, running time of segment and other relevant description.

Submitting Your Application Package

When you have completed your application on the AGO site, you will submit the electronic version online no later than 5 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 1, 2011. It is recommended that you print out a copy of the PDF of the application for your records, but you are not required to mail a hard copy to the Arts Council as part of your submission.

What Happens Next

When you hit the submit button, you will receive an automatic email confirming the electronic receipt of your online application.

Arts Council staff reviews all of the applications for eligibility and completeness and prepares them for panel review, a process that can take several months, depending on the number of submissions. Discipline-based panels are assembled to review the applications and recommend the artists they consider most deserving of a fellowship. We then submit the panels' recommendations to the Secretary of Cultural Resources for approval. We send letters to all of the applicants as soon as possible after approval is given, and in any case no later than midsummer, after the legislature passes a budget for the Arts Council.

Helpful Links

Artist Fellowship Application

Artist Fellowship Overview

Craft/Visual Artist Tip Sheet

FAQ Sheet

Image Preparation Tutorial

Web Link Collection Form

Work Sample Description Form (Time-Based Work)