Project Awards and Fellowships

Applications for 2023 Project Awards and Fellowships closed March 1. Check back in December for the 2024 opportunity.

Project Awards and Fellowships are designed to provide artists, makers and culture bearers living and working in Alaska the resources to concentrate and reflect on their work, to immerse themselves in a creative endeavor, and to experiment, explore and develop their artistry more fully. It is our hope that these investments result in substantial contributions to Alaska’s culture, the vibrancy of our communities and to art itself.

In addition to individual artists, groups and collaboratives — two or more artists working together — are eligible for Project Awards and Fellowships. A musical band, a dance company and a multimedia collective are some examples.

The awards types are:

• Project Awards: Awards of $10,000 for emerging, mid-career, and mature artists in all disciplines for specific, short-term projects that have a clear benefit to the artist and the development of his/her work. Approximately 25 Project Awards are granted annually. Project Awards are available in all 11 of the artistic disciplines listed below in the Fellowships section.
• Fellowships: $25,000 awards for mid-career or mature artists to focus their energy and attention for a one-year period on developing their creative work. The Fellowship program awards grants in 11 artistic disciplines that rotate on a two-year cycle. Approximately 10 Fellowships are awarded each year.
  

  2023 Fellowships	2024 Fellowships
  Dance/Choreography	Media Arts
  Crafts	Multidiscipline
  Folk & Traditional Arts	Music/Music Composition
  Literary Arts/Scriptworks	New Genre
  Performance Arts	Presentation/Interpretation
  	Visual Arts

Benefits of award

Award recipients receive a grant as well as professional development and promotion of their work. In 2023, professional development will be provided by the Anchorage Museum to focus on continued skill development in marketing, finances, creation of work samples and more. The Foundation also promotes artists through social media and rasmuson.org.

Deadline and schedule

Applications opened Dec. 15, 2022, and closed March 1, 2023, at 11:59 p.m. for 2023 awards. 

The selection process will take appropriately eight to 12 weeks, and all applicants will be notified of the panel’s decisions after the selections have been made, usually mid-summer.

Tips from panelists who select awardees

For inspiration and great tips on crafting a successful application, watch this video featuring insights from three of last year’s panelists — the artists and art professionals who helped select awardees. Thanks to the Anchorage Museum for organizing and hosting this professional development session.

Here are the panelists sharing their knowledge:

• Raina J. León, former Cave Canem graduate fellow, member of the Carolina African American Writers Collective, and professor of education at Saint Mary’s College of California;
• Javier Torres-Campos, program director of Thriving Cultures, Surdna Foundation; and
• Jibz Cameron, performance, recording and video artist and actor; produces work as Dynasty Handbag. 

 

 

Overview and workshops provide guidance

Program officer Enzina Marrari explains the Individual Artist Award program to artists, makers and culture bearers who are unfamiliar with it (recorded in January 2023):

In 2022, we partnered with other organizations to engage artists from geographic areas and disciplines that have been underrepresented or who may face unique challenges. Our workshops are designed to guide artists through the process of applying for this competitive award.

The 2022 statewide workshop was co-hosted by: Alaska State Council on the Arts, Anchorage Museum, Bunnell Street Art Center, Fairbanks Arts Association, Juneau Arts and Humanities Council, Ketchikan Area Arts and Humanities Council, Kodiak Arts Council, Museums Alaska and Palmer Museum of History and Art. Watch below for tips on applying and a step-by-step explainer of the process. The information should help artists apply for an award. It includes a Q and A session at the end, so keep watching!