Kathryn Rousso, a textile artist in Ketchikan, is a past recipient of both an Individual Artist Award Fellowship and Project grant. Here, she provides tips on applying for the IAA and insights into the differences between a Fellowship and the Project grant.

Q: What’s your history with applying for the Individual Artist Award?

Kathryn: I had an IAA Project grant in 2015, and a Fellowship in 2023. And I applied many other times for the Fellowship, but did not receive it. Both came at the right time in my life and career.

Q: How did the Fellowship award support you as an artist?

Kathryn: The Fellowship I received provided funding to trace my ancestral route, which included international travel and an artist residency in Greece. Unfortunately, right at the start of my grant period, my husband passed away. Then, when I was at the residency in Greece, my father passed away. So it was a really difficult year — but the grant, besides [providing] the funding to actually do what I did, it gave me purpose during that difficult time.

I had applied several times for the Fellowship. This was, I believe, the third attempt. By then, Rasmuson Foundation had added a cultural consultant [to the review process]. The third time [I applied], I really had to define my work, and I added text to my images and my own designs and styles. That really affected my application process. In those initial applications, I wasn’t fully explaining my own work. That’s very important — to explain exactly what you’re doing, and that it’s your own.

Q: What else did you learn from not receiving an award the first times you applied?

Kathryn: In the process of applying, I watched all of the presentations that Rasmuson Foundation offers. And I asked for clarification when I needed it. I took advantage of the one-on-one help that was offered. [They] provided a lot of assistance and insight into the process. I highly recommend taking advantage of those tools because they really helped me a lot.

Q: Having received both a Project award and a Fellowship, how did you decide which to apply for?

Kathryn: The Project award definitely provided a finished project — that’s the way I see it. My first solo exhibit was the finished project.

Whereas the Fellowship — it’s providing the beginning of the next phase of my artistic career because it was more about learning. I had moved beyond what I was doing before.

Q: The Project award is focused on supporting emerging and mid-career artists, while the Fellowship is geared toward mid-career and mature artists. At what point did you feel you were “mid-career” or “mature” and ready to apply for a Fellowship?

Kathryn: I started feeling like I was a mid-career artist prior to receiving the Fellowship because, besides [creating] my award-winning baskets, I had participated in residencies, written two books, taught many classes, and given presentations at the Textile Society of America Symposium and at a textile conference hosted by the Textile Museum in Oaxaca, Mexico. I received grants to travel to both of those from the Alaska State Council on the Arts.

Q: What other advice do you have for artists applying for a 2026 IAA Fellowship?

Kathryn:  I would say, just apply. Even if you don’t get it, it’s all a learning experience because you go through the process — and it’s not just Rasmuson, it’s any sort of grant — because you really need to convey what it is you’re trying to do. You need to know what you’re doing; you can’t be vague about it. That’s true for any grant.

Originally, when I submitted the applications with photos of my work, I assumed people knew more about [textiles and weaving] than they did. So the one that was successful, I really filled in that box with what it was, what the patterns were. I really had to define each piece for the audience because they aren’t necessarily basket weavers or don’t necessarily understand the work I’m doing.

It’s a different panel [reviewing applications] each year, too, so you never know what’s going to grab someone’s attention, or what background they’re coming to your work with, or even where they’re from, because the panelists are from all over, including outside Alaska.

Q: Anything else?

Kathryn: I was really happy when I received each award. It was a big goal of mine, and I’m just really thrilled and happy to have received it. I wish the best of luck to everybody that’s applying. Even if you don’t get it, learn from the experience and apply again.

Kathryn is currently working on a series of small baskets and continuing to research her ancestry. Recently, she used interest accrued from investing a portion of her Fellowship funding to return to Greece and visit Turkey for additional research. Her work is on permanent display and in a special exhibit about cedar at the Tongass Historical Museum in Ketchikan. She will have pieces in an exhibit opening in May called “The Art of Memory” at Main Street Gallery.