Artist Fellowship is sponsored by Mississippi Arts Commission. These competitive grants are awarded to Mississippi artists in various artistic disciplines who demonstrate a high standard of artistic merit.

MAC’s Artist Fellowship program is focused on honoring Mississippi artists who demonstrate the ability to create exemplary work in their chosen field. The agency awards fellowships of up to $5,000 in multiple categories each year. The program is not project-based and does not require a cash match.

Professional artists living and working in Mississippi are eligible to apply. The Artist Fellowship program is highly competitive—only a small number of the total applicants each year receive an award. An artist may submit one Fellowship application per year.

Those who are not awarded a fellowship may re-apply the following year. Applicants can receive written feedback from the review panel on their application. Individuals who receive an Artist Fellowship are eligible to re-apply again after five years.

Artist Fellowship recipients **are** eligible to receive an Artist Mini-Grant during the same fiscal year of their Fellowship award. Artist Fellowships are awards of merit. While applicants are not required to submit information on how they might use the funds, MAC expects the recipients to dedicate the funds towards expanding their ability to create new work or deepen their artistic practice.

Recipients are required to document their fellowship-funded activities in their final report. Fellowship funds may not be used to support academic research or study toward an academic or professional degree. **Application Deadline: March 1** **Please note:** MAC will provide reasonable accommodations for those individuals who are unable to access MAC’s online grant system.

Paper applications are available upon request. Applicants must request a paper application no later than two weeks before the deadline, and it must be postmarked before the application deadline. The application period begins **February 1**.

To be considered for funding, applications must be submitted by **11:59 p. m. on March 1**.

Before submitting an application, MAC recommends you thoroughly read the **Frequently Asked Questions**. Please note: Fellowship grants are reported as income for the recipients. MAC is required to report the grants to the IRS.

The Mississippi Department of Finance and Administration issues a 1099 tax form to each Fellowship recipient. You may apply for an Artist Fellowship if you are a professional artist producing work of high artistic quality.

Individuals are considered to be at the professional level if they: * earn at least part of their annual income in their artistic disciplines, * consider their artistic endeavors as a career, * maintain a high level of artistic quality, and * make a significant time investment in their artistic disciplines through practice, performance and production; In addition the applicant must be: * more than 18 years of age; * not a full-time student; and * a permanent, full-time, and legal resident of Mississippi at the time of application and throughout the grant period.

Applicants may be required to show proof of residence (such as driver’s license, proof of domicile, homestead, utility bills). ## Artist Fellowship Categories Certain artistic disciplines in fellowship categories alternate every other year.

Please select the appropriate category below: **Fellowship Categories for FY2027 (July 1, 2026 – June 30, 2027)** Deadline to apply: March 2, 2026 * FY27 Categories: Fiction and poetry * FY28 Categories: Creative nonfiction, screenwriting, and playwriting * Staff contact: Kristen Brandt, 601. 359. 6075 or kbrandt@arts.

ms.gov * **Multi-media and Filmmaking:**This category is designated for media artists and filmmakers working in the disciplines of film, video, animation, narrative audio documentaries or features, web series, and other performative works that are presented through a mediating technology (not meant to be experienced live). Photography artists should apply to the Visual Arts Fellowship (below).

* FY27 and FY28 Categories: Multimedia and Filmmaking * Staff contact: Leslie Barker at 601. 359. 6529 or lbarker@arts.

ms.gov * Solo Vocal or Instrumental * Storytelling Performance * Interdisciplinary Performance (_integrating more than one arts discipline to form a single work_) * Staff contact: Leslie Barker, 601. 359. 6529 or lbarker@arts.

ms.gov * **Visual and Design Arts**: * FY27 and FY28 Categories: * Visual arts (Painting, sculpture, works on paper, photography) * Public art (such as murals and sculptures commissioned for placement in public settings) * Staff contact: Victoria Meek, 601. 359. 6031 or vmeek@arts.

ms.gov * **Contemporary Craft:**This category is designated for craft artists engaged in contemporary studio practice using materials such as clay, fiber, glass, leather, metal, paper, stone, wood, or other mediums.

* FY27 and FY28 Categories: woodworking, metalworking, pottery, glass, fiber, etc. * FY27 and FY28 Categories: * Visual Folk & Traditional Arts such as basketmaking, woodcarving, weaving, beading, painting, quilting, pottery, creative assemblage etc. * Performing Folk Arts such as blues guitar, old-time fiddling, shape-note singing, traditional dance, etc. * Staff contact: Kristen Brandt at 601. 359. 6075 or kbrandt@arts.

ms.gov. * _**Folk & Traditional Arts F. A. Q.

’s:**_ * **What are the Folk and Traditional Arts? ** The folk and traditional arts are artistic expressions of community life. A community is a group of people held together by common bonds such as shared beliefs, language, identity, ethnicity, occupation, recreational interests, and regional affiliation.

In short, folk arts often reflect the shared values, identity and aesthetics of a community. * **Am I a Folk Artist? ** Folk artists work within a community-based art form and demonstrate a balance of individual creativity expressed within a collective arts tradition.

Traditional artists usually learn informally through apprenticeships, imitation, and/or face-to face instruction, and folk arts are usually passed down from one generation to the next.

* **Examples of Folk Arts:** Pine-needle basket weaving, Native American beadwork, bowl hewing, Gulf Coast boatbuilding, southern food traditions, storytelling, blues music, hip hop music and dance, leather working, blacksmithing, Chinese New Year celebrations, Our Lady of Guadalupe dance processions, and many other forms of community-based traditional art.

### For Design, Literary, Media, Performing, Craft, and Visual Arts Artist Fellowships are reviewed through an anonymous panel process. The review panel does not know the names of the applicants nor do they receive information about the artists beyond the information each artist includes in their artist statement and bio.

The panel’s discussion and feedback is focused solely on the artistic excellence of the submitted work samples and the Fellowship impact statement.

Artist Fellowship review panels determine an applicant’s artistic excellence by reviewing the following three components: * Artistic Excellence **(40 points)** – The applicant’s statements and work sample(s) demonstrate a high level of intention and expertise in their creation and presentation. * Originality and Vision **(40 points)** – The applicant’s statements and work sample(s) demonstrate a personal voice and artistic vision.

The applicant demonstrates creative and original theories, ideas, and/or perceptions. * Fellowship Impact **(20 points)** – The applicant demonstrates that the fellowship will have significant impact on their work and/or development as an artist in Mississippi. Applicants in the Folk Arts Fellowship category are also reviewed through an anonymous process, but the panel receives the applicants’ personal narrative statement.

This allows them to gain an understanding of the applicant’s connection to their artistic tradition. The Folk Art review panel evaluates the applications using the following review criteria: * Artistic Excellence **(50 points)**– The applicant’s statements and work samples demonstrate a high level of intention, creativity, and expertise in their traditional arts form.

* Connection to Traditional Arts Form **(30 points)** -The artist’s work is connected to a community-based traditional arts form. * Fellowship Impact **(20 points)** – The applicant demonstrates that the fellowship will have a significant impact on their work and/or development as a traditional artist in Mississippi. ### For Design, Literary, Media, Performing, Contemporary Craft, and Visual Arts Apply online using MAC’sE-Grantsystem.

Faxed, mailed, or emailed applications are not accepted unless accommodations have been arranged. If you are new to E-Grant, please review the guides and video tutorials available on MAC’s **Frequently Asked Questions** page, then contact MAC staff if you have any questions. Fellowship applications are blindly adjudicated by a panel of experts.

These experts have access to an applicant’s _Artist Statement_ and _Artist Bio_. The applicant’s name should not appear in the text responses _. _ Please be prepared to submit the following information through theE-Grantsystem: * **An artist’s bio**in which you discuss your development as an artist.

* **An artist’s statement**which provides insight on your work samples. Describe your vision and creative process. Please also include any relevant details on special processes or techniques you utilized to create the work.

The statement should be written in first person and present tense. Do not include any biographical information or professional achievements in the statement. * **Your current artistic resumé (literary, multimedia, film, and performing artists only)**.

This document should detail your work as a professional artist only. Please include information on any (arts-related) college level study or other advanced artistic training that you have completed. If you have had professional performances, screenings, readings, or other activities that show your level as a professional artist, please include them.

Focus on providing information about your arts-focused work rather than submitting a business resume. * **A Fellowship impact statement**in which you discuss why Fellowship funding is important at this time in your artistic practice and development.

Your Fellowship impact statement can include, but is not limited to: how Fellowship funding would positively affect your career; what professional or artistic opportunities you would be able to take advantage of; and/or what artistic and/or professional practice(s) you would be able to deepen or expand. * **Appropriate****work samples** (see the appropriate work sample format listed below).

The samples must have been completed within the last **five** years. * **Descriptions of submitted work samples. ** These descriptions should include the titles and completion dates of each work sample.

If appropriate for the art form, please also include the medium and the approximate dimensions of each work. **DO NOT** include your name or any publication or exhibition information about the samples. * **Artificial Intelligence (AI) Disclosure.

**MAC recognizes AI as a tool that can support and enhance human creativity. MAC also acknowledges the value of generative AI in improving accessibility and supporting individuals who wish to engage arts and culture, both creatively and administratively. MAC maintains that human authorship and creative intent must remain at the core of all artistic and administrative processes.

For grant applications, a human applicant must develop, review, and enter all required data. In the creation of artworks, a human artist, creative, or collective must serve as the primary author and creative force behind the work. The final result must reflect human authorship and intent, rather than generative AI-generated work (e.g. lacking a personal voice, specific details).

Applicants must disclose whether or not they used AI in any portion of the work samples or application. Apply online using MAC’s E-Grant system. Faxed, mailed, or emailed applications are not accepted.

Please contact MAC staff if you have any questions. Please be prepared to submit the following information through the E-Grant system: * **An artist’s bio**in which you discuss your development as an artist, including how you learned your traditional art form. * **An artist’s statement** which provides insight on your techniques, cultural knowledge and work samples.

Describe your methods, approach and creative process. Please also include an explanation of why your art is important to you and your traditional arts community. The statement should be written in first person and present tense.

Do not include any biographical information or professional achievements within the statement. * **Appropriate****work samples** (see the guidelines below). The samples must have been completed within the last five years.

* **Descriptions of submitted work samples. ** These descriptions should include the titles and completion dates of each work sample. If appropriate for the art form, please also include the medium and the approximate dimensions of each work.

**Do NOT**include your name or any publication or exhibition information about the works in the list. Work samples are the most important component of an Artist Fellowship application. If you have trouble uploading the work sample files to E-Grant, please consult the tutorials available in MAC’s **Frequently Asked Questions**.

**NOTE:**Fellowship applications are blindly adjudicated by a panel of experts. These experts have access to an applicant’s _Work Samples_. The applicant’s name should not appear in the file name, the url (or the linked webpage), or content of _Work Samples_(including: credits in a video or document or the content of a linked webpage).

* Performing artists should submit audio files or links to audio files of multiple songs. The list of work samples should include the instruments, title, duration, the role of the applicant for each work and the date completed. If additional performers are a part of the performance group, please identify the role of the applicant.

* Visual Artists will be required to submit six digital images that feature work completed within the last five years. The images should be saved in JPEG format at 72dpi, with no image wider than 1240 pixels. Please submit the best quality images that you have available.

* Fiction; Creative Nonfiction; Playwriting and Screenwriting: 15-20 pages as a sample of your written work (1 long sample or various shorter samples) * Poetry: 5-10 pages (no more than one poem per page) * Applicants for screenwriting and playwriting may also include a cast of characters list. * If your sample is an excerpt from a longer piece, you may include a 1 page synopsis of the work as a whole.

* Submitted samples must be of a completed work. To be considered a completed work, the the submitted excerpt must be from a completed and revised manuscript. First drafts are not acceptable for Fellowship applications.

* Published work must be submitted as a PDF or Word document rather than in published form. The sample must be formatted using a 12-point standard font with one-inch margins on all sides of the page. * Neither your name nor any publication information should appear on the samples.

* Video/audio works samples should be between 5-10 minutes in length. * **Musicians:**Applicants should submit audio files or links to audio files of at least 3 songs. Work sample descriptions should include the instruments, title, duration, the role of the applicant for each work and the date completed.

If additional performers are a part of the performance group, please identify the role of the applicant. * **Theatre (Acting), Storytelling Performance, Dance Performance and Interdisciplinary Performance:** Applicants submitting video files or links to videos should contain one complete work or several shorter works. The video files should include the time marking where the panel should begin reviewing the performance.

The work sample description should include the instruments, title, duration, the role of the applicant for each work and the date completed. If additional performers are a part of the performance group, please identify the role of the applicant. Theatrical or Film Directors may include additional still photos, Theatrical Designers should also include sketches or renderings a additional work samples.

* **Visual, Contemporary Craft, and Design Arts (painting, sculpture, works on paper, photography, architectural design, fashion design, graphic design, and landscape architecture):**Applicants will be required to submit six high resolution digital images (at least 72dpi but no image wider than 1240 pixels). When choosing your work samples, please provide your strongest work completed within the last five years.

* Up to 5-10 minutes of work samples, (excerpts of screenplays may be included to provide context for video samples). * Upload samples as an MP3, MP4 or include a link to an easily accessible online video streaming platform (YouTube, Vimeo, etc.) * Work samples should demonstrate your creative vision, if commercial work is submitted, include a description of your creative process.

### Work Sample File Types **Ineligible File Types:** _Please note, the above programs offer the ability to save as or export to PDF. Please submit the PDF version. _ * If you share media from your website, link directly to the video/audio rather than your home page.

* MAC recommends applicants upload using the following file types: MP3, MOV, MP4, WMV, WMA. * MAC recommends applicants upload links to video or audio files. Applicants can link to websites such asYouTube,Vimeo,Soundcloud,Bandcamp, etc. * MAC recommends applicants upload using the following file types: Word (.

doc or . docx), Excel (. xls or .

xlsx), PDF (. pdf), or JPEG (. jpeg).

* You may upload links contained in a Word Document or PDF. * March 1 – Artist Fellowship application deadline * April – Review of applications by the grant panel (the specific panel date will be available by late March. Applicants are allowed to attend panels.)

* June – MAC Board meets and makes final funding decisions on all applications * July – Applicants are notified whether their application was funded or not. No information on the grants (including whether or not an applicant will be receiving an award or the amount of the award) will be available from MAC prior to this date. Artist Fellowships are paid in one installment upon return of the signed grant contract.