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The Individual Artist Fellowship deadline for FY25 has passed. Applications for FY26 will be open in spring 2025.

The Individual Artist Fellowship grant program is designed to support outstanding and established practicing individual artists residing in North Dakota. Two fellowships of $5,000 are awarded annually for projects that will enhance or expand artistic skills and help generate greater visibility to potential audiences.

Each proposal must include three community components in at least two of North Dakota’s eight regions (such as a public performance, exhibition, reading, open workshop, or demonstration).

Eligible Disciplines for FY25

Visual Arts and Media Arts (all forms, including traditional)

  • Visual Arts: Painting, drawing, printmaking, sculpture, ceramics, photography, video, filmmaking, design, crafts, architecture, conceptual art, and textile arts. Also industrial design, graphic design, fashion design, interior design, and decorative art.
  • Media Arts: Virtual art, computer graphics, computer animation, digital art, interactive art, sound art, internet art, video games, robotics, and 3D printing.

Application Deadline

  • Friday, March 1, 2024, 11:59 pm CST
  • Draft Review Application Deadline: Friday, February 23, 2024, 11:59 pm CST

For Project Dates

  • July 1, 2024 – June 30, 2025

Grant Award Range

  • $5,000 maximum request
  • No matching funds are required for this program

Panel date

  • April 4, 2024

For Questions or Assistance

Contact Program Officer Lisa McCallum | lmccallum@nd.gov | (701) 328-7615

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Individual Artist Fellowship Guidelines

All applicants should read this document thoroughly before beginning the application form.

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How to Apply

Application Method

Grant applications are submitted online through the NDCA online grant system.

To apply online, go to grantinterface.com/Home/Logon?urlkey=ndca

Tutorials

The tutorials below guide new users through the online registration process and illustrate how to apply and use the system.

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Program Overview and Grant Award Amount

Program Overview

 

The Individual Artist Fellowship grant program is designed to support outstanding and established practicing individual artists residing in North Dakota. Two fellowships of $5,000 are awarded annually for projects that will enhance or expand artistic skills and help generate greater visibility to potential audiences.

 

Each proposal must include three community components (a minimum of two in person) in two or more of North Dakota’s eight regions (such as a public performance, exhibition, reading, open workshop, or demonstration). This will provide greater visibility for the artist's work and promote meaningful engagement with audiences in North Dakota’s diverse communities.

 

Accepting Applications for Visual Arts and Media Arts

(all forms, including traditional)

 

Program Deadlines

Draft Review Deadline

APPLICATION SUBMISSION DEADLINE

Earliest Project Start Date

Latest Project End Date

Final Report Due Date

Friday, February 23, 2024

Friday, March 1, 2024

11:59 pm CST

July 1, 2024

June 30, 2025

July 15, 2025

 

Incomplete or late applications are not accepted.

 

Grant Award Amount

Maximum Award Request: $5,000

  • No matching funds are required for this program.
  • Grants to individuals are taxable income.
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Eligibility

Eligibility

Eligible Individual Artist Applicants Must:

  • Be pursuing original artwork on an ongoing basis within an artistic discipline
  • Be the originator of the work, not an interpreter of the work of others
  • Be a United States citizen or have attained permanent resident status
  • Be 18 years of age or older on the application’s due date
  • Be a North Dakota resident as of January 1, 2024, and continue to reside in North Dakota throughout the contract period
  • Not be enrolled as a student in any high school, college, or university at the time of application

This Program Funds:

  • Artists who see the arts as an ongoing vocation, rather than as a hobby, pastime, or occasional pursuit and who have already completed their training, if they pursued formal training at all.
  • Artists who have a significant record of generating and publicly presenting and exhibiting or who have published work in the discipline for which support is requested.
  • Artists whose primary goal is to generate new works.

This Program Does NOT Fund: 

  • Collaborative groups or artworks. The applicant must be the primary creator in the project proposal.

Fellowship Schedule and Eligible Disciplines 

This program serves six (6) disciplines that have rotating deadlines every three (3) years. It includes traditional arts that historically have developed informally or been passed on generationally and depict an ethnic or geographical art form.

 

This application includes:

Visual Arts: Painting, drawing, printmaking, sculpture, ceramics, photography, video, filmmaking, design, crafts, architecture, conceptual art, and textile arts. Also industrial design, graphic design, fashion design, interior design, and decorative art.

Media Arts: Virtual art, computer graphics, computer animation, digital art, interactive art, sound art, internet art, video games, robotics, and 3D printing.

 

For projects taking place between July 1, 2024 – June 30, 2025

Ineligible Applications and Expenses:

  • Projects completed in previous fiscal years
  • Payment of project costs incurred before the project start date
  • Fundraising events and activities
  • Prizes, awards, or benefits
  • Entertainment functions, including food, beverages, alcohol, and associated costs
  • Sales inventory and related fees/taxes
  • Projects that are part of a required course or curriculum
  • Travel and projects that take place outside the geographic boundaries of North Dakota
  • Projects that are not open to the general public
  • Projects involving the arts as therapy unless artists are employed as art therapists
  • Projects that violate any federal, state, or local laws, ordinances, or policies
  • Projects that support activities that are essentially for the religious socialization of the participants or audience or discriminate against people or groups
  • Projects that attempt to influence any state or federal legislation or appropriation
  • Projects that are managed by another entity other than the applicant
  • Application is not complete and received by 11:59 p.m. CST on the application deadline
  • Applicant is a grantee of the Individual Artist Fellowship grant program in the last ten (10) years.
  • Applicant is not in compliance with any active grant agreement with NDCA
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Application Review Process and Review Criteria

Application Review Process

1. After Submission: Applications are reviewed by staff for eligibility and completeness.

2. Panels: Panelists are selected annually. For more information, visit: arts.nd.gov/get-involved/become-panelist. Online meetings are open to the public. Anyone may attend and listen to the discussion but may not present or participate. See arts.nd.gov/news/ndca-meetings for dates.

3. Review Criteria: The panel evaluates each application and makes funding recommendations to NDCA’s Board based on how well the applicant addresses the four (4) review criteria. Panelists individually score complete applications. Those scores are averaged to arrive at the final score.

4. Panel Score: To be recommended for an award, an applicant must receive an average total score of at least 60% out of 100%.

5. Board Approval: NDCA’s Board of Directors has final authority to approve grants.

 

Review Criteria

1. Quality (0 -5 points) 

  • Quality of the applicant's work as evidenced by work samples submitted

2. Professional Achievement (0 - 5 points)

  • Professional achievement and record of arts activity as reflected in the artist's resume

3. Merit and Feasibility of Artist Project Proposal and Plan (0 - 5 points)

The applicant’s plan and budget demonstrate:

  • Project is specific in promoting artistic and/or professional growth
  • Project is achievable and appropriate
  • Actions are logical, detailed, and will lead to a successful outcome(s)
  • Budget is appropriate and matches described actions and outcome(s)
  • Current artistic skills and strengths are enhanced and expanded

4. Potential Impact (0 - 5 points)

Potential impact of the fellowship on the artistic future of the artist. The community component and statements about the applicant’s impact is demonstrated by:

  • Three (3) public activities, appropriate to the applicant and project
  • Events that will draw visibility to the applicant’s work
  • Specific audiences and communities for the events are clearly defined
  • Adequate funds are budgeted for these events

If Funded

Notification

Communication regarding the grant award is via email.

 

Payment

  • Disbursement Amounts and Timing of Funds: Awarded funds are paid in full within the month of August.
  • Return of Funds: Grantees are required to spend the entirety of the NDCA grant award. The final report must show expenses at or greater than the budgeted amount or funds will need to be returned.

 

Reporting

  • Change Reports: Any project changes to the activities, timeline, or budget need to be approved in writing by the program officer. Note that not all project changes can be approved.
  • Final Reports: An online final report is due by July 15, 2025, after the grant period ends. Overdue final reports will affect future eligibility to apply for and/or receive NDCA funding.

 

Recognition

  • Grantees are required to acknowledge NDCA support by using the NDCA logo and credit line on all promotional materials of the funded activity.
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Application Instructions

Application Instructions

How to Apply

Grant applications are submitted online through the NDCA online grant system.

 

  1. To apply, go to grantinterface.com/Home/Logon?urlkey=ndca.
  2. Register or log into your account.
  3. Tutorials: Video and downloadable PDF tutorials are available when creating an account that guide new users through the registration and application process.
  4. Click “Apply” at the top navigation of the website.
  5. Click the “Apply” button next to “Individual Artist Fellowship FY25 Application.”

Application Support

First-time applicants are encouraged to contact the program officer if they have questions while preparing the application. The program officer can assist with eligibility questions and project idea development and goals. Please note the draft review deadline.

 

Draft Review Option

The program officer can review your application before the application deadline. Email the program officer by the Draft Review Deadline, indicating that you would like a draft review.

            

Online Application Tips

  • You can type responses to application questions into text boxes or you can work in another document and paste the answers in. The online grant system automatically saves your work. There is also a “Save Application” button at the bottom of the application form.
  • Rich text formatting is limited in narrative questions. You may use bullets, numbers, bolding, italicizing, and underlining. Text boxes with character length limits include letters, numbers, spaces, and paragraph breaks.
  • Links are only allowed in the work sample section. Links provided in any other sections will not be reviewed.
  • Confirmation emails are sent automatically after the application is successfully submitted. If you do not receive a confirmation email, contact the program officer.
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Applicant Information and Narrative

Applicant Information

Artist Statement (Required) (2,000 maximum characters)

An artistic statement describes your personal voice and vision, where are you now in your career as an artist, who and what influences you, and what you want to achieve. Provide a statement that focuses on your career in the arts and includes information about your work and artistic practice.

 

If you are working in the traditional arts, describe your learning process and mentors or teachers.

 

Artist Resume (Required) (2-page maximum, upload a PDF)

In this section, provide a resume that illustrates evidence of strong career commitment, relevant informal or formal educational background, training, mentorship, apprenticeship, experience as an artist, artistic recognition, and awards.

 

NEA Questions (Required)

NDCA collects this information for the National Endowment for the Arts.

 

Narrative

Proposals will be evaluated based on how the applicant addresses the four (4) review criteria, with total possible points of 20, or 100%.

 

Project Title (Required) (75 maximum characters)
Provide a short title describing the project.

 

Brief Project Description (250 maximum characters)

Provide a brief (1-2 sentences) description for the project.

 

Project Start Date (Required) Earliest date that can be entered is 7/1/2024.

 

Project End Date (Required) The latest date that can be entered is 6/30/2025.

 

1. Project Proposal (Required) (3,500 maximum characters)

  • Discuss the scope of the art that will be produced, presented, or promoted in this project.
  •  How does this project explore your personal voice and vision?

2. Project Outcomes (Required) (2,500 maximum characters)

  • Explain why this fellowship is important at this time in your career. Describe why this project is the appropriate next step on your path and how you expect the fellowship to impact your artistic career.
  • If the project you are proposing will be similar in nature and scope to past work, what about this project will provide growth and a new challenge for you?

3. Feasibility of the Artist Plan (Required) (2,500 maximum characters)

  • Provide a reasonable timeline that lays out individual steps of the process.
  • Why is this time frame feasible and reasonable for what you are proposing?
  • If collaborators will be involved with the project, name them and describe what they bring to the project.
  • The budget is taken into consideration while determining the overall feasibility of the plan. Everything discussed in the project plan must be demonstrated in the budget.

4. Impact on the State and Communities (Required) (2,500 maximum characters)

Community Component

  • Describe the community component of the fellowship. Each proposal must include three (3) community components (a minimum of two in person and a maximum of one online) in two or more of North Dakota’s eight regions (such as a public performance, exhibition, reading, open workshop, or demonstration). This will provide greater visibility for the artist's work and promote meaningful engagement with audiences in North Dakota’s diverse communities.
  • How will you connect with these locations or communities?
  • Venues and dates do not need to be confirmed at the time of application, but it should be evident that viable options have been considered or contacted.
  • How will the venue(s) help you reach new audiences? Why have you selected these locations?

5. Audience Community Component (Required) (2,500 maximum characters)

  • How is this project and your background relevant to the community(ies) you have identified for your project?
  • Describe how this project will provide North Dakotans with arts experiences that might not currently be available to them.
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Budget

Budget Form and Instructions

Download the budget form here: arts.nd.gov/sites/www/files/documents/grants/IAFFY25BudgetandInstructions.pdf

Complete and upload to the online application. Provide a thorough budget that clearly supports the actions that have been described in the narrative.

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Work Samples

Work Samples

Work samples are required to evaluate the artistic quality of the applicant’s artwork. Applicants who do not submit complete work samples will not be reviewed. A complete work sample includes:

1) images, video, audio, and/or written work

2) a description for each sample

 

  • Work samples must be completed within the three (3) years prior to the application deadline.
  • Work samples cannot be commercial work.
  • Applicants may submit collaborative work as a work sample only if the applicant’s role in the creation of the work is clearly defined. 
  • Work samples with voiceovers or additional text that aim to describe the work or provide additional information are unallowable. Promotional or marketing documentation is not appropriate and will not be reviewed.

Work Sample Tips: A strong work sample accomplishes the following:

  • Illustrates an artistic voice and technical skill.
  • Provides evidence of the artistic quality of the artist’s work.
  • Documents the artwork itself, not the quality of teaching or the experience of a demonstration.
  • Supports the stated intentions of the proposed project.

 

Notes about Rights 

  1. The works and the rights to those works resulting from NDCA grants are the sole property of the artist(s).
  2. Copyright registration is the sole responsibility of the applicant.
  3. All work samples submitted are public information and will not be returned. NDCA may use samples in promotional materials.

Work Sample Guidelines

Visual Arts or Media Arts

  • Submit a minimum of three (3) and a maximum of five (5) samples of visual art.
  • Submit a minimum of two (2) and a maximum of three (3) media arts samples (audio, video, or screenwriting).

 

Images 

Provide a JPG or JPEG file with a maximum of 5 MB each.

 

Video

Provide a URL link.

  • Video files must be uploaded to youtube.com or vimeo.com/ 
  • Include only the material intended for panel review
  • Include a Vimeo password, if applicable
  • No video slide show of images or promotional videos

 

Audio

Provide a URL link.

  • Audio files must be uploaded to soundcloud.com or dropbox.com
  • Include only the material intended for panel review
  • Include a Soundcloud password, if applicable

 

Online Samples: Keep video and audio samples available online until notified of grant award status.

 

Written Work

Provide a PDF file.

  • Include only the material intended for panel review
  • Remove title pages, table of contents, etc.
  • Prose and Poetry: double spaced
  • Scripts: formatting should follow industry standards

Work Sample Description

Include the following information for each work sample:

  1. Artist Name
  2. Title of the Work
  3. Completion Date
  4. Location - Provide the location of any work sample that is a performance, concert, event, or exhibition space.
  5. Medium – Provide the medium for any work sample that is visual art (e.g., acrylic, clay, etc.).
  6. Role − Describe the artist’s role in the artwork. If the artist has multiple roles in the work, list all roles (e.g., composer/conductor, poet/performer). 
  7. Duration/Pages
  8. For video and audio samples, state the length of the sample and the length of the complete artwork (e.g., 2 minutes of a 46-minute symphony).
  9. For written work, provide the number of pages of the portion of the artwork that will be read in the work sample. (e.g., eight pages of a 12-page scene, or three pages of a 200-page novel).
  10. For a work-in-progress sample, include information about the potential completed work.
  11. Statement – 1,000 maximum characters (optional). The panel will read this as they view the work sample. This is an opportunity to provide information that will help the panel understand the work sample.
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Previous Grants Awarded

Individual Artist Fellowship: Previous Grants Awarded

 

Fiscal YearGrantee NameDisciplineGrant Amount
2024Kathleen Coudle KingTheater/Playwriting$5,000
2024Aparupa ChatterjeeTraditional Dance$5,000
2023Efrain AmayaMusic$5,000
2023Michael WittgrafMusic$5,000
2022Jon OffuttVisual/Glass$3,500
2022Pieper BloomquistTraditional Visual Arts$3,500
2021Camilla MorrisonTheater/Costume$3,500
2021Amoussa (Hamzat) KorikoTheater/Production$2,500
2021Shalini AgarwalTraditional Dance$1,000
2020Emerson William EadsMusic$3,500
2020Thomas PorterMusic$3,500
2019Pirjo BergVisual/Painting$3,500
2019Brad BachmeierVisual/Pottery$3,500
2018Liselotte ErdrichFolk/Birch Bark$3,500
2017Merie KirbyVisual/Pottery$3,500
2016Guillermo GuardiaVisual$2,500
2016Ryan StanderVisual/Printmaking$2,500
2015Eileen K. McEnroeFolk Arts/Baskets$2,500
2015Bradley DelzerMusic$2,500
2013Christopher GableMusic/Percussion$2,500
2013Merie KirbyLiterature/Poetry$2,500
2012Nelda SchruppVisual/Metal/Mixed$2,500
2012Armando Ramos IIIVisual$2,500
2011Frank KochFolk Arts$2,500
2011Kathleen Coudle KingTheater/Playwriting$2,500
2010Michael WittgrafMusic$2,500
2010Caroline DownsLiterature/Children$2,500
2009Kim FinkVisual/Crafts$2,500
2009William D. ThompsonVisual/Painting$2,500
2008Pattie CarrDance$2,500
2008Anthony R. LaFromboiseFolk Arts$2,500
2007Troy Sterling NiesMusic$2,500
2007James HodgesMusic$2,500
2006James WolbergVisual$2,500
2006Sarah Regan SnavelyVisual$2,500
2006Jon OffuttVisual/Glass$2,500
2005Conrad E. DavidsonTheater/Playwriting$2,500
2005Norik AstvatsaturovTraditional/Repousse$2,500
2004Jamie ParsleyLiterature/Poetry$2,500
2004William J. Snyder, Jr.Literature/Poetry$2,500
2003Kent KapplingerExhibit Curating 
2003Linda WhitneyVisual/Printmaking