The Bush Foundation's Artist Fellowship program supports artists in Minnesota, North Dakota, and South Dakota with significant financial and professional development support to enable them to further their work and foster community dialogue.
Each year, up to fifteen artists receive unrestricted grants of $48,000 each distributed over 12- to 24-month periods. In addition, fellows receive up to $2,000 each to plan and implement an individual communications strategy.
Artists may use their fellowship to explore new directions, continue work already in progress, or accomplish work not financially feasible otherwise. Professional development activities, including a two-day orientation retreat along with annual workshops combined with informal artist gatherings, have been added to the program.
Applications are invited from qualified artists who are residents of Minnesota, North Dakota, or South Dakota; are U.S. citizens or permanent residents; have lived in an eligible state at least twenty-four months immediately prior to the application deadline; and are at least 25 years of age at the application deadline. Students enrolled full- or part-time in a degree-granting program after July 1, 2009, are not eligible to apply.
Artistic categories alternate on a bi-annual basis. For the 2010 fellowship year, applications are being accepted in the categories of Visual Arts (Deadline: October 30, 2009) and Media Arts and Traditional and Functional Craft Arts (Deadline: November 6, 2009).
For complete program guidelines, including details on upcoming public information meetings, see the Bush Fellows Web site.