ILLINOIS, September 1 - APPLICATION/GUIDELINES NOW AVAILABLE

The Artist Fellowship Program's intent is to enrich and strengthen the state by supporting accomplished Illinois artists who are the foundation of Illinois' creative environment. The program recognizes exceptional artists who are at a career stage beyond emerging and have created a substantial body of work throughout their career. The program does not support an artist's specific project, but rather provides monetary awards to support an artist's continued artistic growth and exploration.

"Here in Illinois, we proudly boast world-class artists and celebrate their impressive contributions to our communities," said Governor JB Pritzker. "Through IACA's Artist Fellowship, we're investing in the dedication, talent, and passion of our esteemed local artists across all disciplines, so they have the support and resources they need to follow in the footsteps of those who came before them."

The IACA will provide a limited number of $15,000 awards across the following discipline categories:

• Crafts
• Digital Arts
• Ethnic & Folk Arts
• New Art Forms (non-performative)
• Photography
• Sculpture
• Visual Arts (includes the 2D sub-categories of painting, mixed-media, printmaking, and other non-digital based visual arts)

A limited number of $1,500 Finalist Awards will also be given.

The IACA encourages artists working in these disciplines and who are residents of Illinois to apply.

Application Assistance

Also, IACA staff are available via three drop-in video meetings to answer any questions about the Artist Fellowship program. You do not need to pre-register, simply click the link at the time of the meeting to join the drop-in session via WebEx:

Program Directors and the FY24 Fellowship disciplines they oversee are listed below.

• Teresa Davis (Digital Arts)
• Susan Dickson (Crafts, Ethnic & Folk Arts, and New Art Forms)
• Jackie Banks-Mahlum (Photography and Sculpture)
• Danielle Heal (Visual Arts)