Funder: McKnight Foundation
Due Dates: December 7, 2026 (Fiber artists) | January 5, 2027 (Culture bearers) | March 14, 2027 (Dancers and choreographers, final application)
Funding Amounts: $25,000 unrestricted per fellowship, plus discipline-specific development support
Summary: Supports Minnesota’s midcareer and beyond artists and culture bearers with unrestricted funding and artistic and professional development.
Key Information: Applicants may apply to only one McKnight Artist & Culture Bearer Fellowship per fellowship year.
Description
The McKnight Foundation’s Arts & Culture program supports individual Minnesota artists and culture bearers by increasing their exploratory opportunity, economic stability, and productive capacity. These unrestricted fellowships recognize sustained accomplishment and artistic excellence beyond emerging practice, rather than funding a proposed project. Discipline-specific partner organizations administer applications and provide development opportunities tailored to their fields.
The program spans 15 disciplines, including visual, literary, performing, media, and craft practices, community-engaged work, and culture bearing. Culture bearers preserve and transmit ancestral knowledge through living cultural practices and intergenerational learning. Fellowship support includes professional consultations, residencies, and other opportunities intended to strengthen artists’ practices and their contributions to Minnesota communities.
