McKnight Artist & Culture Bearer Fellowships
McKnight Artist & Culture Bearer Fellowships support Minnesota artists and culture bearers with unrestricted funding and artistic development to expand creative exploration, stability, and productive capacity.
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Funder: McKnight Foundation
Due Dates: October 12, 2026 (Composers) | December 7, 2026 (Fiber artists) | March 14, 2027 (Choreographers, final) | March 14, 2027 (Dancers, final)
Funding Amounts: $25,000 unrestricted fellowships, plus discipline-specific development support
Summary: Supports Minnesota artists and culture bearers beyond emerging practice with unrestricted funding and artistic development opportunities.
Key Information: Applicants may apply to only one McKnight Artist Fellowship per fellowship year.
Description
The McKnight Artist & Culture Bearer Fellowships are part of the McKnight Foundation’s Arts & Culture program. They recognize Minnesota artists and culture bearers with sustained experience, achievement, commitment, and high-level proficiency in their practice. Unrestricted awards increase creative exploration, economic stability, and productive capacity rather than fund a specific proposed project.
Discipline-specific partner organizations administer fellowships across book arts, ceramics, choreography, composition, community-engaged practice, culture bearing, dance, fiber arts, media arts, music, playwriting, printmaking, theater, visual arts, and writing. Partners tailor artistic and professional development opportunities to each field. Culture bearer support recognizes sacred and healing lifeways and the intergenerational transmission of cultural practices and ancestral knowledge.
