Learn more about the fellowships here
Application deadline is November 1, 2021, at 5 pm CT
Fellowship Period: January 1, 2022 – December 31, 2022
View application guidelines here.
Fiber art is thriving in Minnesota, and the field’s growth as a creative discipline is generously supported by the McKnight Foundation’s McKnight Fellowships for Fiber Artists. This program provides two $25,000 fellowships to be awarded each year to individual midcareer (and beyond!) fiber artists living and working in Minnesota.
The application window is open for the 2022 fellowships from Wednesday, September 1, 2021, 12 noon until Monday, November 1, 2021, 5 pm, CT.
In addition to the $25,000 unrestricted award in support of their creative work and practice, McKnight Fiber Artist Fellows will receive:
- Critiques/studio visits with three experts from the creative field.
- Exhibition at the end of the fellowship period in the Joan Mondale Gallery at Textile Center.
- Participation in two public discussions that feature fellows and invited critics or experts from the field.
- Professional development support, such as attending conferences, workshops, or marketing or exhibition assistance.
- Access to Textile Center’s resources, including library, dye lab, and artisan shop opportunities.
- Professional support sessions from consultants at Springboard for the Arts.
- Opportunity to apply to McKnight Foundation’s new residency partnership with Alliance of Artist Communities, for two years following the fellowship year.
The intent of the McKnight Fellowships for Fiber Artists is to recognize and support talented Minnesota fiber and textile artists whose work is of exceptional artistic and cultural merit, who have created a significant body of work over a period of at least 8 years, representing a sustained investigation and maturation of personal creativity, accomplishment, and commitment to the field of fiber art and Minnesota’s arts ecosystem. These fellowships are in support of artists who are at a career stage beyond emerging. Fiber Artists, as defined for the purposes of this fellowship, are artists who use textile and fiber arts materials, processes, histories, traditions, and/or sensibilities in their artistic and creative practice throughout the conception, execution, and resolution of their work.
“Textile Center is honored to serve as its administrative partner for the McKnight Fellowships for Fiber Artists,” says Textile Center Executive Director Karl Reichert. “This fellowship program is an exciting milestone for us, especially as we celebrate the role Textile Center has played in nurturing the field of fiber art in our region.”
“The expansion of the McKnight Artist Fellowships into the area of fiber arts is a tremendous opportunity and acknowledgement for our field,” says Textile Center’s Director for Artistic Advancement Tracy Krumm, who also serves as Textile Center’s program director for the McKnight Fellowships for Fiber Artists. “As a former Visual Arts Fellow, I know that the caliber of work being done in the textile and fiber arts in Minnesota is really strong. The support to fiber and textile artists through these fellowships is a tremendous acknowledgement of our field by the McKnight Foundation. Applying for this incredible funding support means the chance at game-changing opportunities for creative development.”
