Fellowship · Tennessee artists
Individual Artist Fellowship (FY 2028)
Tennessee Arts Commission
You should apply if you're a professional artist who has lived in Tennessee for three years and earns a living from your work.
About
The Tennessee Arts Commission's Individual Artist Fellowships recognise outstanding professional artists who live and work in Tennessee, with about one to three $5,000 awards in each discipline. No matching funds are required and no specific project has to be carried out with the money. For FY 2028 the accepted visual categories are two-dimensional work, mural arts and craft, plus film and photography under media, alongside dance, music, theatre and literary categories. Artists apply through the Commission's online grants system, which opens in October 2026, with an artist statement and discipline-specific work samples. Out-of-state adjudicators with expertise in each discipline score applications, primarily on artistic excellence.
Eligibility
Professional practising artists 18 or older who are legal residents of Tennessee, have lived there for the past three consecutive years (proof by Tennessee voter registration or driver's licence), and are financially compensated for their work as a significant source of livelihood. One category per year. Not eligible: past fellowship recipients, full-time students, full-time State of Tennessee employees (except state-supported faculty), and Commission members, staff or their families.
Applications happen on Tennessee Arts Commission's website. Seeke reviews and indexes the listing but does not accept applications.