NYSCA/NYFA Artist Fellowship Grants Available -

The NYSCA/NYFA Artist Fellowship is an $8,000 unrestricted cash grant available to artists living in New York State and/or one of the Tribal Nations located therein.

This grant is awarded in fifteen different disciplines over a three-year period (five categories a year) and the application is free to complete. The NYSCA/NYFA Artist Fellowship is not a project grant, but is intended to fund an artist’s vision or voice, at all levels of their artistic development.

The NYSCA/NYFA Artist Fellowship program is made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA) with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature. Additional funding is provided by Deutsche Bank Americas Foundation, Joy of Giving Something, the Milton & Sally Avery Arts Foundation, Lawrence Foundation, and individual donors.

You can join NYFA’s generous benefactors in helping artists. Visit their Donate page to learn more about the impact of your gift.

Timeline

Applications are closed for the 2025 program cycle. Check back on this page or sign up for their newsletter for updates about future cycles.

Eligible Disciplines

2025 Award Cycle

Architecture/Environmental Structures/Design
Choreography
Music/Sound
Photography
Playwriting/Screenwriting

2026 Award Cycle (Applications open in Fall 2025)

Craft/Sculpture
Digital/Electronic Arts
Nonfiction Literature
Poetry
Printmaking/Drawing/Book Arts

2027 Award Cycle (Applications open in Fall 2026)

Fiction
Folk/Traditional Arts
Interdisciplinary Work
Painting
Video/Film

Who Can Apply

Applicants must meet the following eligibility requirements:

25 years or older by the application deadline date
Current residents of New York State and/or one of the Tribal Nations located in New York State
Must have maintained New York State residency, and/or residency in one of the Tribal Nations located therein, for at least the last two consecutive years (2023 & 2024)
Not enrolled in a degree-seeking program of any kind
Are the originators of the work, i.e. choreographers or playwrights, not interpretive artists such as dancers or actors
Did not receive a NYSCA/NYFA Artist Fellowship in any discipline in the past five consecutive years: 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024.
Cannot submit any work samples that have been previously awarded a NYSCA/NYFA Artist Fellowship
While collaborating artists are eligible to apply, the total number of artists cannot exceed three individuals (this includes the submitter). Each artist applying must all meet the eligibility criteria for this award. Artists applying as a collaboration cannot apply separately as an individual
Applicants can apply in a maximum of 2 categories each cycle
Are not a current NYFA employee or have been in the last 12 months, a member of the NYFA Board of Trustees or Artists’ Advisory Committee, 2025 panelist, or an immediate family member of any of the above.
Artists that have been awarded five NYSCA/NYFA Artist Fellowships receive Emeritus status and are no longer eligible for the award

Click here if you would like to apply.

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