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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Joanne Carter
Joanne Carter is a British photography journalist, editor, curator, and the founder of *TheAppWhisperer.com*, one of the world’s leading platforms dedicated to mobile photography and art. Since its launch in 2009, TheAppWhisperer has become an international hub for artists of all levels to discover, learn, exhibit, and engage with contemporary photographic practice.Built on principles of inclusivity, accessibility, and artistic excellence, Joanne has spent almost two decades championing mobile photography as a serious artistic medium. Through interviews, critical essays, exhibitions, competitions, and education, she has helped shape and document the evolution of mobile art on a global scale.Her work has taken her internationally, lecturing on photography and mobile art at institutions and events including the Museum of Art in Seoul, South Korea, alongside appearances in the UK and Europe. She has served as a juror for international photography and mobile art awards across Portugal, Canada, the United States, South Korea, Italy, and the UK.Joanne is also the founder of *TheAppWhispererPrintSales.com*, one of the first online galleries dedicated exclusively to collectible mobile art, connecting artists with collectors across Europe, the United States, and Asia.Before founding TheAppWhisperer, Joanne worked extensively in print journalism and photographic publishing, including roles at a paparazzi photo agency and as deputy editor of a leading photography magazine. Her freelance journalism, criticism, and commentary have been published widely in both the UK and the US, with bylines in *The Times*, *The Sunday Times*, *The Guardian*, *Popular Photography*, *NikonPro*, *DPReview*, *Which?*, *Vogue Italia*, *LensCulture*, the *BBC*, and more recently, the *Financial Times*, where her published letters on photography continue to contribute to wider conversations around the medium.Alongside her editorial and curatorial work, Joanne’s own photographic practice has been exhibited internationally across the UK, Europe, South Korea, and the United States. Her work increasingly explores themes of grief, loss, death, memory, and the body.Her current research interests centre on grief, death, and poverty, with forthcoming postgraduate study leading towards doctoral research in these areas.Joanne is currently developing new long-form writing and photographic projects and is available for commissions, editorial projects, speaking engagements, and collaborations.Contact: joannetheappwhisperer@gmail.com)
