Now open | Deadline Sunday, April 6 @ midnight
Mecklenburg Creatives read updated guidelines below
Creative Renewal Fellowship
ASC BELIEVES INVESTING DIRECTLY IN CREATIVE INDIVIDUALS MAKES THE CHARLOTTE-MECKLENBURG CULTURAL COMMUNITY MORE SUSTAINABLE. THE CREATIVE RENEWAL FELLOWSHIP IS AN OPPORTUNITY FOR ESTABLISHED, MECKLENBURG COUNTY BASED ARTISTS TO INVEST IN THEIR OWN CREATIVE PRACTICE.
Overview
Funding Goal: To provide a sabbatical-like experience for established creatives to explore, expand or re-imagine their creative practice.
The Creative Renewal Fellowships aims to support established artists in Mecklenburg with over ten years of experience who are at a stage in their careers where there is a need to explore, expand, or reimagine their creative practice.
Similar to an academic sabbatical, the Creative Renewal Fellowship offers vocational artists a structured time for rest and creative exploration. While Fellows are not required to present a final project, they are encouraged to engage in activities such as:
- Apprenticeships or residencies
- Exploration of new methodologies
- Experimentation with new projects or ideas
- Research or instruction
- Conferences or series of workshops
Consider the intention of the proposed activities and how they will impact your growth and development as a creative. Use your unique voice as an artist to explain the impact of the proposed activities to the growth of your creative practice. In an effort to combat creative burnout and to keep artists local, ASC hopes to provide the opportunity for a creative renewal.
Applicants seeking funding for public programming or events should consider the Culture Blocks or Cultural Vision Grant programs.
Who Should Apply
ASC welcomes applications from vocational creatives* across all disciplines who are creating new, original work. Applicants should have 10+ years of pursuing a career in their discipline and be residents of Mecklenburg County for three years at the time of application. An applicants’ age or training is not a consideration of the panel.
*ASC Defines vocational creatives as artists whose primary occupation is their creative practice.
Grant Amount
In 2025, ASC will award up to ten $15,000 Creative Renewal Fellowships.
Payments will be made according to a Funding Schedule that will be issued to grantees. The award will be made payable directly to the individual fellowship recipient and subject to IRS 1099 income statement reporting by ASC. Each applicant will be required to submit an IRS W-9 form so that an IRS 1099 income statement can be issued by ASC for the fellow-s tax records. All taxes and reporting of taxes will be the responsibility of the fellowship recipient.
Eligibility
Eligible applicants are
- Residents of Mecklenburg County and have been residents for a minimum of three consecutive years at the time of the application.
- Creatives with an established practice, and 10+ years of work in the creative sector.
- Creating original work, rather than interpreting or curating the work of other artists.
- Pursuing their creative practice as their primary occupation.
Applicants will be disqualified if:
- They submit an incomplete application.
- They are not residents of Mecklenburg County.
- They are a previous recipient of the Creative Renewal Fellowship.
- They also apply to the Emerging Creator Fellowship.
- They are enrolled in a degree seeking program at the time of or during the fellowship.
- They are full-time employees of a cultural organization.
- Creatives working in an academic setting are considered eligible if the proposed use of funds is related to their creative practice rather than their academic research or work in the classroom.
Application Components
The application has six components.
1. Applicant Profile:
Provides contact information to create a profile via the Grants Portal.
2. Application Questions:
- Describe the overall intention of your fellowship activities.
- Is your intention to expand your creative practice to different mediums? Is it to experiment with new materials to explore some creative risk? Is it to learn and grow your expertise through workshops, conferences, experiences? Describe your goals of this fellowship.
- Describe the overall intention of your fellowship activities.
- What have you been able to achieve as an artist and what do you seek to explore with this fellowship?
- Describe your creative style/vision then talk about some of your accomplishments that you’re most proud of at this point in your career. What ideas are you hoping to explore or what creative risks are you wanting to take?
- What have you been able to achieve as an artist and what do you seek to explore with this fellowship?
- Describe your planned activities.
- Include as much logistical information as you can. Describe the specific activities and when they would start/end. Then list out estimated expenses via bullet points – this should match the expenses listed in your budget. Finally, be sure to include names of workshops, conferences, people involved, etc.
- Describe your planned activities.
- Why are you pursuing this opportunity now?
- How will these activities expand/impact your work and promote creative growth in this phase of your creative practice?
- Why are you pursuing this opportunity now?
- How might you share insights learned from this experience at the end of the fellowship activities?
- Also, would you be interested in being part of a panel discussion with other fellows to talk about your experience and learnings?
- How might you share insights learned from this experience at the end of the fellowship activities?
3. A rough budget outlining the Fellowship activity expenses. Remember, these expenses can change.
4. Work Samples: the applicant provides appropriate work samples (images, video, audio, writing samples, etc.)
- Visual: Up to 10 images (PNG or JPG)
- Literary: up to 10 pages of any work(s)
- Performance: Up to 7 minutes of a recorded performance (staged or rehearsal)
- Music: Up to 7 minutes of audio
- Film: Up to 7 minutes of one or more films
- * Applicants who wish to include multiple types of work samples, i.e. video and written work samples or video and images may do so. We encourage you to split the difference. For example, and applicant could submit 3.5 minutes of video or audio and 5 images or pages of written material.
5. Inventory List: one page inventory list of your work samples. Things to address are:
- Title of Work
- Date of completion
- A brief statement describing the work
- Your role in the work
- Link to view audio/visual performance or file name of the attached visual/literary work
6. Two letters of support
Mentor/colleague who can speak to your capacity for your artistic growth through the activities outlined in the fellowship proposal. Ideally, this person has seen or engaged with your work for some time and can speak of your character.
How to Apply
Applications are due on Sunday, April 6, 2025 at 12:00am/Midnight. Late applications will not be accepted. Applications must be submitted online.
Note: Applications are auto-saved.
Evaluation Process and Selection Criteria
A panel of past recipients and arts and culture workers across the Charlotte-Mecklenburg community review applications and select the 2025 class of Fellows – ASC does not select recipients.
The five Evaluation Criteria are:
Review panel will consist of previous ASC Fellows and leaders in the creative community – ASC staff does not select recipients. Panelists will score each application based on the following criteria:
- Intention of Fellowship (1-5pts)
- Describe your overall intention of your fellowship activities.
- Artistic Vibrancy (1-5pts)
- Artist demonstrates a vibrant and vocational creative practice through: work samples; letters of support; and resume/CV.
- Creative vision (1-5pts)
- Artist describes their artistic style and explains what they seek to explore as well as describes the strengths and opportunities of the proposed activities.
- Forethought & Planning (1-5pts)
- Artist provides thorough description of proposed activities as well as relevant logistics, expenses, and timelines.
- Artistic Development & Impact (1-5pts)
- Artist explains the reason why they’re pursuing opportunity now and describes impacts to creative growth.
The review panel will be using a rubric to finalize scores. Please, download this rubric and use it as a tool as you craft your proposal. Download the panelist rubric here: Fellowship Rubric.
A variety of disciplines will be represented in the fellows chosen. Applicants will be notified of the status of their applications by Friday, May 2, 2025.
Seed Grants
In 2022, ASC launched the Seed Grant program, where the previous 60 Fellows nominated creatives throughout Mecklenburg County for a $3,000 grant recognizing their contributions to the local cultural community. Seed Recipients utilized these funds to enhance their own creative practices and submitted final reports detailing their experiences and learnings. Each Fellow is asked to nominate one creative in their community who is deserving of a $3,000 acknowledgement for their work.
Thank you go Mecklenburg County for their support of the SEED Grant funding opportunity.
Acknowledgement: ASC’s Grants & Services team would like to acknowledge the innovative work of the Jerome Foundation and the Indianapolis Artis Council, whose fellowship programs have helped inform and shape the fellowships ASC is offering this year.
Info Sessions
- Tuesday, March 4 from 10am – 11am via Zoom:
- Tuesday, March 11 from 2pm to 3pm via Zoom:
- Friday, March 14 from 6:30pm to 7:30pm at the Photo Outfitters, 4732 Monroe Rd Suite 130, Charlotte, NC
- Saturday, March 15 from 12pm – 1pm at the Charlotte Art League, 4237 Raleigh St, Charlotte, NC
- Tuesday, March 18 from 12pm – 1pm via Zoom:
- Tuesday, March 25 from 10am – 11am via Zoom:
Grant Application Resources
2024 Creative Renewal Fellowship Recipients
de'Angelo DIA, Literary
To learn a new creative expression and creative renewal, as a means of humanizing hope, through workshops with Penland School of Craft, the Omega Institute for Holistic Studies, and Charlotte Lit.
sarah hayes harkins, dance
“From Ballerina to Tanguera” – Retiring principal dancer in Charlotte Ballet plans to explore Argentine tango by training with world-class tango dancers and traveling to global tango destinations.
Sir Hodge, Film/Media Arts
To participate in an apprenticeship program at the esteemed Isoko Studios under the guidance of creative director, Oghalé Alex, based in London, England.
Abel Jackson, Visual Arts
To travel to Kenya with Zawadi International Artist exchange program for a diverse and immersive experience, which combines cultural exchange, community involvement, wildlife exploration, and relaxation
Herman Nicholson, visual arts
I will acquire essential materials, attend workshops, and access mentorship opportunities, enabling me to immerse myself in learning the wet plate collodion process, a historic photographic technique, and refine my skills through hands-on experience.
2023 Creative Renewal Fellowship Recipients
Ana Lucia Divins, music
A singer, therapeutic musician and community connector, Divins will use her fellowship to support the exploration, creation and recording of therapeutic music.
Lena Hopkins-Jackson, visual arts
A cartoonist and writer, Hopkins-Jackson’s fellowship will help her enroll in master-level classes taught by an animator and screenwriter with Disney Studios.
Eternity Philops, visual arts
A non-disciplinary creative and yoga wellness educator, Philops will use their fellowship to support “Breaking the Binary – Raw Stories of BIPOC Shattering Society’s Gender Status Quo.”
William Jenkins (Sir Will), Visual arts
A digital content creator specializing in video, mixed media and photography, Jenkins will use the fellowship to expand his art practice into new mediums and genres, particularly public art and performative-based installations, to further his creative exploration and growth as an artist.
Elizabeth Kowalski, music
A composer, producer and creator of multi-disciplinary artistic experiences, Kowalski will use her fellowship to support the exploration of innovative methods and best practices via apprenticeships, conferences, workshops and equipment purchase.
Jermaine Nakia Lee, theatre
A Charlotte singer/songwriter, actor, playwright, filmmaker and community activist, Lee will use his fellowship to enroll in the Composition & Songwriting program at the famed Dark Horse Music Institute in Nashville, Tennessee.
Patricia Raible, visual arts
A Charlotte painter and artmaker, Raible will use her fellowship to extend her practice and demonstrate that aging is not a limiting factor to artistic expression by becoming proficient in new mediums, taking a Penland School of Craft workshop and mentoring with a master printmaker.