The deadline to submit was on Monday, December 11 at 12pm/noon
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
The Creative Renewal Fellowship is intended to provide a structured period of rest and creative exploration for vocational artists. The Fellows are not required to produce a final project. The fellowship funds can be used for research, instruction, conferences, apprenticeships, travel, or other experiences that help the recipient explore their creative journey. Fellowship activities must occur between April 1, 2024, and June 30, 2025, as determined by the applicant. Examples of fellowship activities include but are not limited to the following:
- Apprenticeships
- Exploration of new ideas
- Pursuit of new or familiar avenues of creative expression
- Research and/or instruction
- Conferences or retreats
Funds may be used for travel, housing, and/or the equipment necessary to conduct proposed activities. Fellows will be responsible for making all arrangements and/or purchases for fellowship activities. Fellowship funds may not be used for tuition toward degree-seeking coursework.
Compelling applications connect the proposed use of funds to the applicant’s artistic voice and practice. Applicants should consider how the proposed fellowship activities would enhance their creative practice.
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.
Funding Partners
Creative Renewal Fellowships are funded through the generous support Mecklenburg County and ASC’s donors.
Grant Amount
In 2024, 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. There is no request for a budget as part of this application. As such, the proposed activity may require more or less than the full $15,000 award. 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.It is not a priority of this program to fund creatives working in an academic or educational setting. 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.
How to Apply
Applications are due on Monday, December 11 at 12:00pm/Noon. Late applications will not be accepted. Applications must be submitted online.
Application Components
The application has three components.
- Applicant Profile: the applicant provides contact information, a demographic profile, and resume.
- Program Narrative: The applicant answers the following prompts to provide details and context for the proposed fellowship.
- Describe your voice as an established artist. How do you describe your work? Are there particular subjects or themes you are exploring? (500 words)
- Describe the fellowship and the proposed use of funds. This should include a timeline for the fellowship activities (500 words).
- Why are you pursuing this opportunity now? How will this proposed fellowship benefit you and renew your creative practice? (250 words)
- How might you share insights learned from this experience at the end of the fellowship activities? (250 words)
- Provide a letter of support from a colleague or mentor.
- Provide a budget for the Fellowship activities.
- Provide a brief explanation of how the budget was determined. Click here to download budget template.
- Work Samples: the applicant provides appropriate work samples (images, video, audio, writing samples, etc.)
Up to 10 images, must be JPEG files
- up to 5 minutes of audio/video recording. No more than 5 minutes of material will be reviewed by the panel. Please indicate which 5 minutes you want the panel to review on your work sample list. If no indication is given, the panel will review the first 5 minutes.
- up to 10 pages of written work sample material. You may upload as one or more files, but the total submission should not exceed 10 pages. If more than 10 pages are submitted, please indicate on your work sample list which 10 pages should be reviewed. If no indication is given, the panel will review the first 10 pages.
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 2.5 minutes of video or audio and 5 images or pages of written material.
A special note about audio & video work samples:
This application will only support 25mb of data. Video and Audio recordings tend to be very large files. Do not uploaded video or audio files directly to this form,(i.e. mp3, mp4, wav, etc).
If you are uploading video and/or audio work samples, provide a link (YouTube, Vimeo, SoundCloud, Google Drive, etc.) where the panelist can access the work sample. This link should not be password protected. If the work sample is longer than the timeframe allotted by the application, specify which section of the work sample should be reviewed by the panelists.
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 2023 class of Fellows.
Panelists will review the application materials including work samples/documentation and will evaluate:
- Artist demonstrates a vibrant, vocational creative practice.
- The strength of the proposed fellowship activities
- The connection of the applicant’s proposed renewal experience and past/future work
- The intended impact on the applicant’s personal/professional renewal
A variety of disciplines will be represented in the fellows chosen. Applicants will be notified of the status of their applications the week of January 29, 2024.
Expectations of Creative Renewal Fellows
- Completing Initial Paperwork: each member of the 2024 class of Fellows must execute a Signed Grant Agreement and Electronic Funds Transfer Form. ASC processes all payments via direct deposit.
- SEED Grants: Each Fellow will submit a nomination for a SEED Grant to ASC staff. Please see the SEED Grand description below for more details.
- Final Report: At the conclusion of the fellowship activity, the Fellow will send a brief summary of their experience to the Grants & Services team at ASC to close their grant.
- ASC will also convene the Fellows for occasional meetings.
Funding Partners
Emerging Creators Fellowships are funded through the generous support Mecklenburg County, the Infusion Fund, and ASC’s private donors.
EXPECTATIONS OF CREATIVE RENEWAL FELLOWS
- Completing Initial Paperwork: each member of the 2023 class of Fellows must execute a Signed Grant Agreement and Electronic Funds Transfer Form. ASC processes all payments via direct deposit.
- SEED Grants: Each Fellow will submit a nomination for a SEED Grant to ASC staff. Please see the SEED Grand description below for more details.
- Final Report: At the conclusion of the fellowship activity, the Fellow will send a brief summary of their experience to the Grants & Services team at ASC to close their grant.
- ASC will also convene the Fellows for occasional meetings.
Seed Grants
In 2022, ASC piloted the SEED Grant program. The previous 60 Fellows nominated creatives across Mecklenburg County for a $3,000 award celebrating their contributions to the local cultural community. Recipients invested these funds in their own creative practice.
Each member of the 2024 class of Fellows will extend a SEED Grant to another Charlotte-Mecklenburg artist. The Grants & Services team will review the eligibility guidelines with the Fellows and facilitate the grant process.
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
- Monday, October 30 at 1:00pm via Zoom:
- Thursday, November 2 at 11:00am via Zoom:
- Wednesday, November 29 at 1:00pm via Zoom:
Office Hours
- Wednesday, December 6 at 3:00pm via Zoom:
- Friday, December 8 at 12pm/noon via Zoom:
Grant Application Resources
2023 Creative Renewal Fellowship Recipients
Ana Lucia Divins
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
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
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)
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
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
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
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.