ELIGIBILITY 

Proposals are welcome from a range of emerging to established scholars, including artists researchers. Funding is intended to support independent research and is not intended to support research conducted on behalf of an institution, organization, or 501c3. 

Archives are repositories for and collections of primary source materials where people can conduct research. However, the histories preserved and stored within institutional libraries and archives often reflect the dominant cultural narratives, limiting the types of histories that can be told. Therefore, this fellowship takes an expansive understanding of what an archive is, to delimit what an archive can be. For the purpose of this grant, the Center for Craft understands archival craft research to be, but not limited to: 

• Digital and in-person archives: Recipients can direct their research towards a digital or site-specific archive, such as institutional archives that feature underrepresented craft communities. An in-person visit is not required.
• Objects as archives, the study of a new collection of materials, such as oral histories, community-created archives, site or place as an archive.
• Funding from this grant can be used to visit more than one archive, as funding and time permits. However, engagement with just one archive is all that is expected.
  

Applicants must be: 

• 21 years of age or older 
• Eligible to receive taxable income in the U.S. 
  

Applicants cannot be: 

• Disqualified persons, such as substantial contributors to the Center for Craft as well as current employees, consultants, or board members of the Center for Craft, or immediate family members of such a person 
  

If an applicant has been previously awarded a Center for Craft grant, but did not complete the project, or is still in the progress of completing a grant or fellowship they are not eligible to apply. 

Applicants may only receive one Center for Craft grant and/or fellowship per year. Awards cannot be deferred to the next year due to outstanding applications or multiple awards.

The Center encourages applications from historically underrepresented populations. The Center for Craft prohibits discrimination, harassment, and retaliation based on sex, sexual orientation, race, color, religion, national origin, disability or perceived disability, age, marital status, gender identity, veteran status, or any other protected category. Applying does not constitute a promise or guarantee of being awarded a grant.

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USE OF FUNDS

Award funds may be used to cover travel and living expenses, personal stipends/honoraria, image rights, photocopies or other reproductions, subcontracted research assistance, purchase of primary source materials, and other incidental research expenses. Award funds may be used towards rent, childcare, and healthcare, as needed. 

• For travel purposes, the Center for Craft recommends applicants use the following resources U.S. General Services Administration and Budget Your Trip.
• When working with artists (to conduct oral histories or otherwise), the Center for Craft requires recipients to provide appropriate compensation. For remuneration estimates, we recommend consulting the floor wages listed on the Working Artists and the Greater Economy (W.A.G.E.) fee calculator website at https://wageforwork.com/contracts#top
• When working with community members, the Center for Craft requires that all grant recipients provide financial remuneration for their time, labor, and services rendered towards the awarded project scope and goals
• Award funds can be used towards course buyouts, as possible.

REQUIREMENTS

• Sixty percent (60%) will be awarded upon mutual completion of the grant agreement and receipt of the recipient’s W9.
• Twenty percent (20%) will be awarded upon submission of a draft 1,200-word article to be published in a Special Edition article by Hyperallergic due July 6, 2026.
• Twenty percent (20%) will be awarded upon receipt and approval by the Center for Craft of the final report, participation in a Center for Craft virtual public program in September 2026, and finalized article for a special issue by Hyperallergic due September 30, 2026.
• Grant permission for the Center for Craft to use the language and images from the recipient's application or other high-resolution images the recipient may want to provide in press releases, social media, and/or reports of work by recipients of the 2025 Craft Archive Fellowship.
• Recipients must acknowledge support from the Center for Craft by:  
  
  • Including the tag: “2025 Center for Craft Archive Fellow” in their email signature, website, and/or social media page for the duration of the Grant Period
  • Any publication or presentations resulting from the grant carry the Center for Craft’s logo or credit line: “This research was supported by a Center for Craft Archive Fellowship.”
• Projects must be completed in 12 months, with a start date of  September 1, 2025 and end an date of September 30, 2026. Fellows must submit a short (2 page) final report, including an explanation of the research process, findings, and use of budget is required by September 30, 2026.
• Fellows are required to disseminate their research through a 1,200 word article to be edited and published by Hyperallergic in a Special Edition. Article drafts are due July 6, 2026, and final edits are due September 1,  2026. Applicants will maintain rights to their work. Hyperallergic Special Issue will be published in Fall 2026.
• Fellows will participate in a virtual program presented by Center for Craft in September 2026, to include a 5 to 7 minute verbal presentation of their research method and findings and participate in group discussion.
• There is no time requirement for how long the archival visit is (3 days, 2 weeks, etc), as this may depend on cost, size of the collection, permissions, etc. Fellows are not expected to be “in residence” for the full grant period, but rather are expected to conduct their research within that up to 12 month period.

REVIEW PROCESS

Applications will be reviewed first by the Center for Craft for staff for completeness and then evaluated by a panel of jurors through the SlideRoom online application review portal. The panel will consist of three expert jurors, such as scholars, archivists, curators, and artist researchers. 

Jurors free of any conflict of interest will evaluate the applications based on the following criteria: 

• Rigor - Research proposals should thoughtfully, accurately, and strategically contribute to contemporary scholarly dialogue commensurate with the applicant's level of practice.
• Representation - Research foregrounds critical issues in historically non-dominant and underrepresented craft histories and communities. 
• Contribution - Research demonstrates a new, significant, timely contribution to the field of craft. 
• Feasibility. Can this research effectively be conducted within the timeframe and budget? 
  

Consideration in final selection: 

The Center for Craft respects, values, and celebrates the unique attributes, characteristics, and perspectives that make each person who they are. We foster open communication of diverse perspectives and bring a broad range of individuals together to enrich and support programming. Ultimately we will ask the Selection Panel to identify a set of recipients representing a range of scholars, such as independent, artist, and emerging to established researchers, diversity, geographies, materials, approaches, and underrepresented histories.

HOW TO APPLY

Deadline

The 2025 Craft Archive Fellowship application must be submitted via SlideRoom no later than 11:59 pm ET on May 20, 2025. Notification of awards will be released by the end of August 2025 for a grant period beginning September 1, 2025. The grant period will be completed on September 30, 2026.  Fellows will present their resulting research in a Special Edition article published by Hyperallergic and a Center for Craft virtual public program in September 2026.  

Notification

Notification of the results will be sent via email in by the end of August 2025, with a start date of September 1, 2025. The email address listed on the application form will be used to send out notifications. Please be sure that it is a valid email account that you check regularly.

How to Apply

Applicants must apply using the online application program SlideRoom at https://centerforcraft.slideroom.com/#/Login. Applicants will not be required to pay an application fee. Please review the sample application below before beginning your application. All applicants should create a login to be able to partially complete the form and return to finish it at a later date. Before submitting your application, you will be directed to a confirmation page where you can review your form and return to edit or delete your uploaded files as needed. Your application can not be accessed once submitted. Applicants will receive a confirmation email once the application form has been successfully submitted. A virtual application information session will be held on April 7, 2025. The information session will be recorded and available on the Center for Craft website.

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2025 Craft Archive Fellowship - SAMPLE APPLICATION 

This is only a sample application. All applications must be completed in SlideRoom. ‍

Proposal to be submitted via SlideRoom as follows: 

Demographic Survey

The Center for Craft is committed to diversifying our audiences and to providing equitable and accessible programming – in order to do so, we need to know who our audiences are. Additionally, many of our funders ask that we report on the demographics of our audiences. Please note that the data from the demographics section will only be used anonymously for grant writing and reporting. Completion of this survey will in no way affect your application. If you are applying as a collaborative or organization please select the option “Not applicable.” You must complete the form, however, you may answer each question with the "prefer not to answer" option. Thank you.

1. Which age group best describes you?
2. Which of the following best describes your gender identity? (Select all that apply)
3. Do you identify as LGBTQIA+?
4. Which of the following best describes your race/ethnicity? (Select all that apply)
5. What is your total annual household income?
6. Do you have a disability? (such as a physical disability, a cognitive or learning disability, sensory impairment, Autism Spectrum Disorder, or mental illness)
7. If you have a disability and feel comfortable sharing, how would you describe your disability, and what accommodations would be most useful to you? (If you do not identify as having a disability, are applying on behalf of an organization or collective, or prefer not to answer, please enter N/A) Note: your response to this question will be used to help us make decisions about where to invest resources in staff training and accommodations to make our grant programs more accessible. As with all questions in this survey, your response will remain anonymous and confidential.
   
   1. [Open ended response - 500 character max]
8. What is the highest level of schooling you have completed or the highest degree you have completed? If currently enrolled, mark the highest level/degree already received.
9. Recognizing the limitations of check-box demographics surveys, is there anything you would like to tell us about your identity and/or the communities you belong to that the survey did not capture? (optional)
   
   1. [Open-ended response - 500 character max]
10. Which of the following do you most identify with? (select all that apply)

Cover sheet

1. Applicant name(s)
2. Your personal and/or project specific website(s)
3. Are you over the of 21 (yes or no)
4. Are you able to receive income in the United States or U.S. territories taxable by the United States or U.S. territories for the duration of the project period? (yes or no)  
5. Please list up to three of the communities with whom you most frequently work or which you plan to engage through your funded project. You might consider age, skill, materials, identity, sexuality, geographic area, or other characteristics that the people you work with have in common (for example, veterans, refugees, queer communities, youth, textile artists, residents of Western North Carolina, or other groups and communities of practice not mentioned here):
6. How did you learn about this opportunity?
7. Have you previously applied for a Center for Craft grant/fellowship?
8. Please provide a project title.
9. Please provide a short summary of your research proposal (no more than 50 words, 300 character limit)
10. Please provide the name of the archive(s) you wish to conduct research in?

Application

1. (Project Description) Describe your research project. How will it advance underrepresented craft histories? (500 words or less/ 3,000 character limit):

• Research question(s) and relevance to the advancement of craft in the United States
• Research methodology - What is your ideological framework

2. What archive(s) do you intend to study? What collections or materials are housed there and how will they advance your project?
3. How do you relate to your area of study? Please describe your community-engaged experience over time.  (500 words or less/ 3,000 character limit)
4. Timeline and schedule for completing the project. Fellowship begins September 1, 2025. The grant period ends on September 30, 2026.
5. Please complete a budget expense form for your proposal (form provided in SlideRoom).
6. Optional Media Attachment: Up to 5 work samples. A page for image/s that complement or add clarity to the proposal

Allowed Media Types:

• Images (up to 5MB each)
• Video (up to 250MB each)
• Audio (up to 30MB each)
• PDFs (up to 10MB each)
• External media from YouTube, Vimeo, and SoundCloud Only

You have the option of uploading any combination of images or video links (from hosting sites such as Vimeo, Flickr, or YouTube.) During the review process, only the first 2 minutes of each video sample, so please edit your materials accordingly. Images should be in a JPEG format no larger than 1600 pixels on any side @ 300 dpi. Name each jpeg file with “Last NameImageTitleNumber.jpg,” i.e., “SmithUntitled1.jpg”, “SmithUnititled2.jpg” etc. Each uploaded image or video link must be accompanied by a corresponding image description (up to 50 words). Please include title, date, medium, size, and a short description of each uploaded image or media file.

FAQs 

If I win, will I have to pay taxes on my award?

Yes, all cash funding is taxable income.

May I mail a hard copy of my application materials to the Center for Craft’s office?  

No, hard copy submissions will not be accepted. The application must be completed and submitted through SlideRoom.  

Can I work on my application and return to complete it at a later date?

Yes, creating a login account will enable you to complete the form in several online sessions.  

I just submitted my application, but I want to return to it and make an edit. Is this possible?

No, once your application is submitted, you will not be able to return to the form or change any submitted information. The application fee must also be paid when submitting your application, as you will not be able to log in again to access the payment page again.

I am a student. Am I eligible to apply?

Yes

I work for an institution, organization, or 501c3; however, I am applying as an individual and conducting research independent from the institution, organization, or 501c3 I work for. Am I eligible to apply?

Yes.

I have previously received a Center for Craft grant. Am I eligible to apply?

Yes

I have previously received a Center for Craft grant but did not complete the project or am still in the progress of completing the project I was funded.  Am I eligible to apply?

No

If awarded, can I use the funds to archive my own work/practice?

No

Are applicants responsible for obtaining copyrights to documents, images, manuscripts included in their research?

Yes

Collaboratives are welcome to apply. There must be one fiduciary agent for the group or one person who will receive the award funds as this person will be responsible for paying taxes on the award amount funded.

Who can I contact with questions?

For any questions, please contact Mellanee Goodman, Program Manager - Research & Ideas, at mgoodman@centerforcraft.org or call (828) 785 - 1357 ext. 103.

About our Program Partner

Hyperallergic is a leading voice in arts publishing, offering contemporary perspectives that “challenge the art world status quo.” With over 1 million unique visitors per month, working with Hyperallergic expands the impact of the research to a broader arts audience. The Center for Craft is partnering with Hyperallergic to feature up to 6 Center for Craft Archive Fellow’s research in a special edition of Hyperallergic's newsletter in Winter 2025. Thus ensuring the grantees' research is not only accomplished but free to access online and easily searchable for future researchers. This strategic partnership draws on the strengths of each organization in order to decrease physical and economic barriers to archival research, tell more accurate craft histories, and raise the visibility and appreciation of craft scholarship in the United States.