Shaker brooms and brushes at Hancock Shaker Village, Pittsfield, MA; Photo courtesy of Cate O'Connell-Richards
Grant goals
To encourage innovative research on critical issues in craft theory and history
To investigate neglected questions on craft history and criticism
To support new cross-disciplinary approaches to scholarship in craft
The Craft Research Fund was created to encourage, expand and support craft research in the United States.
Proposals are welcome from applicants including but not limited to organizations, curators, artist-researchers, independent and academic researchers, and scholars.
Applicants must be:
Applicants cannot be:
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.
What is Craft?
The Center for Craft defines craft as a particular approach to making with a strong connection to materials, skill, and process. Artists, makers, scholars, and curators continue to grow the field, embracing new definitions, technologies, and ideas while honoring craft's history and relationship to the handmade.
Craft, in all its forms, demonstrates creativity, ingenuity, and practical intelligence. It contributes to the economic and social wellbeing of communities, connects us to our cultural histories, and is integral to building a sustainable future.
Examples of scholarly craft research might include:
USE OF FUNDS
Funded research must be completed within the designated timeline as proposed in the recipient application. Incomplete projects will result in the awardee having to rescind funds. Awardees will not be eligible to apply for a Center for Craft grant or fellowship opportunity in the future if the project remains incomplete.
Seventy percent (70%) of the grant funds will be distributed upon the return of a signed grant agreement form between the Center for Craft and the recipient and receipt of the recipient’s W9.
Thirty percent (30%) of the grant funds will be distributed upon receipt of the recipient's final report and two copies of any publication produced as a result of the research grant award. Research and final reports must be completed in 18 months, with a deadline of August 30, 2026. If there is no publication, then applicants must provide a copy of the completed research in full. The final report should include:
Recipients will acknowledge support from the Center for Craft by including the tag “This research was supported by a Craft Research Fund grant from the Center for Craft” in any publications or presentations resulting from the grant.
Proposals will be reviewed by the Center for Craft staff for completeness and evaluated by an outside review panel, who are recognized craft scholars, researchers, and/or curators, free of any conflict of interest, based on the following criteria:
The Center for Craft reserves the right to limit support of a project to a particular portion(s) or cost(s).
Considerations 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 compose a set of recipients deserving of further recognition while prioritizing diversity, both in and outside of academia, and representing a range of geographies, materials, and communities served.
Priority will be given to applicants whose research and proposed research outcomes address underrepresentation in craft.
GRANT ORIENTATION: A virtual application information session will be held on Wednesday, August 14, 2024, from 5:00 to - 6:00 pm ET. The information session recording will be available on the Craft Research Fund Grant webpage located on the Center for Craft website.
DEADLINE: Applications for the 2025 Craft Research Fund must be submitted via SlideRoom no later than 11:59 pm ET on October 4, 2024. Free to apply.
NOTIFICATION: Notification of the results will be sent via email in December 2024. The grant period will begin on January 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 account that you check regularly.
HOW TO APPLY: Applicants must apply using the online application program SlideRoom at http://www.centerforcraft.slideroom.com. Please review the sample application below before beginning your application.
All applicants should create a SlideRoom account to begin the application. Before submitting your application, you will be directed to a confirmation page where you will be able to review your form and return to edit or delete your uploaded files as needed. Once you submit your application, you will not be able to access your form again. Applicants will receive a confirmation email once the application form has been successfully submitted.
SAMPLE APPLICATION
2025 Craft Research Fund – Project Grant
This is only a sample application, all applications must be completed in SlideRoom.
Demographic Survey
The Center for Craft recognizes that demographic data is a limited way of understanding who is applying to our grant programs. However, it's also an important piece of the puzzle when it comes to developing equitable and accessible programs, and many of our funders require that we collect this information.
Please note that demographic data will remain anonymous, will in no way affect your application, and will only be used for grant writing and reporting purposes. While completion of this form is required, you may answer any of the questions with the "Prefer not to answer" option. If you are applying as a collaborative or organization, please select the option “Not applicable.” Thank you.
Cover Sheet
Application
Examples of income:
8. Budget Expense Form (provided in SlideRoom). Please list no more than 15 items. The minimum budget requests should be $5,000; the maximum budget request should be $15,000. Projects may exceed $15,000 if other support is listed in the budget.
Expense Examples:
9. Budget Narrative. Please provide a narrative for any budget items that require
Where can I find information about previous recipients of the Craft Research Fund Grant?
Check out our online Grant Recipient Archive here. You can sort by grant opportunity by searching “Craft Research Fund” in the search Filter.
What is the final deadline for submitting my online application form?
Applications for the 2025 Craft Research Fund must be submitted via SlideRoom no later than 11:59 pm ET on October 4, 2024.
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 at the time of submitting your application as you will not be able to log-in again to access the payment page again.
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 for. Am I eligible to apply?
No
Are applicants responsible for obtaining copyrights to documents, images, and manuscripts included in their research?
Yes
Are collaboratives allowed to apply?
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, Grant Program Manager - Research & Ideas, at [email protected] or call (828) 785 - 1357 ext. 103.
recipients
The Center for Craft is pleased to announce the recipients of 2024 Craft Research Fund Grants. This year five scholars and artists will receive a total of $38,500 to support craft-centered research, publications, and projects in the United States.
Karen Baker
$9,500
African-American textile and fiber artists and designers have been underrepresented despite their many contributions to textile design history. This research project will highlight their important contributions from 1800 to 1909.
LEARN MOREJacqueline Bishop
$9,500
This research will focus on the history of silk-making on South Carolina plantations by enslaved individuals that have been obscured but not erased.
LEARN MOREKira Dominguez Hultgren
$5,000
This project will focus on a constructed history of contemporary Chicanx weaving that intersects the U.S. fiber movement from the 1960s to the present, and an engagement with the absence of Chicanx weaving in U.S. craft and Latinx art histories.
LEARN MOREStacey Mitchell
$9,500
This project will research and record the process and techniques of Fancy Basket making, to help preserve this ancestral tradition for the future
LEARN MORECate O'Connell-Richards
$5,000
This project will compile the memories, facts, and perspectives on the development of American broom making into an understandable social history. A long-form article will be written as well as two free, public handouts that use fieldwork, interviews/oral histories, and personal research.
LEARN MOREclose
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