ELIGIBILITY 

Proposals are welcome from mid-career craft artists who teach. For the purpose of this grant, the Center for Craft defines a teaching artist as a practicing craft artist and/or maker who utilizes their skillsets and sensibilities to integrate their work and perspectives into a wide range of settings. Teaching artists effectively guide, educate, and engage varying audiences to foster an enriching experience with the handmade and make connections to materials, form, functionality, and processes. This definition was informed by the essay What is a Teaching Artist? by Eric Booth and the Wikipedia article Teaching Artist.

Proposals must be timely, meaning applicants are in a prime position to benefit from this opportunity. Applicants should demonstrate evidence of a continued practice within the craft field, including a practice as a craft artist and educator. Artists working in tenured or tenure-track positions may not apply. Funding for the Teaching Artist Cohort is geared toward artists and/ or makers whose practice includes community engagement, experience as adjunct faculty, workshop facilitator/instructors, visiting artists, museum education, instructors, and/ or lecturers. 

Applicants must be: 

• 21 years of age or older 
• Eligible to receive taxable income in the U.S. 
• Residing and working in the U.S. for the last two years and the duration of the Fellowship period
• Have a continued full time studio practice for a minimum of five years and work as a teaching artist for a minimum of three years

 Applicants cannot be: 

• Tenured faculty at a college or university
• Tenure-track position at a college or university 
• Collectives, groups, partnerships 
• 2022 Career Advancement Grant recipients 
• 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 
  

Priority will be given to applicants who have not been previously awarded a Center for Craft grant or fellowship. 

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. The Center encourages applications from historically underrepresented populations. Applying does not constitute a promise or guarantee of being awarded a grant.

TEACHING ARTIST COHORT 

A leading component of the Teaching Artist Cohort is to support a diverse cohort of mid-career artists with varying practices and career aspirations. Ideally, awards will be given to a dynamic group of craft artists whose practice includes working as teaching artists in the schools, non-tenured educators, adjunct instructors, visiting artists, museum educators, and community and workshop instructors.

REQUIREMENTS OF TEACHING ARTIST COHORT

• The entire $10,000 grant will be awarded upon mutual completion of the grant agreement and receipt of the recipient’s W9.
• Recipients will participate in creating a Teaching Artist Resource Kit to be completed by the culmination of the grant period’s end, September 1, 2023. More information about the Teaching Artist Resource Kit will be provided upon receipt of the Teaching Artist Cohort award. 
• Grant permission for the Center for Craft to use the language and images from the recipient's application, including high-resolution images that the recipient may want to provide in press releases, social media, and/or reports of work by recipients of the Teaching Artist Cohort. 
• Recipients will be required to participate in the 8-month cohort experience by attending at least 80% of the monthly virtual workshops and cohort convenings. Workshops and cohort convenings will take place from February 1, 2023, to September 1, 2023. Each workshop and convening will last between 60 - 90 minutes. More information about the workshops and convenings will be provided upon receipt of the Teaching Artist Cohort award. 
• Recipients agree to conduct a follow-up interview and survey about their experience as a Teaching Artist Cohort recipient within four to six months of the grant period’s end, Septeber 2023.      

Recipients must acknowledge support from the Center for Craft by: 

• including the tag: “Center for Craft Teaching Artist Cohort Grant Recipient” in their email signature, website, and/or social media page for the duration of the Fellowship Period
• any creation of work resulting from the grant carries the Center for Craft’s logo or credit line: “This was supported by a Center for Craft Teaching Artist Cohort"

CRITERIA/REVIEW PROCESS

Applications will be reviewed by staff of the Center for Craft for completeness and then evaluated by a selection panel through the SlideRoom online application review portal. The panel will consist of four people recognized as craft-informed experts working across sectors, such as administrators, educators, artists, and creative catalysts. Panelists free of any conflict of interest will evaluate the applications based on the following criteria: 

• Evidence of a continued practice within the craft field that includes a practice as an artist and educator
• Timeliness within the artist’s career trajectory and demonstrated financial need or other not specified 
• Artistic merit and/or quality of work samples
  

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 prioritizing diversity, representing a range of geographies, materials, practices, and types of artist-educators. Priority will be given to applicants who have not received a Center for Craft grant.

‍HOW TO APPLY 

Application Information Session 

A virtual application information session will be held on October 11, 2022. The information session recording will be made available on the Center for Craft website.

Deadline 

The Teaching Artist Cohort application must be submitted via SlideRoom no later than 11:59 pm ET on November 30, 2022. Notification of awards will be released by the end of January 2023, for a grant period beginning February 1, 2023. The grant period will be completed on September 1, 2023.      

Notification 

Notification of the results will be sent via email by the end of January 2023 for a start date of February 1, 2022. 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 October 11, 2022, from 4 - 5 pm ET. 

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Teaching Artist Cohort - 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

Please note that the data from the demographics section will only be used anonymously for grant writing and reporting and as part of an overall understanding of who the Center for Craft serves. Center for Craft has and upholds an organizational nondiscrimination policy. Completion

This survey will in no way affect your application. You must complete the form; however, you may answer each question with the “prefer not to answer” option. Thank you.

• What is your age?
• Do you identify as LGBTQ+?
• Do you identify as Latinx/Hispanic? 
• What category best describes your race?
• How did you learn about this opportunity?
• Have you previously applied for a Center for Craft grant/fellowship?
  

Cover sheet 

1. Applicant name 
2. Online portfolio or artist website 
3. 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)  
4. Do you self-identify as a mid-career artist? (yes or no)
5. How long have you had a full studio practice and worked as a teaching artist?
6. If you currently work for an institution, organization, or community space, what is your current position (select all that apply): Contract position, Part-time, Full-time, Adjunct, Other
7. How did you learn about this opportunity?
8. Have you previously applied for a Center for Craft grant/fellowship?
   

Application

1. Currently, what portion of your practice is dedicated to your artistic practice? What portion of your practice is dedicated to teaching? (up to 250 words)
2. Please describe your creative process and how that translates into the classroom (up to 450 words)?
3. Please describe your short and long-term career goals as an artist. How would the Teaching Artist Cohort further your practice as an artist and educator? (up to 450 words)
4. How will the time spent working on developing your artistic practice impact the various communities you engage? (up to 250 words)
5. Please attach a CV of relevant experience (no more than 4 pages). 
6. Up to 15 work samples. Please include title, date, medium, size, and a short explanation for each.  

Allowed Media Types: 

• Images (up to 5MB each) 
• Video (up to 250MB each) 
• Audio (up to 30MB each) 
• PDFs (up to 10MB each)
• 3D Models via Sketchfab 
• External media from YouTube, Vimeo, and SoundCloud 

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 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 

I received a 2022 Career Advancement Grant am I eligible to apply? 

No

I am a student. Am I eligible to apply? 

Yes 

Are collaboratives eligible to apply?

No

Who can I contact with questions? 

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