ELIGIBILITY

• Nominees must be graduating from either a four or two year undergraduate program working in a craft medium
• Nominees must be graduating between December 2025 and August 2026
• Nominees must be able to receive taxable income for the duration of the grant and report this grant as income
• Nominees must be 18 years of age or older
• Nominees must be US citizens or in the process of applying for citizenship

Participating nominating institutions develop the selection process to identify two graduating students who meet the following criteria:

• Student’s work must be informed by craft process, materials, traditions, and/or sensibilities
• Work should demonstrate a balance of content and design, as well as an understanding of materials
• Applicants should demonstrate innovation and curiosity, commitment to growth, and show evidence of how their work will stimulate creative thinking or dialogue among other artists.

Considerations in final selection:

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 under-represented populations.

Submitting an application does not constitute a promise or guarantee of being awarded a fellowship.

FELLOWSHIP REQUIREMENTS

• Seventy percent of the grant will be awarded upon execution of the grant agreement and receipt of the Fellow’s W9.  
• The final thirty percent of the grant will be awarded upon receipt of the Fellow’s final report, including a two-page summary of how the grant funds were spent, projects pursued, and ten high-resolution images of work created or project pursued during the Fellowship. Final report is due April 30, 2027.
• Grant permission for the Center for Craft to use the images from Fellow’s application and final report, or other high-resolution images the Fellow may want to provide, in press releases and/or reports of work by recipients of the Windgate-Lamar Fellowship program.  
• Acknowledge Support by the Windgate-Lamar Fellowship Award administered by the Center for Craft, in any publication or press release during the grant period, and anytime Fellow shows work made through the support of this grant moving forward by including the credit line: “This work was supported by a Center for Craft Windgate-Lamar Fellowship.”
• Attend and participate in all 2026 Windgate-Lamar Fellows Connect virtual convenings.

REVIEW PROCESS

Applications are reviewed by the Center for Craft staff for completeness and evaluated by a panel of jurors using the following criteria:

• Work represented in the ten application images demonstrates a balance of content and design as well as understanding of materials
• Proposal has the ability to advance work that is informed by the craft process, materials, traditions and/or sensibilities
• Proposal demonstrates innovation and curiosity, a commitment to growth of applicant’s own work, and evidence their work might stimulate creative thinking or dialogue among other artists
• Proposal includes a budget and timeline that are feasible

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 and representing a range of geographies and materials.

HOW TO APPLY

Eligible nominees are invited to submit an application through a private submission link. There is a $10 application fee. Applicants may request for the fee to be waived by sending an email to ahelgeson@centerforcraft.org with the text, "Please waive the application fee for my Windgate-Lamar Fellowship application." No additional information is required. To waive your fee, you must first create your SlideRoom portal and access the application through SlideRoom before making the request to waive the fee.

If you are interested in joining our roster of nominating institutions please complete this form: Windgate-Lamar Nominating Institution Form.

Applicants must apply using the online application program SlideRoom using the link provided to nominees by email. The application will open in SlideRoom December 1, 2025.

All applicants should create a login to be able to complete the application forms. Before submitting your application, you will be directed to aconfirmation page where you will be able to review your forms 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.

Application Deadline: 2026 Windgate-Lamar Fellowship applications must be submitted via SlideRoom no later than 11:59pm ET on Monday, February 2, 2026.   

Notification : Notification of the selected fellows will be sent via email in April 2026 for a start date of May 1, 2026. 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.

 SAMPLE APPLICATION - 2026 Windgate-Lamar Fellowship

This is only a sample application; all applications must be completed in SlideRoom and demographic survey completed.

COVER SHEET 

1. Applicant name 
2. Institution/School
3. Online portfolio or your website
4. Please provide an email address that is not linked to your school email address
5. Concentration of study
6. Date of graduation
7. Are you able to receive taxable federal income in the U.S. (or U.S. territories) for the duration of the grant period (through April 2027)? For example, this might look like having a social security number (ITIN for DREAMers) and a US bank account.
8. 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, academic institution, or other characteristics that the people you work with have in common (for example, veterans, refugees, queer communities, youth, textile artists, students, residents of Western North Carolina, or other groups and communities of practice not mentioned here).*

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APPLICATION

1. Please provide an artist statement that includes how your work is informed by craft processes, materials, traditions, and/or sensibilities. Please use no more than 250 words (1,500 characters).
2. How do you plan to use the $15,000 Windgate-Lamar Fellowship Award to advance your practice and artistic development. Please use no more than 250 words (1,500 characters).
3. What impact do you think the Windgate-Lamar Fellowship award will have on your future? What are your career goals and how will this award help you achiveve them? Please use no more than 250 words (1,500 characters).
4. Budget: Please provide a budget that fully outlines the expenses associated with the Windgate-Lamar Fellowship, accounting for the full amount of $15,000. The budget template is included in SlideRoom.  Please list no more than 25 items.

Examples might include: 

• Travel/lodging expenses  
• Residency registration or workshop fees  
• Materials, studio equipment   
• Studio rent 

6. Timeline: Please provide a timeline for the 12 month Windgate-Lamar Fellowship beginning May 1, 2026, and ending April 30, 2027. A template for the timeline is provided in SlideRoom. If you receive an award, 70% of the funds will be released in May 2026 (once terms of the grant agreement are reviewed and agreed to) and the remaining 30% will be released once you have completed the final report (at the end of the 12-month cycle on April 30, 2027).
7. References: Please designate two individuals who support your proposal (e.g., an  advisor, teacher, nominating professor, dean or community member) as  references. References will only be contacted if deemed necessary by the selection panel. 
8. Images: Please submit 10 high quality images or video clips of your work. Good photography is critical. Images should feature your work only and should not be a collage of multiple pieces in one slide. Video clips should be submitted ONLY if they are necessary to demonstrate your work. Each clip should be no longer than 1 minute. All images should include a description to include how the piece was fabricated. SlideRoom allows up to 1,000 characters (about 250 words) to be included in the "Description" box for your work sample uploads.

Allowed Media Types: 

• Images (up to 5MB each)
• Video (up to 250MB each)
• 3D Models via Sketchfab
• External media from YouTube and Vimeo

FAQ

I am a teacher/administrator - how do I become a nominating institution?

If you are interested in joining our roster of nominating institutions please complete this form: Windgate-Lamar Nominating Institution Form

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I'm a student, can I nominate myself for a Windgate-Lamar Fellowship Award?

No, a teacher, advisor or other staff member at your school needs to submit the nomination form. If your school Is not yet on the list of nominating institutions please have a representative from your school complete this form: Windgate-Lamar Nominating Institution Form

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Where can I find information about previous recipients of the Windgate-Lamar Fellowship?

Please visit the Windgate-Lamar Fellowship page on the Center for Craft website.

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What is the final deadline for submitting my online application form?

Applications for a 2026 Windgate-Lamar Fellowship must be submitted via SlideRoom no later than 11:59pm ET on February 2, 2026.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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I can not afford the $10 application fee, can I still apply?

Yes! Applicants may request for the fee to be waived by sending an email to ahelgeson@centerforcraft.org with the text, “Please waive the application fee for my Windgate-Lamar Fellowship application.” No additional information is required. To waive your fee, you must first create your SlideRoom portal and access the application through SlideRoom before making the request to waive the fee. Application fees cannot be waived after applications are submitted.

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I have a question that wasn’t answered. How can I reach the Center for Craft?

If you have any further questions, please contact grants@centerforcraft.org.

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