Apply now! The 2023 New Jersey State Council on the Arts Individual Artist Fellowship guidelines and application are now available. Fellowships are awarded to practicing New Jersey artists through an anonymous, competitive application process to help them pursue their artistic goals.

NEW THIS YEAR

The State Arts Council is pleased to shift to a new, two-year category rotation schedule. Previously, each category was offered once every three years. Eligible applicants will now have the opportunity to apply to the Fellowships program more regularly. 

Categories offered for the 2023 Fellowships are:

• Choreography
• Crafts
• Music Composition
• Photography
• Poetry
• Playwriting / Screenwriting
• Sculpture

Grant Amounts

Fellowship awards have ranged in the past from $4,000 - $26,500. The amount of the award is determined annually by the State Arts Council based on funding provided through the New Jersey Hotel/Motel tax. Fellowships are awarded to applicants who demonstrate the highest artistic talent, with no cap or quota per artistic discipline. In 2022, from of a total of 512 eligible applications, 85 Fellowships were awarded in four categories. Grant awards totaled $824,950. Awards are issued pending the availability of funds. 

The Fellowship application review process remains anonymous and unchanged. As always, awards will be decided based solely on artistic excellence as determined by a panel of specialists in a specific discipline.

Program guidelines, a link to the online application, webinar registration links, and other application assistance resources are available on the Mid Atlantic Arts website.

The deadline for 2023 applications is 5:00 PM ET on July 14, 2022.

Guidelines are available in both English and Spanish.

Application Assistance Is Available

Mid Atlantic Arts, in coordination with the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, offers application assistance webinars for prospective Fellowship applicants. Applicants will receive an overview of guideline requirements and step-by-step instructions on how to use the SmartSimple application system.

Check out our Quick Start Video for a 101 introduction to the SmartSimple application system, or sign up for an Application Assistance Webinar for a more in depth tutorial.

The application submission, review, and post-award process for the Individual Artist Fellowships is administered by Mid Atlantic Arts in partnership with the New Jersey State Council on the Arts.

The New Jersey State Council on the Arts, created in 1966, is a division of the NJ Department of State. The Council was established to encourage and foster public interest in the arts; enlarge public and private resources devoted to the arts; promote freedom of expression in the arts; and facilitate the inclusion of art in every public building in New Jersey. The Council receives direct appropriations from the State of New Jersey through a dedicated, renewable Hotel/Motel Occupancy fee, as well as competitive grants from the National Endowment for the Arts. To learn more about the Council, please visit www.artscouncil.nj.gov.  

Mid Atlantic Arts was established in 1979 to promote and support multi-state arts programming in a region that includes Delaware, the District of Columbia, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Virginia, and West Virginia. It is one of six regional arts organizations in the United States, and works in close partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts and its member state and jurisdictional arts agencies. Mid Atlantic Arts distinguishes itself through its work in international cultural exchange, model programs in performing arts touring, its knowledge and presence in the jazz field, and its support of folk and traditional arts. Learn more at midatlanticarts.org.