California Arts Council Individual Artists Fellowship Program (CAC IAF) Central California Region

APPLICATION AND PROGRAM GUIDELINES

Background

This program will support artists at key career stages. It is intended to recognize and increase artists’ capacity for continued contribution to the field and our state. Through unrestricted funding and state-wide recognition as a California Arts Council Artist Fellow, this program is meant to uplift individual artistic practice. Artists and cultural practitioners from all disciplines are eligible to apply, with the intention of supporting diverse geographies and communities. Applications will open on Friday, March 10.

Central California Region Program

The California Arts Council Individual Artists Fellowship Program (CAC IAF) will be statewide, but these application and program guidelines are specifically designed for artists living and working in Central California. The Central California Region grant program is open to artists who live in one of 17 counties across central California: Fresno, Inyo, Kern, Kings, Madera, Mariposa, Merced, Monterey, San Benito, San Luis Obispo, San Mateo, Santa Barbara, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Stanislaus, Tulare, and Ventura.

If you live in one of the counties listed above, you’re in the right place!

Artists residing in other California counties are eligible to apply for the California Arts Council Individual Artist Fellowship Program in their region. For more information, please visit the California Arts Council website.

Fellowship Program Administration

SVCREATES is the Administering Organization for this grant program, working in partnership with the CAC and leadership from local county arts agencies across 17 counties.

To help make this program more accessible, the Central California Region has been divided into 3 micro-regions (see list below). The application and review process for each micro-region will be facilitated separately, through designated Lead Agencies. See How to Apply below for the Lead Agency for your county.

Fellowship Funding Levels

The CAC IAF program identifies three career tiers at which artists may benefit from this support, click below to read detailed descriptions and determine the right tier for you:

Artists in the Legacy tier can point to a significant body of work, produced over a substantial period of time, that has engaged their communities and that has made significant social impact. Artists in this tier may be able to point to Emerging and Established Artists that they have mentored or influenced.

A total of up to 4 awards in this tier will be granted across the 17 county Central California region.

Eligibility

Eligible applicants will:

Be 18 years of age or older at the time of application submission.
Have, at minimum, a two-year history of artistic practice in California.
Reside in one of the following central California counties: Fresno, Inyo, Kern, Kings, Madera, Mariposa, Merced, Monterey, San Benito, San Luis Obispo, San Mateo, Santa Barbara, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Stanislaus, Tulare, Ventura. Eligibility will be determined by your mailing address.
Recipients of the 2021 CAC Individual Artist Fellowship are not eligible to apply.

Review Criteria

Applications from individual artists and culture bearers will be adjudicated by peer review panels based on the following review criteria:

Creative Vision: Artist effectively communicates their personal story, artistic medium or practice, and long-term aspirations for their work.
Aesthetic Excellence: Artistic work and/or examples of cultural practice demonstrate strong alignment with the components of the Attributes of Excellence in Arts for Change, including commitment, communal meaning, disruption, cultural integrity, risk taking, sensory experience, emotional experience, openness, coherence, resourcefulness, and stickiness.
Community Engagement and Social Impact: Artist effectively communicates a practice of meaningful engagement with their community(ies), and the positive social impact their work has had locally, regionally, and/or statewide, addressing themes including but not limited to race, diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility.

Application Requirements

Application requirements include narrative questions, work samples, artist resume/CV and one letter of support.

Describe how you came to be an artist, your traditions or artistic practices, challenges and accomplishments. (500 words max)
Describe the long-term aspirations for your work. How do you hope to grow as an artist? (250 words max)
Who are the specific social or artistic communities/participants/audiences you seek to engage/inspire/impact through your work? What is your connection to these communities and what is your desired impact? (250 words max)
Legacy Artist Applicants only: In what ways, if any, do you support or mentor emerging artists? (250 words max)

Applicants must submit one or more of the following work samples. The work samples should represent your art practice and discipline. You are not required to submit all file types.

Digital images: up to 10 images
Video/Audio Samples: up to 3 video/audio samples, 5-minutes maximum length per sample
Writing sample or music composition/score: maximum 10 pages (your writing sample may include more than one work, e.g. ten one-page poems)

Choose samples that highlight your individual approach and voice as an artist. For example, some artists may wish to present work in chronological order, while for others it can be a disservice. Submit work that you are most passionate about and believe is the strongest.

How to Apply

Applications should be completed online, based on the county where you live and the award category you’re applying for. Follow these steps carefully:

Determine which award category is appropriate for your stage of artistic practice: Emerging, Established, or Legacy.
Determine the Lead Agency serving your county.
Emerging and Established Artist applicants should apply through one of three Lead Agencies, depending on your county of residence and corresponding micro-region.
Legacy Artist applicants ONLY: Legacy applicants from all of the 17 counties in the Central California region should apply through SVCREATES.
- Finalists for the Legacy Artist Fellowship will be required to attend an online interview with the review panel.

Micro-Region 1 - Lead Agency Santa Barbara Office of Arts and Culture
Counties: Kern, Santa Barbara, Ventura, San Luis Obispo
To apply for the Emerging or Established Artist Fellowship, click here.

Micro Region 2 - Lead Agency Fresno Arts Council
Counties: Fresno, Inyo, Kings, Madera, Mariposa, Merced, Stanislaus, Tulare
To apply for the Emerging or Established Artist Fellowship, click here.

Micro Region 3 - Lead Agency San Benito County Arts Council
Counties: Monterey, San Benito, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz
To apply for the Emerging or Established Artist Fellowship, click here.

Legacy Artists Only: SVCREATES will facilitate the application and review process for Legacy Artist applicants from all 17 counties in the Central California Region.
To apply for the Legacy Artist Fellowship, click here.

Application Support

As administrators of this program, we’re here to answer your questions and provide the support you need to complete your application. Application support for each micro-region will be available from the Lead Agencies during the application period. Legacy Artist Fellowship application support for all 17 counties will be available through SVCREATES.

Santa Barbara County Office of Arts and Culture: contact Hannah Rubalcava, Grants and Contracts Manager, hannah@sbac.ca.gov, 805-568-3990
Fresno Arts Council: contact Eric Martinez, Program Coordinator, eric@fresnoartscouncil.org, 559-237-9734
San Benito County Arts Council: contact Heidi Jumper, Director of Marketing & Outreach heidi@sanbenitoarts.org
Legacy Artist Fellowship: contact Alyssa Erickson, Program Manager, SVCREATES, alyssae@svcreates.org

Language Accommodation
CAC IAF Program Guidelines are available in Spanish here. However, applications must be submitted in English. If you need application support in a language other than English, please contact the Lead Agency for your county at the contacts listed above.

Review Panel Selection

Each panel will consist of artists, arts leaders and culture bearers, and community members with arts and culture expertise who reside within one of the counties in the applicant’s micro-region. Panels will represent a range of diversity in artistic disciplines, cultural competencies, geographies, gender identities, and generations.

Panelists will review each application and score it based on the Review Criteria listed above. Panelists will then meet online to discuss and rank applications based on scores. Panel meetings are NOT open to the public.

Grantee Requirements

Fellowship recipients will be required to:

Submit a W-9 form with their Social Security Number or Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN) for payment purposes
Submit a brief report on the impact of the award after the conclusion of the Fellowship term (August 31, 2024)
Attend one online or in person convening of 2023 Fellows during the grant period
Provide, as available, links to artist website or social media for promotion of artist’s work

Timeline

Application Opens: March 10, 2023
Application Deadline: May 5, 2023 at 5:00 pm
Panel Review period: June - July, 2023
Panel Interviews of Legacy Finalists: mid July
Award Notification: August 2023
Fellowship Term: September 1, 2023 - August 31, 2024
Fellows Final Report Due: October 15, 2024

Our Partners

Applications Open March 10, 2023

Applicant Webinar:
View recordings from the Informational Webinar.

See How to Apply for links to the application in your micro-region.

See Application Support for contacts in your micro-region.

Language Accommodation
CAC IAF Program Guidelines are available in Spanish here. However, applications must be submitted in English. If you need application support in a language other than English, see Application Support in the guidelines to the left.

Download a PDF of these Program Guidelines

FAQs

Key Dates:
Application Opens: March 10, 2023
Application Deadline: May 5, 2023 at 5pm
Award Notification: August 2023