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2012 McKnight Artist Fellowships for Ceramic Artists 

The McKnight Artist Fellowships for Ceramic Artists Program is designed to strengthen and enhance Minnesota’s artistic community by providing recognition and direct financial support for mid-career ceramic artists. The Fellowships are intended to significantly advance the work of Minnesota ceramic artists whose work is of exceptional artistic merit, who have already proven their abilities, and are at a career stage that is beyond emerging. Two grants of $25,000 each will be awarded annually. Awards may be used for, but are not limited to, supplementing living or travel costs, purchasing materials and equipment, experimenting with new materials and techniques, and collaborating with other artists. Fellowship recipients will be featured in a catalogue and group exhibition at Northern Clay Center. Recipients are required to submit a final report at the end of the grant period.

This program is made possible by the generous support of The McKnight Foundation, Minneapolis.

 

Eligibility

• You must be a resident of Minnesota and have lived in the state for at least one year immediately prior to the application deadline.
• You must retain residency in Minnesota until the end of the grant period.
• You must be a ceramic artist. Your work may be either functional or sculptural. Your work may incorporate other materials, but must be primarily ceramic.
• You must have completed all formal academic training and may not be enrolled either full-time or part-time in school.
• You must provide evidence of your professional achievements over a period of at least five years, through inclusion in major regional or national museum or gallery exhibitions, or juried or invitational craft shows, or receipt of other awards, grants, or fellowships.
• Your work must demonstrate a sustained level of accomplishment, commitment, and excellence.
• You may apply to only one of the organizations per year offering fellowship grants that are supported by McKnight funds.
• Artists who have previously received an NCC McKnight Artist Fellowship award in any discipline cannot apply again until three years after the date of their award. (A 2011 award recipient cannot apply again until the 2014 grant cycle.)
• Fellowship staff from any McKnight Artist Fellowship program are not eligible.
• Northern Clay Center staff and board are not eligible, as well as immediate family members of Northern Clay Center staff.
• Staff and board of The McKnight Foundation are not eligible, as well as immediate family members of foundation arts program staff.

Schedule

Comleted application forms and application materials must be received at Northern Clay Center in hard copy by 5 pm on Friday, April 20, 2012. THIS IS NOT A POSTMARK DEADLINE. No faxed, e-mailed or late applications will be accepted. For more information, please contact NCC at 612.339.8007.

Applications will be reviewed by a three-member panel, who will select recipients on the basis of perceived artistic excellence and demonstrated professional achievement, using proposed fellowship plans as support material. Applicants will be notified of the outcome of the selection process in May 2012.

Application Process

You must submit the following materials. Incomplete applications will not be reviewed.

• A completed application form.
• A disc with 10 digital images and a printed copy of a corresponding image list. (Discs will not be returned.) The image list must include artist name, date of work, dimensions of work, medium, and image orientation. Please see Submitting Digital Images for additional information. Digital images should be saved in JPEG format at 96 ppi with the image’s longest dimension not exceeding 1024 pixels. Image files should be labeled with last name, first initial, and numbers, indicating your preferred viewing order (example: doej1.jpg). Do not include any other information in the file name.
• A current resume (maximum of five 8 1/2" x 11" pages), with your name at the top of each page.
• An artist statement (maximum of two 8 1/2" x 11" pages), with your name at the top of each page.
• Two or three actual pieces representative of current work. (Applicants are responsible for delivering or sending the work to NCC and for picking it up, or return shipping, after the review is complete. All materials to be reviewed by the panel must be received by the Center no later than April 22, 2011, by 5 pm. Ceramic works can be retrieved between May 17 and May 20, 2011.)

Please join us on January 9 from 6 to 7 pm for an informational session on all NCC-administered grants.

 

McKnight Fellowship Application (56KB PDF)

2011 McKnight Fellowship Artists

Northern Clay Center congratulates the recipients of the 2011 McKnight Artist Fellowships for Ceramic Artists. Recipients of $25,000 fellowship awards for Minnesota artists are Gerard Justin Ferrari, La Crescent, and Mika Negishi Laidlaw, Mankato.

Each will present a public workshop his/her fellowship. As part of the grant, the Clay Center will present a group exhibition of the work completed during the McKnight Fellowship year.

This program, sponsored by The McKnight Foundation in Minneapolis, Minnesota, reflects the Foundation's interest in supporting outstanding individual ceramic artists who have already proven their abilities and are at a career stage that is beyond emerging. This is the 14th year of the program. Two fellowship grants and four residency grants are awarded annually.

The next deadline for applications will be Friday, April 20, 2012 by 5 pm (THIS IS NOT A POSTMARK DEADLINE).