Youth Speaks has been selected to administer the California Arts Council’s Individual Artist Fellowship Program, which will regrant $740,000 among 35 California-based individual artists and culture bearers at the intersection of culture, ancestral and Indigenous practices, and multi-racial movement work.
As the Administering Agency, Youth Speaks will administer an application, review process, and professional development program for this region.
The Individual Artist Fellowship provides unrestricted funding and state-wide recognition to California artists at key moments in their careers, elevating their capacity for continued contributions to the field and our state.
Fellowship Webinar
In English
En Espanol
Program Timeline
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Application Opens |
August 7, 2023, at 1pm pst |
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Application Webinarsﾠ Closed Caption Spanish Translation |
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Application Closes |
September 30, 2023, at 11:59pm pst |
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Panel Review & Notification |
October 1 - October 30, 2023ﾠ |
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Fellowship Announcementﾠ |
November 1, 2023 |
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Fellowship Duration |
November 1, 2023 - September 30, 2024 |
Grant Guidelines
Deadline: September 30, 2023, at 11:59pm Pacific Time
Grant Awards Range from $5,000 – $50,000
For Artists who reside in Region IV of California
Fellowship Period: November 1, 2023 – October 31, 2024
Region IV includes the following 35 Counties:
Alameda, Alpine, Amador, Butte, Calaveras, Colusa, Contra Costa, Del Norte, El Dorado, Glenn, Humboldt, Lake, Lassen, Marin, Mendocino, Modoc, Mono, Napa, Nevada, Placer, Plumas, Sacramento, San Francisco, San Joaquin, Shasta, Sierra, Siskiyou, Solano, Sonoma, Sutter, Tehama, Trinity, Tuolumne, Yolo, and Yuba counties.
Why is this program being offered?
With few opportunities for individual artists to apply for funding, and even fewer for their achievements to be recognized, the California Arts Council has created this program as a way to celebrate the state’s artists and culture bearers.
Purpose: What is the intended impact of this program?
The Individual Artists Fellowship (IAF) program will recognize, uplift, and celebrate the excellence of California artists and culture bearers practicing any art form with unrestricted grants.
This program will support artists' and culture bearers' individual artistic practices at key moments in their careers, elevating their capacity for continued contribution to the field and our state through unrestricted funding.
This program is intended to support a broad spectrum of artists working in all disciplines, from diverse geographies and communities of all sizes across Region IV of the state of California.
Excellence, for purposes of this grant, is defined as an artist’s:
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Unique artistic vision
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Ongoing commitment to creative practice
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Engagement with and impact on the larger cultural ecosystem
The grant program identifies three career tiers at which artists may benefit from this support:
- Individuals may submit an application in one career tier only.
- The judging panel may shift an applicant to an alternate tier during the review process if it is believed that reclassification would make them more competitive.
- Fellowship grants support individual artistic practice through unrestricted funding.
- Awards will be funded at the full dollar amount for each tier; partial awards will not be made.
- This grant is not intended to support artist groups or collectives.
As an additional means of recognizing and elevating Artist Fellows, convenings (in-person or virtual) will be held so they may engage with one another and be celebrated publicly for their distinction as California Artist Fellows.
Eligibility Requirements
California-based artists and culture bearers, 18 years of age and older, working in any artistic discipline, whose residential address is in the area designated as Region IV, are eligible to apply. Artists residing in or primarily working in other areas of California are eligible to apply for the Individual Artist Fellowship Program in their region. For more information, please visit https://arts.ca.gov/.
Please note recipients of the 2021 California Arts Council Individual Artist Fellowship are not eligible to apply.
Applicants must comply with the requirements below. All applications must include the listed items at the time of submission in order to be considered.
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Artist’s Narrative: Applicants must provide a brief description of their background and focus.
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Questions on Artistic Process: Applicants must provide short written answers to the following questions.
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Describe how you engage your local community in your art-making. How does your art practice include social/cultural change practice?
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How would these funds support you and your arts practice? What impact will this fellowship make in your artistic career?
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Work Samples: Applicants must provide three work samples that represent their art practice and discipline. Multiple mediums and all file types are accepted. Please see our FAQs for more information on work sample parameters.
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Support materials such as press materials, flyers, brochures, programs, newsletters, and/or other marketing pieces are also accepted.
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More recent materials are preferred; however, we recognize that COVID-19 has impacted the amount of work created in the past three years.
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Resume or Curriculum Vitae (CV) (1 Page): Applicants must supply a resume or curriculum vitae (CV). Resume may include significant awards and training, selected exhibitions, performances, installations, presentations, community recognition and/or publications. If possible, please include the city, state, and country (if outside the U.S.)
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1 Letter of support or testimonial (1 Page): Applicants must provide a written signed statement from an individual or organization familiar with the applicant and their body of work. The statement should speak on the artist’s practice, relevance, and impact in their community. The letter must include the writer’s name, title, and contact information.
Online Application
Applications will be available online through Youth Speaks Submittable page. Only complete applications submitted by September 30, 2023, at 11:59pm pst will be accepted. Please make sure you select the submit button when you are ready to submit your application for review.
You will need to create an account through Submittable in order to access the application. You do not have to create a new account if you already have a submittable account. Submittable will automatically save your progress and allow you to continue making edits until you submit your application.
The application may take you at least a few hours to complete if not more.
Application Review Criteria
Applications will be reviewed by Youth Speaks and panel members from various parts of California selected by Youth Speaks. Applications will be reviewed based on the following review criteria:
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Creative Vision: Artist effectively communicates their personal story, artistic medium or practice, and long-term aspirations for their work.
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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.
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Community Engagement and Social Impact: Artists effectively communicate their 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.
Panel Adjudication and Ranking Scale
Panelists will review and rank applications, identifying final cohorts at each tier that represents the diversity of Region IV’s arts landscape and geography. The following 100-point scale will be used, with 100 being the highest score:
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100-90 points |
Exemplary. Meets all of the review criteria to the highest degree. A model for field or discipline with essentially no weaknesses. |
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89-80 points |
Outstanding. Very strong with some minor weaknesses. Meets the review criteria to a high degree. |
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79-70 points |
Good. Strong but with numerous minor weaknesses. Meets the review criteria to some degree. |
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69 points & below |
Marginal. Very few strengths and some major weaknesses. The review criteria is only marginally satisfied. |
Grantee Requirements
Awarded grantees must comply with all requirements as stipulated in the grant agreement, including but not limited to the following:
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Complete contract documents - Upon notification of grant award, complete all required contract documents in order to receive 100% grant payment.
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Consistent activities - Maintain communication with Youth Speaks throughout the duration of the fellowship and participate in program activities as scheduled by Youth Speaks.
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Thank you letters - To better inform our elected representatives as to the value of the arts and the use of state funds, grantees are required to include—with the approved grant agreement— copies of signed letters sent to the Governor and state Senate and Assembly representatives thanking them for the grant. Local representatives may be found at this link: http://findyourrep.legislature.ca.gov.
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Final Report – a one-page narrative telling the story of what your fellowship meant to you and your community.
Language Accommodation
Applications must be submitted in English. Large print is available upon request. Our Webinars will be provided in Spanish and English with Closed Captioning. People who are Deaf, Hard of Hearing, Deaf-Blind, or have difficulty speaking may dial 711 to reach the California Relay Service (CRS). If you need any other accommodations or assistance please contact us at powerlab@youthspeaks.org.
Linked you will find a Spanish copy of the Program Guidelines , FAQs, and the Application, however, please note applications must be submitted in English.
Additional Support & Questions
Youth Speaks staff is available to offer guidance and clarification in preparing your application. Register and attend our informational webinars or email your questions to powerlab@youthspeaks.org. You are also encouraged to attend our group office hours.
Group Office Hours: Starting August 9 - September 27, 2023, on Wednesdays from 1:00pm- 2:00pm pst. Please sign up for Office Hours here.
Lead Contact: Perla Barraza, Project Manager Narrative Change and Applied Stories, powerlab@youthspeaks.org
FAQ
FAQ en Español
Culture bearers or cultural practitioners include sustainers of indigenous and other cultures’ traditional rituals. Their art practice is intergenerational and aims to preserve and share ancestral knowledge through healing, dancing, crafting, making, storytelling, and/or other forms of art and ritual.
Artists may include but are not limited to those engaging in all creative disciplines. In the visual arts, this includes not only painters, sculptors, and illustrators, but also graphic designers, photographers, videographers, filmmakers, and digital media, and crafts. Literary arts include but are not limited to writers of fiction and non-fiction, playwrights and screenwriters, poets, and lyricists. Performing arts includes but is not limited to actors, dancers, and musicians, but also directors, choreographers, conductors, and designers (scenic, lighting, sound, costume, props). Culinary arts may include but are not limited to winemaking and beer brewing, etc.
Yes. The program recognizes that many artists travel to practice their work or are hired to bring their work to other communities, but this is a program for California-based artists only. You must reside in Region IV to apply for the Region IV fellowships.
If you reside elsewhere in California, you are encouraged to apply to the Individual Artist Fellowships Program for the region in which you reside.
Some stories are so powerful, we forget they are stories at all. They become the air, the water, the culture mediating what is and what we imagine to be possible. This is where the poet gets to work. Join us for an intergenerational showcase celebrating artists at the forefront of youth narrative power, featuring artists and alums from the Brave New Voices network, demonstrating how the artist doesn't just flip the script, they bend the light.
We suggest submitting at least three work samples you feel represent you and your work in the strongest way within the provided parameters.
Writing samples: Maximum of 10 pages total. Examples: short stories, scripts, poetry, musical scores, etc. Images and Renderings: Maximum of 10 images total Video and Audio: Up to 5 minutes in length total. Upload video directly or link to your video on Youtube. Please ensure it is "Unlisted" and non-password protected.All video and audio samples should not exceed five minutes in total. This also applies to writing samples, images, and renderings; we ask that you do not exceed the 10 page/ 10 image limit.
For example: an artist who is a singer/musician could submit the following work samples:
Work Sample 1: one minute long song/audio sample Work Sample 2: two minute long song/audio sample Work Sample 3: two minute long song/audio sampleFor example: an artist who is a playwright could submit the following work samples:
Work Sample 1: five pages of a completed script Work Sample 2: four pages of a scene from another script Work Sample 3: one page of a script outline/draftYes, you can upload multiple mediums and mix and match work sample media.
For example: an artist, that is both a performer and a visual artist, could submit the following work samples:
Work Sample 1: one minute long video dance performance Work Sample 2: one minute long video dance performance Work Sample 3: one slide deck with five images and their captions/descriptions.Depending on how you define the community you are engaging with, you would articulate how your work or practice has a positive social impact on this community directly. The Artistic Process questions allow space for you to provide specific examples or stories from your own work to support your larger articulated goals around this impact.
A resource you may want to consider referencing is the Continuum of Impact guide created by Animating Democracy which may give you some ideas on how to frame social impact through creative work. We also encourage you to review the Attributes of Excellence in Arts for Change for different examples of artists creating arts for change.