Arts Council
Kentucky Arts Council Expands Fellowship Program to New and Emerging Artists

FRANKFORT, Ky. –The Kentucky Arts Council is currently accepting applications for the highly competitive Al Smith Individual Artist Fellowship awards. This year the awards are open to professional artists and emerging artists working in the visual and media arts (craft, drawing, experimental and installation work, mixed media, new genre, painting, photography, printmaking sculpture, film, video and audio work).  The application deadline for the Al Smith Individual Artist Fellowships is March 15, 2009. To access the guidelines, instructions and application, go to: http://artscouncil.ky.gov/guide/prog3/asf_gdl.htm.

Professional artists are eligible to compete for a $7,500 Fellowship award.  Emerging artists, which includes Kentucky resident undergraduate seniors and graduate students in Kentucky college or university fine arts programs are eligible to apply for an Emerging Artist award of $1,000.

In alternate years, the Al Smith Individual Artist Fellowship Program is available to writers, composers, choreographers and interdisciplinary artists.

The purpose of the Al Smith Individual Artist Fellowship Program is to support Kentucky artists engaged in creating artwork of high quality and to recognize creative excellence in practicing, professional Kentucky artists.  The fellowship awards are named after retired Kentucky journalist and past Arts Council Board chair, Al Smith.

The Fellowship program utilizes a "blind jurying" process which does not provide the selection panel with applicants' names; the panel reviews the work samples and applications according to application numbers only. Criteria for the awards include artistic excellence, professional achievement and the potential of the fellowship award to enhance the artist's development and encourage the continuation of the artist's work.

For more information about the Al Smith Individual Artist Fellowship Program or other Kentucky Arts Council opportunities for artists, contact Individual Artist Program Director Tamara Coffey at 502-564-3757, 888-833-2787 or tamara.coffey@ky.gov.

The Kentucky Arts Council is a state agency in the Tourism, Arts and Heritage Cabinet that creates opportunities for Kentuckians to value, participate in and benefit from the arts. Kentucky Arts Council funding is provided by the Kentucky General Assembly and the National Endowment for the Arts, which believes that a great nation deserves great art.

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