The 2025 New Jersey State Council on the Arts Individual Artist Fellowship rules and instructions and application are now available. State Fellowships are awarded to practicing New Jersey artists through an anonymous, competitive application process to help them pursue their artistic goals.

The categories for the 2025 NJ Individual Artist Fellowship are:

Choreography

Crafts

Music Composition

Photography

Playwriting/Screenwriting

Poetry

Sculpture

Application Assistance Webinars

These optional webinars allow applicants to attend a scheduled training session online and offer opportunities to ask general questions about the program and application. Registration is required to participate in the webinars. Individuals that register for the webinars will receive the Zoom information and instructions via email. To register, click on your desired webinar date. Please note that both webinars cover the same information.

Webinar 1: June 13, 2024 | 1:00 PM - 2:30 PM ET

Webinar 2: June 25, 2024 | 10:00 AM - 11:30 AM ET

Auto-generated closed captioning through Zoom Webinar as well as live ASL interpretation will be provided during both webinars. For other accommodation requests, please contact fellowships@midatlanticarts.org or 410-539-6656 x101 at least five business days prior to the webinar.

Quick Start Video Tutorial

The Quick Start video offers a basic introduction to Mid Atlantic Arts’ new SmartSimple application software and can be found on the Mid Atlantic Arts YouTube channel.

Work Sample Preparation Guide

Assists artists with the technical requirements for audio, video, image, and literary work samples and addresses many frequently asked questions. The document is available here.

Fellowship awards have ranged in the past from $4,000 - $32,000. 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 skill, with no cap or quota per artistic discipline. In 2024, from a total of 692 eligible applications, 160 Fellowships and Finalist awards were granted in six categories. Grant awards totaled just over $1.7 million. 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 quality as determined by a panel of specialists in each discipline.

Program application assistance resources are available on the Mid Atlantic Arts website.

The deadline for 2025 applications is 5:00 PM ET, Tuesday, July 16, 2024.

Application Rules and Instructions are available in both English and Spanish.

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.

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.

The New Jersey State Council on the Arts, created in 1966, is a division of the NJ Department of State and a partner agency of the National Endowment for the Arts. 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 believes the arts are central to every element we value most in a modern society including: human understanding; cultural and civic pride; strong communities; excellent schools; lifelong learning; creative expression; and economic opportunity. To learn more about the Council, please visit www.artscouncil.nj.gov.