An applicant is eligible to apply if they meet the following criteria:

• Is an individual Maine artist or part of an artist collective (collectives may only apply once per award cycle, using the name of an individual member)
• Has a current Maine Arts Commission account 
• Has a State of Maine Vendor Code (required to receive funding) Download Printable Vendor Code Form
• If applicable, has completed Final Reports required by the Maine Arts Commission for previous awards
• Is a current Maine resident who has resided full-time in Maine for at least one year immediately prior to the application deadline
• Will be a Maine resident throughout the project period
• Is at least 25 years of age or older by the application deadline
• Is not an enrolled student at the start of the award cycle (July 1) (Please contact the agency if you have questions)
• Has not been previously awarded a Maine Artist Fellowship

Eligible Expenses

Fellowships are merit-based awards that are informed by an applicant’s work as documented through the application and support materials. There are no eligibility restrictions on how awardees may apply funding.

Ineligible Expenses

None

Narrative to be completed in the Application Portal (All character counts include spaces. 2,550 characters/page.)

Traditional Arts is the only Fellowship that requires completing online narrative fields. All other applications use only uploaded materials.

-- Traditional Arts Only --

• Provide an overview of your traditional art form. (700 characters max.)
• Provide a description of how you learned your art including who taught you as well as other family, tribal, ethnic, occupation influences on your work (700 characters max.)
• How long have you been practicing your art form? (500 characters max.)
• Provide a description of the community where you practice your art. What is your role as an artist in this community? (700 characters max.)
• Include a description of local, state, or national recognition of your work. (700 characters max.)

Review Criteria

Fellowship applications are reviewed on a competitive basis. Decisions are made holistically and informed by an applicant’s artistic excellence and artistic merit as documented through the application and support materials.

All applications must be submitted through the online Application Portal.  Once an application is started, the applicant may make changes up until the deadline. When completed, the applicant must hit the ‘Submit’ button on the final page. This locks the application and makes it ready for review. The application includes an online form and attachments to be uploaded. 

Online Form Requirements:

• Completed grant narrative (only for Traditional Arts Fellowship applicants)

 Uploads - You will be able to upload up to a total of 10 pieces of support materials through the Application Portal.  Some are required, others are optional. The total amount should be 10 items or fewer. 

Required Attachments to be uploaded:

• Resumes, bio, or curriculum vitae
• A brief statement about the artist and their work.
• Artistic samples: This could include images, audio, or video materials (Max. length: five minutes each), prose samples, poetry, etc. *
• An itemized list of the uploaded materials

* Literary Arts applicants are limited to uploading only writing samples such as prose samples, poetry, etc.

Vendor Code – An applicant must have a current Vendor Code to receive award funds.

• For new applicants – Please read the Vendor Form help information, download a Vendor Form, fill it out, and return it to the Maine Arts Commission by mail, email, or fax.
• For past applicants:If your contact information has changed in the past year, you will need to fill out a new Vendor Form with your updates. 

 The Maine Arts Commission reserves the right to use submitted materials in the non-commercial promotion of the artist and/or Maine Arts Commission programs. 

Submitted applications are reviewed by Agency staff for completion, eligibility, and adherence to the guidelines. Compliant applications are read by a diverse panel of arts and culture professionals with appropriate expertise related to the fellowship program. Award recommendations are submitted by the panel to the Maine Arts Commission members at their bimonthly meeting for final approval. All applicants are soon notified of the awards. 

The delivery of funds may take up to six months from the time of award notification. All applicants are notified of their award status (approved or declined) via email. Successful applicants also receive emails with documents and instructions on award acceptance. Awardees are listed on the Maine Arts Commission website.