The Artist in Business Leadership (ABL) Fellowship is a year-long program that helps independent Native artists leverage art-making as a way to build or grow a business to support themselves and their families.
Donor Name: First Peoples Fund
State: All States
County: All Counties
Type of Grant: Fellowship
Deadline: 07/15/2026
Size of the Grant: $1000 to $10,000
Grant Duration: 1 Year
Details:
Participants in this self-directed fellowship are offered grant funding for business needs, network-building opportunities, and professional development guideance. As part of the application process, artists submit a proposal of what, if selected, they would accomplish during their fellowship year that will help them launch, grow, and/or sustain their arts business.
Applications are open to artists at all stages of their career, and all art mediums are eligible for this fellowship with the exception of live performing arts. The Native Performing Arts Fellowship program is the appropriate opportunity for artists who regularly perform live as part of their arts business or creative practice (this includes theater, music, dance, spoken word, and more).
Artist in Business Leadership Fellowships will be awarded to applicants who:
- Show a commitment to increasing their skills and knowledge in support of their arts-based business or creative practice.
- Have demonstrated an ability to set and accomplish goals related to their arts- based business or creative practice.
- Desire access to new resources, markets, and/or funding opportunities in order to strengthen their business and further their economic self-sufficiency.
Funding Information
$10,000.
Grant Period
January 1, 2027 – December 31, 2027.
Eligibility Criteria
- A Native artist who either owns or is launching an active art-centered business, or who is seeking to grow and improve business aspects of their income-producing creative practice.
- Must be at least 18 years of age at the time of application.
- Must reside and be based within the United States. Applicants who reside outside the U.S. are ineligible to apply.
- Applicants must be an enrolled member of, or provide proof of lineal descendancy from, a U.S. federally-recognized or U.S. state-recognized tribe, or be able to provide proof of ancestry as an Alaska Native or Native Hawaiian.
- Applicants may not be enrolled in any academic, degree seeking program.
- Native artists working in a wide variety of mediums are welcome to apply.
- Artists whose primary mediums are within the performing arts field should apply to the Native Performing Arts (NPA) Fellowship. This includes theater, music, dance, live performance, spoken word and more.
- Recipients of any 2026 First Peoples Fund (FPF) fellowships are not eligible to apply for the 2027 ABL Fellowship.
- Individuals or lead applicants for an organization/business/collective that received a 2026 Live Production Grant are not eligible to apply for the 2027 ABL Fellowship.
- Lead applicants or main contacts for any organization/business/collective that received a Rooted Pathways or Weaving Kinship grant in 2025 or 2026 are not eligible to apply for the 2027 ABL Fellowship.
- Previous grantees with any First Peoples Fund programs must have submitted a final report for any awarded FPF grants.
For more information, visit First Peoples Fund.
