The Individual Artist Fellowships are awarded for artistic quality to Delaware creative artists working in the visual, performing, media, folk, and literary arts.
Donor Name: Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation
State: Delaware
County: All Counties
Type of Grant: Fellowship
Deadline: 08/03/2026
Size of the Grant: $10,000 to $100,000
Grant Duration: 1 Year
Details:
Due to high numbers of applications and limited funds, the program is highly competitive. Fellowships are designed to enable recipients to purchase equipment and materials, allocate working time, or fulfill other needs that will allow them to advance their careers. Fellowship recipients are required to present examples of their work to the public during their Fellowship year. Applicants select between Emerging or Established categories. The Masters Fellowship is available in select disciplines on a three-year rotating basis to artists who meet specific criteria.
The Fellowship program provides competitive grants in three categories with monetary awards of $5,000, $8,000, and $12,000 to Delaware artists. Fellowships are awarded for demonstrated creativity and skill in an art form with artistic quality as the primary determinant.
- Emerging Professional Fellowships in the amount of $5,000 are available to artists who have not yet established reputations in their fields. (Artists applying in a discipline that they teach at a degree or certificate-granting institution are ineligible to apply in the Emerging category and must apply in the Established category.)
- Established Professional Fellowships in the amount of $8,000 are available to artists who have significant achievements in their fields.
- A Masters Fellowship in the amount of $12,000 is available to artists that have received an Established Fellowship in the same discipline more than 7 years ago.
Disciplines
- Dance: Choreography
- Folk Art: Music
- Folk Art: Oral Literature
- Folk Art: Visual Arts
- Jazz: Composition
- Jazz: Performance
- Literature: Creative Nonfiction
- Literature: Fiction
- Literature: Playwriting
- Literature: Poetry
- Media Arts: Video/Film
- Music: Composition
- Music: Contemporary Performance
- Music: Solo Recital (classical)
- Visual Arts: Crafts
- Visual Arts: Painting
- Visual Arts: Photography
- Visual Arts: Sculpture
- Visual Arts: Works on Paper
- Visual Arts: Interdisciplinary (for visual artists whose practice includes multiple disciplines or media, and/or working with new technology)
Grant Period
January 1 – December 31, 2027.
Eligibility Criteria
- Must be a resident of Delaware for at least one year at the time of application. A legal resident possesses a valid Delaware driver’s license or DMV-issued identification card and files state income taxes in Delaware as a full-year resident. Applicants must upload two proofs of Delaware residency. All awards are subject to verification of Delaware residency.
- Must be at least 18 years of age at the time of application.
Ineligibility
Students currently enrolled in a degree or certificate-granting educational program at the time of application.
- Any recipient of a Masters Fellowship.
- Fellowship recipients who have received an award within the past three years (FY2024, FY2025, and FY2026) are ineligible to apply in the Emerging or Established Professional categories.
- Applicants who submit incomplete applications or applications that do not follow the required format.
- A member or relative of a member of the Delaware State Arts Council, Division staff or contractor.
- Applicants with outstanding final reports from any past Division of the Arts grants.
For more information, visit Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation.
