McKnight Fellowships for Fiber Artists

2026 ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS for all Artist Fellowships, per the McKnight Foundation

• Must have Minnesota residency for at least 1 year prior to the application deadline (or since December 8, 2024 or earlier).
• Must maintain Minnesota residency for the duration of the fellowship period, March 1, 2026 – February 28, 2027.
• Fellows who travel for work outside of the state during the fellowship year should be in the state for at least six months (at least 183 days), and should have a plan to return to Minnesota.
• Awardees must have a Social Security Number or Tax ID (as needed to process payments).
• Must be midcareer or later (beyond emerging), with a body of work that demonstrates a sustained level of accomplishment, commitment, and artistic excellence.
  • These fellowships are a recognition of the recipient’s significant body of work to date, creative achievement, and their sustained contribution to their artistic field and to Minnesota’s arts ecosystem.
• Applicants can only apply to one McKnight Artist Fellowship in ANY artistic discipline within a given fellowship year.  We are in application period for the 2026 Fellowship year, for all Arts and Culture Fellowships.
• Applicants to this fellowship program will NOT be eligible to apply for any other 2026 McKnight Artist Fellowship.
• Please carefully consider which program best fits your work. To view all of McKnight’s fellowship funding opportunities for the year, visit: mcknight.org/programs/arts/the-mcknight-artist-fellowships/#apply
• Must not have been a recipient of a McKnight Artist Fellowship within any artistic discipline in the last 5 award years. (All 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 AND 2025 McKnight Fellows are ineligible.)
• Must demonstrate growth and ongoing artistry and creativity since their most recent McKnight Artist Fellowship, if they received one previously.
• Applicants must not be current staff, board, or immediate family of the McKnight Foundation, or McKnight’s fellowship administrative partner in the discipline for which you are applying.
• Independent contractors and faculty are not considered staff and are therefore eligible to apply.
• Must not be enrolled full-time in any academic program. (Low-Residency MFA programs and Ph.D. candidates who have completed all requirements except their dissertations are not considered “full-time” students.)

2025 ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS for Fiber Artist Fellowships, specifically

• Must be midcareer (or beyond) with an extensive, independent body of creative work created over a period of at least 8 years—not including work done during a degree seeking academic program—representing a sustained investigation and maturation of personal creativity, accomplishment, and commitment to the field of fiber art.
• Must currently be producing work that falls within an art or cultural context, grounded in the field of fiber and textiles through materials, process, history, tradition, or sensibilities.
• Must demonstrate a high aesthetic level of ability, strong consistency of expression, and an established personal voice over the course of a sustained career.
• Must have made a significant impact in the field of fiber art in the region, state, or nation as demonstrated by respect of peers and community, contributions to excellence, and public recognition of the creative form through community focused engagement, exhibiting, teaching, preserving, mentoring, advocacy, ceremony, and/or other.

GUIDELINES & APPLICATION INFORMATION

The intent of the McKnight Fellowships for Fiber Artists is to recognize talented midcareer (and later) Minnesota fiber and textile artists who have created a significant body of work over a period of at least 8 years. The body of work you present in your application needs to support a sustained investigation and maturation of personal creativity, and accomplishment in and commitment to the field of fiber art and Minnesota’s arts ecosystem.

These fellowships are in support of artists who have a creative practice that is beyond emerging, whose work is of exceptional artistic and cultural merit, and demonstrates exceptional proficiency, sustained practice, and commitment to the field.

Fiber Artists, as defined for the purposes of this fellowship, are artists who use textile and fiber arts materials, processes, histories, traditions, and/or sensibilities in their artistic and creative practice throughout the conception, execution, and resolution of their work.

• PLEASE OPEN and READ THE PROGRAM GUIDELINES BEFORE PROCEEDING WITH THE FELLOWSHIP APPLICATION. 

• INSTRUCTIONS FOR FILLING OUT THE APPLICATION and INFORMATION ABOUT THE JURY and SELECTION PROCESS ARE INCLUDED IN THE GUIDELINES.

CLICK HERE for the 2026 APPLICATION GUIDELINES

CLICK HERE for ACCESS to the 2026 APPLICATION on SUBMITTABLE.

A few important tips and reflections from former jurors and Fiber Art Fellows, from the GUIDELINES:

• The work samples are the single most important aspect of your application. Images and/or video should represent excellence and innovation in the field, and a cohesive vision.
• Your work needs to be clearly conveyed through your application materials–use the best photographs and video possible.
• Work samples based in experimentation, sampling, or works in-process are not generally helpful as evidence of excellence or a sustained practice.
• Your statement needs to be relevant to the work submitted, and needs to talk about an ACTIVE practice in the field of fiber art and textiles.

As in year’s past, we are using SUBMITTABLE as the application platform. Info sessions provide help navigating the platform and understanding the changes in this year’s application process. (See INFO SESSION tab above for information on times and dates of sessions.)

** CHROME BROWSER IS RECOMMENDED.  DO NOT USE A TABLET or IPAD for your application, as an error message may occur.

You should be able to access the complete program guidelines and the application portal from the links above. If you can’t, we are here to help!  Links to everything can be emailed to you if you are having trouble opening them. If you have any questions or issues, please email tkrumm@textilecentermn.org.

CLICK HERE for a list of additional resources to help with the application

INFORMATION SESSIONS

Textile Center will conduct VIRTUAL information sessions via ZOOM, and IN-PERSON sessions at Textile Center and partner sites to go over the application process and to discuss both content and technical aspects. Once you have attended an info session (or watched the 2026 info session recording available after October 20) and reviewed the application information–or if you have applied in the past–you are welcome to contact Tracy Krumm, tkrumm@textilecentermn.org, for an individual consultation on your application. The schedule for these sessions fills up quickly. Please plan ahead and start your application NOW.

2026 Fiber Arts Fellowship Info Sessions:

• On Zoom: Wednesday, November 12, 5:30 – 6:30 PM. Register for the session here: INFO SESSION 11/12.
• FINAL Q& A session on Tuesday December 2, 5:30 – 7 PM. Join in during this time to ask your last minute questions.  Q&A 12/2 HERE

Can’t attend an info session? You’ll need to watch our online session before scheduling an individual meeting about your application. Click here for the recorded session: RECORDED SESSION

MCKNIGHT FELLOWSHIPS for FIBER ARTISTS FAQ’s

• What is the age limit for the fellowships?

There is no age limit for the fellowships; this is not asked for as part of the juried part of the application process.  As stated on the application, the only reason that we ask for your age in the optional section on demographics is to provide data for Textile Center to know who we are reaching through application outreach efforts.

• Who is eligible to apply, what is post-emerging, and what does my experience in the discipline of Fiber Art need to be?

Fiber Artists, as defined for the purposes of this fellowship, are artists who use textile and fiber arts materials, processes, histories, traditions, and/or sensibilities as their primary modality in their artistic and creative practice throughout the conception, execution, and resolution of their work. 

Since all of these details are entwined, they are explained together:

• We sometimes use the phrase midcareer. We sometimes use the phrase post-emerging. We sometimes use the phrase beyond emerging. Language is nuanced, and we really want folks to just understand that these fellowships are not for early career practices or folks who are just beginning to be recognized for their artistic and creative voices.
• The intent of the McKnight Fellowships for Fiber Artists is to recognize talented Minnesota fiber and textile artists who have created a significant body of work over a period of at least 8 years.  This is an eligibility requirement, and needs to be substantiated in the application through your list of accomplishments, resume, or CV, as having engaged with the public or with an audience in some regard, with your work.
• Again, the body of work you present in your application needs to support a sustained investigation and maturation of personal creativity, and accomplishment in and commitment to the field of fiber art and Minnesota’s arts ecosystem.
• These fellowships are in support of artists who have a creative practice that is beyond emerging, whose work is of exceptional artistic and cultural merit, and demonstrates exceptional proficiency, sustained practice, and commitment to the field. The operatives here are: exceptional, sustained, and committed to the field.

Here are other ways of explaining the same thing:

These fellowships are for mid-career and beyond.  The requirement for the purposes of the McKnight Fellowships in Fiber Arts is to show at least eight (8) years of invested, creative practice, documented by a resume, CV, or list of accomplishments–that demonstrates commitment to active practice through activities such as recognition of your creative work through exhibitions, awards or honors, grants received, workshops and teaching, mentorship, publications, etc.  We check this documentation when your application comes in to be sure you meet this qualification.

There is no time period for what post-emerging/midcareer and beyond means. McKnight Foundation and the Arts & Culture Program partners uphold the belief that these fellowships are intended to support Minnesota artists throughout their lifetimes, as long as they are past the stage of “emerging”. Artists and culture bearers who are awarded have built a body of work over a sustained period of time, have an established relationship with the art landscape, and have engaged with the Minnesota Arts ecosystem through some sort of public or community engagement–exhibition, teaching, sharing, ceremony, gifting, mentorship, presentations, service, etc..

There are no specific requirements as to calling yourself a fiber artist for eight years, as artists tend to use whatever means are most appropriate to communicate their message.  However, your work does have to recognize and be committed to fiber art as the primary basis for your work. Applications need to show excellence, consistency, maturity, breadth, and depth in the field.  And the awards are made for your body of work to date–the commitment to the field of Fiber Art must be evident in the application.

The Program Director is available to discuss this further.  With as much assistance and clarification as we can give, it is up to each individual to decide on whether or not they want to or are ready to apply.

• What are the awards based on?

The awards are based on excellence in a sustained practice, as exemplified by the body of work you submit and your writing (or recorded speaking) about your work. There is NO proposal involved and the application does not include request for a budget. The award is not based on what you plan to do or what you think you are going to do.  It is about what you have done so far and already accomplished in your practice.

• How does the jury process work?

The jury process is blind, at least until they meet you on Zoom if you become a finalist.  Jurors focus on the images in the application and the accompanying statement about the work, along with an image list that you provide that includes the title, year, processes and materials for each work you include. They also refer to your list of accomplishments, CV, or resume to see your accomplishments thus far and how these might relate to your other application materials.

There is nowhere on the application where your identity is divulged to the jury, unless you include something about yourself in your statement.  (You cannot mention your name anywhere in the application materials.) However, please note that as you write about yourself in the statement, what you say should connect to and provide context for your ideas and the work presented.  The statement needs to relate to the work–especially the materials the jurors are looking at.

• What does the McKnight Foundation stand for and how does this impact the program?

Please take a look at what McKnight Foundation’s Arts and Culture program stands for, because that is the lens we use for our work with the jurors:

https://www.mcknight.org/programs/arts-culture/

The jurors are asked to look at all of the SAME links as you are, in the detailed application information, so they understand the agenda of the foundation and see everything that every applicant has access to. When they agree to jury, they agree to use a lens of equity, diversity, and inclusion.  This is broad–nowhere in either Textile Center’s or McKnight’s materials is the interpretation of any of these three values predicated solely on race.

• What if I decide I don’t fit into the fiber art category?

If you feel your work is less specific to fiber art, and can’t talk about it in your statement from the context of the definition above, you can apply in the Visual Art category through MCAD, or one of the other McKnight Fellowship programs for the 2026 fellowships.  All of our deadlines are different.  Work done in higher education programs typically does not count toward the “beyond emerging” requirement of 8 years of practice, as it is seen as time that is supported by a cohort environment, research, professional and networking resources, mentorship, and often financial assistance—much like the funding and program benefits provided by these fellowships.

• All of the McKnight Artist Fellowships award categories and links to the specific program partners are available here:

https://www.mcknight.org/programs/arts-culture/the-mcknight-artist-fellowships/

For in-depth info about our previous fellows–their work, the jurors, critics, press, interviews, statements, presentations, panel discussions, and virtual exhibits, please visit these pages:

2020- Liz Miller and Eun-Kyung Suh

2021- Ka Oskar Ly and Sarah Kusa

2022- Moira Bateman and Blair Treuer

2023- Marjorie Fedyszyn and Delina White

2024- Amber Jensen and Rick Kagigebi

2025- Christine Novotny and Shannon Lucas Westrum 

The McKnight Fellowships for Fiber Artists program is funded by the McKnight Arts & Culture Program, and administered by Textile Center. For more complete information, please see:  mcknight.org/programs/arts-culture/

Established in 1981, the McKnight Artist & Culture Bearer Fellowships provide annual, unrestricted cash awards to outstanding mid-career Minnesota artists in 15 different creative disciplines. Program partner organizations administer the fellowships and structure them to respond to the unique challenges of different disciplines.

Program Goal: Catalyze the creativity, power, and leadership of Minnesota working artists and culture bearers.

“Minnesota artists and culture bearers help the McKnight Foundation accomplish our mission to advance a more just, creative, and abundant future where people and planet thrive. McKnight has a legacy of leadership in the arts in Minnesota, and support for working artists has always been a mainstay of our arts grantmaking…The addition of culture bearer to our goal acknowledges that our program provides support to creative leaders in Minnesota from cultures that don’t use the word artist (such as Native American and Hmong), as well as those who center the transmission and preservation of cultural lifeways.”

McKnight’s Arts & Culture grantees do the following:

• Support and advance the distinctive practices of Minnesota’s working artists and culture bearers
• Enable unique developmental and leadership opportunities for artists and culture bearers
• Facilitate meaningful relationships between artists, culture bearers, and their communities
• Demonstrate a deep understanding of their field
• Work to eliminate deep and persistent social, economic, and racial barriers

The strategy of McKnight’s Arts & Culture program is to fund organizations, programs, and projects that provide support structures for working artists and culture bearers to develop and share their work, and to lead in movements and communities. This includes artists and culture bearers working in a broad continuum of activities and approaches across disciplines and fields.

Please see more about McKnight’s new program approach at: mcknight.org/programs/arts-culture/our-approach/

On The McKnight Foundation

The McKnight Foundation, a family foundation based in Minnesota, advances a more just, creative, and abundant future where people and planet thrive. The McKnight Artist Fellowships support the conviction that the arts cannot flourish or enhance community life without the ideas, energy, and drive of individual artists, and that artists cannot make these contributions without unfettered creative time. A focus on racial equity is at the heart of the McKnight approach to funding. The McKnight Foundation and Textile Center welcome and encourage applications from artists and culture bearers representing diverse cultural perspectives and our organizations value diversity and equity, seeking to be inclusive and accessible to all applicants.