2025 CULTURAL CAPITAL FELLOWSHIP GUIDELINES 

The Cultural Capital (CC) Fellowship is a yearlong program that offers financial support and guidance to culture bearers and artists who are deeply rooted in their communities and committed to passing on ancestral knowledge within their Native communities. 

The CC Fellowship offers $10,000 in grant funding to artists and culture bearers to support their cultural work in their community through the arts. This fellowship is open to artists at any stage of their career. 

Applicants should be active within their Native community and/or live within their tribal community. Proposed projects may work with traditional or contemporary art mediums. If a contemporary medium, make sure to explain how the work is connected to cultural knowledge and/or values. Projects do not need to include an immediate intergenerational component, but you should be thinking about the impact they may have on future generations. 

This is a one-year program and we expect that your application clearly details your proposed project within a one-year timeframe.
 

FELLOWSHIP INFORMATION

• Grant amount: $10,000. 
• Disbursement Schedule: 90% (or $9,000) will be disbursed once initial paperwork and orientation measures are completed. The remaining 10% (or $1,000) will be disbursed in December 2025 upon completion of closing measures. 
• Award year: January 1, 2025 - December 31, 2025.
• The number of ABL fellowships awarded each year is based on available funding.
• Selected artists should expect to attend an annual fellowship convening where all FPF fellows are brought together for a multi-day event. This is normally held in the spring and past convening locations have included Santa Fe, Phoenix, and Minneapolis. 

ELIGIBILITY

• Must be at least 18 years of age at the time of application.
• 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.
• Native practitioners of all creative mediums are welcome to apply. This includes painting, drawing, printmaking, music, dance, theater, clothing design, basket weaving, beading, storytelling, writing, culinary arts, and much more, in both traditional and contemporary forms.
• Proposed projects may not be affiliated with or sponsored by universities or colleges. They also may not include work to be completed for academic credit, or as part of an academically supported project, program, or residency.
• Artists and culture bearers may not apply to the same program in succession. For example, if you were a 2024 CC Fellow, you are not eligible to re-apply to the CC Fellowship program in 2025.
• If you are a previous grantee with First Peoples Fund (FPF), you must have submitted a final report for any previously awarded FPF Grants.

APPLICATION PROCESS 

A completed Fellowship application includes:

1. Application 
2. Proof of Tribal Affiliation
3. Two Letters of Reference (Examples: Professional or community reference; current mentor)
4. Project Budget 
5. Artist Statement
6. Resume
7. Artwork Samples (5 to 10 examples of your recent artwork)
8. Description of Artwork Samples
9. One high-quality photograph of yourself, either a professional headshot or a clear picture of your performing/creating your art medium. If selected, this image may be used for FPF promotional materials. 

ARTWORK SAMPLES

• VISUAL ARTS: Digital photos should be in JPEG format. We strongly recommend submitting high quality images that capture the details of your art. Your Description of Artwork Samples should include the following for each image: a) Title; b) Medium; c) Year Created; d) Dimensions (if applicable). 
• PERFORMING ARTS: You may upload video or audio files, or a document listing links to files. Please limit video and audio files to no longer than two minutes or indicate a two minute section for each sample that the selection committee should review. Your Description of Artwork Samples should include the following for each file: a) Title; b) Medium; c) Year Created; d) Timestamps for section of the submitted file for selection committee to review (if applicable). If submitted audio/video examples are longer than two minutes and no specific times are called out for review, the selection committee will only review the first two minutes.     
• LITERARY ARTS: You may upload samples and excerpts of your writing. Please try to keep each submission at two pages or less. If your file is longer, you may indicate which pages the selection committee should review. Your Description of Artwork Samples should include the following for each file: a) Title; b) Medium; c) Year Created; d) Pages or sections for selection committee to review (if applicable). If submitted files are longer than two pages and no specific sections are called out for review, the selection committee will only review the first two pages. 

TIMELINE

• Application Opens: Monday, June 17th
• Application Closes: UPDATED (from Monday, July 22nd to) Monday, August 5th, at 11:59pm MST

SELECTION ANNOUNCEMENT: Applicants will be notified in December 2024

QUESTIONS?

Contact Fox Spears, Program Manager of Fellowships, with any questions by calling 407-212-7313, or via email at: fox@firstpeoplesfund.org.