Short Description

The Center for Craft increases access to craft by empowering and resourcing artists, organizations, and communities through grants, fellowships, and programs that bring people together. We believe that craft matters. The Center administers national award programs including the Windgate-Lamar Fellowship for emerging craft artists, the Curatorial Fellowship for emerging craft curators and the Craft Research Fund program to encourage, expand, and support craft research in the United States. Additionally, the Center convenes national meetings, curates exhibitions, and programs lectures and workshops.

Eligibility

Proposals are welcome from applicants with a range of affiliations, including but not limited to, independent and academic researchers, artist-researchers, curators, organizations and institutions, and scholars.

  • This grant is intended to support research and is NOT for the creation of artwork. ‍
  • This grant does NOT provide funding for already completed research or the dissemination of already completed research.

Applicants must be:

  • Able to receive taxable income in the United States for the duration of the grant
  • Able to report this grant as income
  • 18 years of age or older

Applicants cannot be:

  • Substantial contributors to the Center for Craft, nor current employees, consultants, or board members of the Center for Craft, or immediate family members of such persons.

The Center for Craft defines craft as a particular approach to making with a strong connection to materials, skill, and process. Artists, makers, scholars, and curators continue to grow the field, embracing new definitions, technologies, and ideas while honoring craft’s history and relationship to the handmade.

Craft, in all its forms, demonstrates creativity, ingenuity, and practical intelligence. It contributes to the economic and social well-being of communities, connects us to our cultural histories, and is integral to building a sustainable future.

Submission Requirements

  1. Please provide a summary of your proposal (no more than 50 words / 300 characters).
  2. Please provide a project description (no more than 1,000 words / 6,000 characters) addressing the following:
    • Proposal goals and objectives
    • Research question and relevance to the advancement of new and interdisciplinary research of craft in the United States
    • Two to three other scholars who have written significant works on/around your topic and an explanation of how your work compares to and pushes the topic forward
    • Clearly identified intended outcomes of the research that will be completed within the 18 month grant period, including audiences and/or publishing opportunities. Will your deliverable include a publication, a peer-reviewed journal, papers presented at a scholarly conference, a university colloquium, a public forum, or online publications? If you are conducting curatorial research, please include the exhibition dates. If the project includes an online or ongoing component, please describe your sustainability maintenance plan.
  3. How does your lived experience relate to your proposed area of research? Please describe your experience over time (no more than 100 words / 650 characters).
  4. Please include a list of who you will work with to conduct your research, a short description of their role, and why they were selected. This may include scholars, historians, archivists, writers, artists, curators, museums, institutions, and other collaborators not listed ( no more than 150 words / 975 characters).
  5. Please provide a list of at least 10 sources that you will utilize in your research. This may include a list of books, articles, manuscripts, journals, websites, catalogs, or a list of previous exhibitions on or related to the proposal (up to 350 words  / 1,750–2,275 characters).
  6. Timeline (form provided in SlideRoom). Please provide a timeline for completing the project. The grant period begins on January 1, 2026. Projects must be completed by August 30, 2027 (18 months from start date).
  7. Budget Income Form (provided in SlideRoom). The budget income form is to indicate if you have additional sources of secured or anticipated (prospected) income. In addition, please list the total amount requested from the Craft Research Fund here. Please list no more than 10 items. Examples of income:
    • Other grants secured/prospected
    • Support from institutions (school or university support)
    • In-kind support (for example, percentages of salaries or hourly rates for time commitments)
  8. Budget Expense Form (provided in SlideRoom). Please list no more than 15 items. The minimum budget request should be $5,000; the maximum budget request should be $15,000. Please note which expenses you wish to cover through the Craft Research Fund under “Amount Requested CRF.” Budgets may exceed $15,000 if other support is listed in the budget. Please add expenses supported by funding outside of the Craft Research Fund under “Amount Other Source.” Expense examples:
    • Support stipends/honoraria (list research assistants with names)
    • Travel/expenses (include lodging and meals, itemized per destination); for travel purposes, the Center for Craft recommends applicants use the following resources U.S. General Services Administration and Budget Your Trip
    • Contracted services (such as photography)
    • Support documentation such as images or rights to use images or text, photocopies or other reproductions, purchase of primary source materials, and other incidental research expenses
  9. Budget Narrative. Please provide a narrative for any budget items that require further explanation (up to 250 words/1,625 characters).

How to Apply

Online Application

Program Benefits & Awards

  • Award Amount: $5,000 to $15,000
  • Grant Period: 18 months

Entry Fee

None

Location

Asheville, United States

Timeline

  • Application Deadline: 17 October 2025

Website Link: https://www.centerforcraft.org/grants-and-fellowships

Award/PrizeFellowshipFundGrant