This program provides two $25,000 fellowships to be awarded each year to individual midcareer (and beyond!) fiber artists living and working in Minnesota. The Fellowship period for 2023 will run from March 1, 2023 to February 29, 2024.
The intent of the McKnight Fellowships for Fiber Artists is to recognize and support talented Minnesota fiber and textile artists whose work is of exceptional artistic and cultural merit, who have created a significant body of work over a period of at least 8 years, representing 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 are at a career stage beyond emerging. 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.
“Textile Center is honored to serve as its administrative partner for the McKnight Fellowships for Fiber Artists,” says Textile Center Executive Director Karl Reichert. “This fellowship program is an exciting milestone for us, especially as we celebrate the role Textile Center has played in nurturing the field of fiber art in our region.”
“The expansion of the McKnight Artist Fellowships into the area of fiber arts is a tremendous opportunity and acknowledgement for our field,” says Textile Center’s Director for Artistic Advancement Tracy Krumm, who also serves as Textile Center’s program director for the McKnight Fellowships for Fiber Artists. “As a former Visual Arts Fellow, I know that the caliber of work being done in the textile and fiber arts in Minnesota is outstanding. The ability for artists in Minnesota to be able to apply for this incredible funding support means the chance at game-changing opportunities for creative development.”