Now in its tenth year, the program will award 18 fellowships – nine in Film & Music and nine in Live Arts – to artists living and working in metropolitan Detroit (Wayne, Oakland and Macomb counties).

Kresge Artist Fellowships are no-strings-attached $25,000 awards. Fellowships also include a professional practice program, designed and delivered by Creative Many Michigan, which includes workshops, seminars, and networking events. Artists at all career stages are invited to apply.

In addition, two Gilda Awards, $5,000 no-strings-attached prizes solely for emerging artists, will also be awarded – one in Film & Music and one in Live Arts.

Gilda Awards recognize artists who are early in their careers, are gaining momentum, and who demonstrate exceptional potential through creative risk-taking and pushing the boundaries of their chosen art form. The awards are named in honor of Gilda Snowden (1954 – 2014), who was one of the 18 inaugural artists to receive a Kresge Artist Fellowship in 2009. Snowden served as Interim Chair and Professor of Fine Arts at the College for Creative Studies where she taught painting for more than 30 years.

Artists working in the following disciplines are eligible to apply for a 2018 Kresge Artist Fellowship:

In each category, fellows and Gilda Award recipients are selected by independent panels of distinguished local and national artists and arts professionals. Previous applicants are strongly encouraged to re-apply. New panels are convened each year, bringing fresh perspectives to the review process.

Artists are strongly encouraged to attend the applicant workshops, which are designed to help artists submit competitive applications to Kresge Arts in Detroit as well as other sources of support for their creative careers.

Fellowship applications are only available and submitted online. The online application opens on Friday, December 1, 2017 and must be submitted before 11:59 PM EST on Thursday, January 18, 2018.

Since 2008, Kresge Arts in Detroit has awarded nine Kresge Eminent Artist Awards ($50,000 each), 162 Kresge Artist Fellowships ($25,000 each), and six Gilda Awards ($5,000 each) for a total of more than $4.5 million given directly to individual metro Detroit artists.