Starting Monday, Dec. 2, metro Detroit artists are invited to apply for a 2025 Kresge Artist Fellowship. Beginning with this round of awards, the fellowship will increase from $40,000 to $50,000 for 15 literary and visual artists.

Artists residing in Wayne, Oakland and Macomb county can apply online for the no strings attached prize through Jan. 16, 2025. There are no exceptions to this deadline. Applicants are encouraged to review the latest application guidelines before applying.

The fellowships are funded by The Kresge Foundation and administered by Kresge Arts in Detroit, a Kresge-funded office of the College for Creative Studies. In this application cycle, Kresge Arts in Detroit will award 15 Fellowships and 10 Gilda Awards in the Literary Arts and Visual Arts categories. The Fellowships and Gilda Awards will be divided between the two categories based on the relative number of applications received in each category. Disciplines for each category include:

• LITERARY ARTS: Arts Criticism, Creative Nonfiction, Fiction, Graphic Novels, Playwriting, Poetry, Spoken Word, Zines, and Interdisciplinary Work
• VISUAL ARTS: Book Art, Ceramics, Collage, Drawing, Fiber, Glass, Installation, Metalwork, New Media, Painting, Photography, Performance Art, Printmaking, Sculpture, Video Art, and Interdisciplinary Work

A total of 25 awards—15 Fellowships and 10 Gilda Awards—will go to artists of all career stages. Kresge Artist Fellowships are $50,000 no strings attached awards which include career support opportunities and a short film highlighting the artist’s work.

Artists applying for a fellowship can also choose to be considered for one of the 10 available Gilda Awards, which are $5,000 unrestricted prizes for emerging artists living and working in the tri-county area. The awards honor the legacy of Gilda Snowden (1954–2014), who was one of the 18 inaugural artists to receive a Kresge Artist Fellowship in 2009, and who taught painting at the College for Creative Studies for more than 30 years. The online application allows artists to opt to be automatically considered for Gilda Awards if they do not receive a Fellowship.

Key dates:

• Dec. 2, 2024: Online application opens
• Jan. 16, 2025, by 11:59 PM: Application deadline. There are no exceptions to this deadline.

The 2025 Kresge Artist Fellows and Gilda Award recipients will be selected by an independent panel of distinguished local and national artists and arts professionals. Previous applicants are strongly encouraged to re-apply, as new panels—with fresh perspectives—are convened each year.

“I applied a few times before I received a fellowship,” said Alise Alousi, 2019 Kresge Artist Fellow in Literary Arts. “I spent the majority of my time on my work samples, revising and generating new work and also seeking advice from a writing mentor. These poems eventually became a core part of my poetry collection, which was accepted for publication shortly after my fellowship year. I always encourage people to start the process early, put the most time into your sample, and to keep trying. It is time well-spent.”

Application information sessions

Kresge Arts in Detroit staff will hold an online application info session and walkthrough in December, followed by a second online Q&A session in January. While not required, applicants are encouraged to attend these sessions, which are designed to support artists in creating compelling applications for a Kresge Artist Fellowship. Artists can register to attend using the links below.

Application Info Session (virtual)
Dec. 11, 2024: 5:30–6:30 PM

Application Q&A Session (virtual)
Jan. 9, 2025: 5:30–6:30 PM

Visit kresgeartsindetroit.org for the complete guidelines, FAQs, and additional resources. Please direct questions about application requirements to Kresge Arts in Detroit at [email protected] or by phone at 313.744.3204.

Jordan Duckens is the Kresge Arts in Detroit communications strategist.