2026 Craft Archive Fellowship (Due May 20)
2026 Craft Archive Fellowship
Deadline: May 20th, 2026
Four fellowships of $5,000 will be awarded to support archival research on underrepresented and nondominant craft histories in the United States.
The Craft Archive Fellowship advances archival research on underrepresented and nondominant craft histories in the United States, including feminist, queer, Black, Indigenous, Latinx, Asian American and Pacific Islander, intersectional, and other communities and approaches that may not be specifically listed here.
ELIGIBILITY
Proposals are welcome from a range of scholars, from emerging to established, including artist-researchers. Funding is intended to support independent research and is not intended to support research conducted on behalf of an institution, corporation, or nonprofit organization.
Archives are repositories for and collections of primary source materials where people can conduct research. However, the histories preserved and stored within institutional libraries and archives often reflect dominant cultural narratives, limiting the types of histories that can be told and accessed by scholars in the future. This fellowship takes an expansive understanding of what an archive is, to delimit what an archive can be. For the purpose of this grant, the Center for Craft understands archival craft research as, but not limited to:
Digital and in-person archives: Recipients can direct their research towards a digital or site-specific archive, such as institutional archives that feature underrepresented craft communities. An in-person visit is not required.
Objects as archives, the study of a new collection of materials, such as oral histories, community-created archives, site or place as an archive.
Funding from this grant can be used to visit more than one archive, as funding and time permits. However, engagement with just one archive is all that is expected.
Applicants must be:
21 years of age or older
Eligible to receive taxable income in the United States
Applicants cannot be:
Disqualified persons, such as substantial contributors to or current employees, consultants, or board members of the Center for Craft, or immediate family members of such a person
If an applicant has been previously awarded a Center for Craft grant but did not complete the project, or is still in the process of completing a grant or fellowship, they are not eligible to apply.
Applicants may only receive one Center for Craft grant and/or fellowship per year. Awards cannot be deferred to the next year due to outstanding applications or multiple awards.
The Center encourages applications from historically underrepresented populations. The Center for Craft prohibits discrimination, harassment, and retaliation based on sex, sexual orientation, race, color, religion, national origin, disability or perceived disability, age, marital status, gender identity, veteran status, or any other protected category. Applying does not constitute a promise or guarantee of being awarded a grant.
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USE OF FUNDS
Award funds may be used to cover travel and living expenses, personal stipends/honoraria, image rights, photocopies or other reproductions, subcontracted research assistance, purchase of primary source materials, and other incidental research expenses. Award funds may be used towards rent, childcare, and healthcare, as needed.
For travel purposes, the Center for Craft recommends applicants use the following resources: U.S. General Services Administration and Budget Your Trip.
When working with artists (to conduct oral histories or otherwise), the Center for Craft requires recipients to provide appropriate compensation. For remuneration estimates, we recommend consulting the floor wages listed on the Working Artists and the Greater Economy (W.A.G.E.) fee calculator website.
When working with community members, the Center for Craft requires that all grant recipients provide financial remuneration for their time, labor, and services rendered towards the awarded project scope and goals.
Award funds can be used towards course buyouts, as needed.