Administering Organization — Individual Artists Fellowship

Background & Purpose

The California Arts Council (CAC) is a statewide agency committed to serving California artists, arts organizations, and communities of all sizes and needs. Guided by racial equity principles, the CAC continuously evaluates its grantmaking practices to ensure fair and inclusive funding opportunities that sustain a vibrant, safe, and resilient creative ecosystem across the state.  

Through regionally based Administering Organizations (AOs), the Individual Artists Fellowship (IAF) program uplifts and celebrates California artists across all disciplines and traditions, highlights their excellence and acknowledges their leadership in shaping traditional and contemporary cultures. The program includes three fellowship tiers with a different award amount:

• CAC Emerging Artist Fellows – $5,000
  Emerging artists are those in the beginning stages of making their work public and engaging the larger community in their practice.
• CAC Established Artist Fellows – $10,000
  Artists in the Established tier regularly make their work public and engage the larger community in their practice.
• CAC Legacy Artist Fellows – $50,000
  Artists in the Legacy tier can point to a significant body of work, produced over a substantial period of time, that has engaged their communities and that has made significant social impact.

The CAC approved eight regional AOs for the fellowship in September 2025. Information about each of the AOs and details regarding their Individual Artists Fellowship programs, including application deadlines, are listed below. If you are an individual artist, apply to the statewide fellowship program through the Regional AO listed below that serves your county. Please note: Individual artists must live in the region they are applying to and may submit an application to only one region.