Arts Orange County has been engaged by the California Arts Council to administer the application and jurying process for the 2026-27 Region 7 Individual Artist Fellowship, which includes Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino counties. Applications Open April 2nd!

Open to Artists & Cultural Practitioners residing in Region 7:
Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino Counties

Fellowship Period: August 1, 2026 – July 31, 2027

Arts Orange County is the administering organization for this program in Region 7

2026 Guidelines Available Now!

We've also created a page on our site with the full text of the Guidelines so that you can use our embedded Google Translate capabilities to review the text in a number of common language. Access that page here.

Background: Why is this program being offered?

With few opportunities for individual artists to apply for funding, and even fewer for their achievements to be recognized, the California Arts Council has created this program as a way to celebrate the state’s artists and culture bearers.

Purpose: What is the intended impact of this program?

The Individual Artists Fellowship (IAF) program will recognize, uplift, and celebrate the excellence of California artists and culture bearers practicing any art form with unrestricted grants ranging from $5,000 to $50,000.

Region VII

California Arts Council has contracted with Arts Orange County (ArtsOC) as the lead Administering Organization in Region VII, comprised of the counties of Orange, Riverside, and San Bernardino. ArtsOC has joined with the Riverside Arts Council, and Arts Connection – the Arts Council of San Bernardino County in creating a collaborative of the three State-Local Partner arts councils that serve those counties.

The Program

This program will support artists and culture bearers at key moments in their careers, elevating their capacity for continued contribution to the field and our state. Fellowship grants support individual artistic practice through unrestricted funding. This program is intended to support a broad spectrum of artists working in all disciplines, from diverse geographies and communities of all sizes across Orange, Riverside, and San Bernardino counties.

Excellence, for purposes of this grant, is defined as an artist’s:

• Unique artistic vision
• Ongoing commitment to creative practice
• Engagement with and impact on the larger cultural ecosystem

The grant program identifies three career tiers at which artists may benefit from this support:

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. Individuals at this career stage may have had a few public showings of their work, but do not yet have ongoing resources or support.

Established Artist Fellows - $10,000

Artists in the Established tier regularly make their work public and engage the larger community in their practice. Individuals in this tier can give multiple examples of artistic and/or cultural works that have made significant social impact.

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.

Artists in this tier may be able to point to Emerging and Established Artists that they have mentored or otherwise positively influenced