Three Reasons You Should Apply to Tulsa Artist Fellowship

“Tulsa Artist Fellowship has afforded me the time, space, and financial support to refocus and shift my energy.” – Kalup Linzy

Time, space, and stability are three of the most precious resources an artist can have. In our latest #NYFAPartner spotlight, we’re pleased to share a unique opportunity that offers all three of these resources to artists and arts workers: Tulsa Artist Fellowship. Tulsa Artist Fellowship was established in 2015 by the George Kaiser Family Foundation with the goal of bringing professional artists to Tulsa, Oklahoma. Kalup Linzy (NYSCA/NYFA Artist Fellow in Video/Film ’15), United States Poet Laureate Joy Harjo, and multidisciplinary artist Crystal Z Campbell are just a few of the sixty artists and arts workers participating in the Fellowship.

Here are three reasons why you may want to add this opportunity to your application calendar, and apply by September 6, 2019.

You Can Laser Focus on Your Art

Tulsa Artist Fellowship is a merit-based award that aims to provide the financial stability and resources that artistic practitioners of all kinds need to “wholeheartedly pursue” their contemporary arts practices. These resources include:

• One-year, unrestricted $20,000 award
• Fully subsidized housing and studio space in Downtown Tulsa’s Arts and Greenwood Districts
• Relocation package
• Access to arts industry leaders
• Diverse platforms for sharing in-process and finished works including exhibitions, publications, and public programming

What’s more, each Fellow can apply to renew their Fellowship for a second year. For many artists, a full-time arts practice is unattainable due to the need to cover living expenses. A program like Tulsa Artist Fellowship can furnish the support an artist needs to devote a substantial amount of time to current projects, explore new approaches, plan ahead, and build their arts career.

You Bring a Lot to the Table

Tulsa Artist Fellowship brings people together from different places, with diverse perspectives and experiences. Socially invested arts practitioners live, make, and intentionally engage with a city that is distinctly positioned at the center of coastal cultural conversations. In Tulsa, they make introductions, they tell stories, they share meals, they work. Fellows past, present, and future represent a wide range of disciplines, from writers and filmmakers to installation artists and curators. Acknowledging the land the program resides upon, Tulsa Artist Fellowship designates awards for Alaska Native, Native American, and Native Hawaiian artists and arts workers.

You Can Join and Cultivate a Community

Community engagement plays a central role in Tulsa Artist Fellowship. Fellows participate in symposia, readings, performances, open studios, and publications in order to foster connections within the city. Tulsa was recently named one of the world’s top ten design cities by Metropolis Magazine, and Fellows live and work in the Tulsa Arts District, one of the oldest neighborhoods in Tulsa, or the Greenwood District, home of the Greenwood Cultural Center. “The commitment from George Kaiser Family Foundation to support artists and arts workers is groundbreaking,” says Carolyn Sickles, Executive Director of Tulsa Artist Fellowship. “We are dedicated to solving systemic challenges that have historically impacted the arts community, and Tulsa is becoming a place where arts practitioners, many for the first time, are living healthy and sustainable lives.”

Ready to apply? Find application details here.

– Mirielle Clifford, Program Officer, Online Resources

This post is part of a regular blog series highlighting #NYFAPartner sponsor organizations on NYFA Current. Follow NYFA on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram to see the latest news about each #NYFAPartner. Sign up for NYFA’s bi-weekly newsletter, NYFA News, to receive announcements about future NYFA events and programs.

Images: Courtesy Tulsa Artist Fellowship, from top: Kalup Linzy in his studio, photo by Melissa Lukenbaugh; The Fellowship’s Reading Room at Cameron Studios, photo by Shane Brown; and Julie Alpert in her studio, photo by Melissa Lukenbaugh