McKnight Composer Fellowships

The Purpose of the McKnight Artist and Culture Bearers Fellowships

The intent of the McKnight Artist and Culture Bearers Fellowship is to recognize and support artists and culture bearers who are beyond emerging and have sustained experience in their area of practice. Fellows demonstrate achievement, commitment, and high-level proficiency in artistic and/or culture bearer practice that contributes to their field and impacts and benefits people in Minnesota.

The addition of culture bearer acknowledges that the McKnight programs support creative leaders in Minnesota from cultures that don’t use the word “artist” (such as Native American and Hmong), as well as those who center the transmission and preservation of cultural lifeways.

Awards

• Four fellowships of $25,000 in unrestricted funds will be awarded. Awards are subject to state and federal income tax guidelines.
• Funds are distributed across four installments.
• Fellows also have an opportunity to attend an artist residency program coordinated by the Artist Communities Alliance within two years of the fellowship program.
• Fellows will also have access to financial support up to $3,500 to develop works-in-progress.
• Consultation, time, and resources from ACF.
• Consultation, time, and resources from Springboard for the Arts

2025 McKnight Composer Fellowship Panelists

The panelists who will be selecting the 2025 awardees are Carmina Escobar, Troy Rogers, Jess Rowland, and Mychal Fisher.

Please note: ACF is intentional in its interchangeable use of the terms artist, music creator, and composer, as we recognize not everyone identifies themselves by one of these terms.

Program Description

• ACF will select four music creators based in Minnesota to support their continuing artistic practice.
• There are no restrictions on how each music creator makes use of the funds.

Eligibility

• You have or maintain Minnesota residency for at least one year prior to application and for the duration of the fellowship year.
•  You must have a Social Security Number or Tax ID (such as an ITIN) for our program administrator to process financial awards.
• You are beyond early practice and have sustained experience in your discipline.
• You demonstrate achievement, commitment, and high level proficiency in music creation practice.
• For former McKnight fellows applying after the five year sit period: You demonstrate growth and ongoing artistry since your most recent McKnight Artist Fellowship.
• You have not applied to a McKnight Artist Fellowship in any artistic discipline within the past year.
• You have not received a McKnight Artist Fellowship within any artistic discipline in the last five award years. Recipients of 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 McKnight Fellowships in any discipline are not eligible. 2019 fellows are eligible to apply again for 2025 fellowship awards. Past fellows can search on the McKnight Artists Fellowship webpage to confirm their award year.
• You are not staff, board, or immediate family of the McKnight Foundation or fellowship administrative partners (including ACF). The partners are shown here: https://www.mcknight.org/programs/arts-culture/the-mcknight-artist-fellowships/
• You are not enrolled full-time in an academic program. (Low-Residency MFA students, and Ph.D. and DMA candidates who have completed all requirements except their dissertation, are not considered “full-time” students.)

Key Evaluation Criteria

We believe that the cultural, political, and social landscape around us shapes how we create, share, and receive art. We see artmaking as a profound form of expression and engagement with the world around us – not the objective experience often promoted by Western European traditions. We are interested in supporting artists who intentionally engage with this larger context in their artmaking, in particular those who have been historically excluded from funded opportunities.

Furthermore, we seek to deconstruct the historical concept of “composer,” as well as the assumed default of who is “American.” We encourage applicants to self-identify their music, perspective, and demographic information.

The panelists will review your application and score the following:

Artistic craft:

• Strong sense of the creator’s voice
• Technical proficiency necessary to achieve the desired results
• Quality of work samples (a cultural context continually defines quality)

The applicant has clearly reached beyond early practice as evidenced by:

• Significant body of work
• Creative achievement
• Sustained contribution to their artistic field and to Minnesota’s arts ecosystem.