Fellowships and Residencies for Artists: September 2026
If the grant list is about funding your work, the fellowship and residency list is about protecting the time to do it. Artist fellowships and residencies September 2026 include some of the most competitive and prestigious programs of the year - full academic year appointments at Princeton, Harvard, the Smithsonian, and the National Gallery of Art, alongside funded studio residencies in Georgia, Wyoming, Maine, Nebraska, Texas, and the Pacific Northwest.
These aren't quick applications. Most require a project proposal, work samples, a CV, and in some cases letters of recommendation or a teaching statement. The programs that ask more of you tend to give more back - in time, in resources, and in the kind of professional context that's hard to create on your own.
Twenty opportunities. Deadlines running through mid-October. Start early.
Remember:
Read the full guidelines - Requirements can change from year to year.
Check eligibility - Many fellowships have career stage, discipline, or location requirements.
Prepare your materials early - Work samples, project proposals, and letters of recommendation take time to get right.
Artist Fellowships and Residencies September 2026: The Full List
Fellowships
Fellowships this month range from early-career visual arts grants to full academic year appointments at some of the most established institutions in the country. A few have significant cash attached. Several don't list stipend amounts publicly - review each program page for current details.
September Deadlines
September 8: Princeton Arts Fellowship | Princeton, NJ | Due: September 8 - Awarded to artists whose achievements demonstrate extraordinary promise in select areas of artistic practice and teaching. Fellows join Princeton's campus community for a full academic year. Review the program page for current stipend information and discipline focus areas.
September 8: Hodder Fellowship | Princeton, NJ | Due: September 8 - Given to artists and writers of exceptional promise to pursue independent projects at Princeton for a full academic year. Unlike the Arts Fellowship, there's no teaching component - the Hodder is designed specifically for the work. Review the program page for current stipend details.
September 10: MacDowell Fellowship | Peterborough, NH | Due: September 10 - One of the most established and respected residency programs in the country, supporting artists of exceptional talent across all disciplines. Applicants must be 21+ and not currently enrolled in a degree program. A strong application includes a project proposal, work samples in the same discipline as the proposed project, and five relevant artistic achievements.
September 10: Harvard Radcliffe Fellowship | Cambridge, MA | Due: September 10 - A full academic year at Harvard University for scientists, writers, scholars, public intellectuals, and artists pursuing ambitious projects. Highly competitive. Review the program page for stipend and eligibility details before applying.
September 11: MCAD-Jerome Foundation Fellowship | National | Due: September 11 - Four grants of $10,000 each for early-career visual artists who can present their work in a gallery context and have not yet received professional acknowledgment commensurate with the quality of their work. Funds may cover materials, production, and living or travel expenses. Selected by an independent jury of three arts professionals.
September 28: QM-Jerome Foundation Fellowship | Queens, NY | Due: September 28 - Two NYC-based emerging visual artists each receive $20,000 plus professional development consultations from Queens Museum staff working toward an artist's project. Requires NYC residency; check program page for full eligibility.
October Deadlines
October 15: Fellowship at the Smithsonian American Art Museum | Washington, D.C. | Due: October 15 - One of the oldest and largest fellowship programs in American art. Supports residential, full-time research within the museum's collections, archives, and library. Open to scholars from any discipline whose research engages American art, craft, or visual culture. Regular workshops and seminars are part of the program. Encourages applicants from all disciplinary backgrounds.
October 15: Clark Fellowship Program | Williamstown, MA | Due: October 15 - Fellowships at the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute for established and emerging scholars committed to inquiry in the theory, history, and interpretation of art and visual culture.
October 15: Creative Catalyst Fellowship | National | Due: October 15 - Supports individual artists whose work engages the public on critical issues facing Asian American and Pacific Islander communities and can serve as a catalyst for civic participation. Review the program page for stipend and eligibility details.
October 15: National Gallery of Art Postdoctoral Fellowship | Washington, D.C. | Due: October 15 - A two-year residential appointment supporting research and writing for publication. Open to postdoctoral scholars in art history and related fields. One of the most prestigious research fellowships in the visual arts.
Residencies
September's residency list covers a wide range of locations, disciplines, and program structures. A few are highly specific. Most are open to artists across mediums. All give you the one thing that's hardest to manufacture on your own: uninterrupted time.
September Deadlines
September 1: Corsicana Artists and Writers Residency | Corsicana, TX | Due: September 1 - Two-month, funded studio residencies for artists and writers of international, national, and Texas origin in a historic setting 50 miles south of Dallas. The length and the funding make this one of the more substantial residency opportunities this fall.
September 1: KHN Center for the Arts Residency | Nebraska City, NE | Due: September 1 - The Kimmel Harding Nelson Center awards residencies to composers, writers, visual, and interdisciplinary artists from across the country and around the world.
September 1: Bloedel Reserve Creative Residency | Bainbridge Island, WA | Due: September 1 - Supports creative thinking inspired by nature and the relationship between humans and the environment at the Bloedel Reserve on Bainbridge Island, Washington.
September 1: Surel's Place Monthlong Residency | Garden City, ID | Due: September 1 - Open to professional artists of any medium who need a dedicated month to focus on their work. No production requirements, no prescribed outcomes.
September 6: Erie Canal Museum Artist in Residence | Syracuse, NY | Due: September 6 - The Erie Canal Museum is seeking two artists in residence. Priority goes to artists with ancestral ties to the Haudenosaunee Confederacy and/or Mohican Nation and artists who live or work in New York State Canal communities.
September 7: On:View Artist Residency | Savannah, GA | Due: September 7 - Fully-funded residency at ARTS Southeast in Savannah's Starland District. Provides free, high-visibility studio space, lodging, and a $500 stipend for an artist or curator completing a new project, continuing an in-progress work, or conducting research.
September 10: Base Residency | Seattle, WA | Due: September 10 - An immersive two-week residency at Base in Seattle for movement-based artists. Encourages exploring new ideas, expanding existing work, and deepening creative practice. Short timeline, high intensity.
September 14: William Flanagan Memorial Creative Persons Center | Montauk, NY | Due: September 14 - The Edward F. Albee Foundation provides time and space to writers and visual artists from all walks of life, using only talent and need as criteria for selection. No discipline restrictions, no production requirements.
September 15: Abbott Watts Photography Residency | Monson, ME | Due: September 15 - Monson Arts supports photographers advancing the medium through imagination, innovation, and creative risk-taking. If photography is your primary practice, this one is purpose-built for where you are.
September 15: Jentel Arts Residency | Banner, WY | Due: September 15 - Jentel awards residencies to artists, writers, and composers who are focused and serious about their practices in Banner, Wyoming. One of the more respected residency programs in the Mountain West.
The residency and fellowship landscape in September rewards artists who are ready - not just talented. Having your materials tight, your project proposal clear, and your work samples selected before the portal opens is the difference between a strong application and a scrambled one.
If you want help building those materials, Grants Made Simple covers the full process - proposals, budgets, bios, artist statements, and work sample strategy - built from five workshops we've taught to artists and community builders. Use code FUNDED50 to grab it for $5.
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Go make something worth applying for.
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