Founded on the belief that Minnesota thrives when its artists and culture bearers thrive, the McKnight Foundation’s arts and culture program is one of the oldest and largest of its kind in the country. Support for individual working Minnesota artists and culture bearers has been a cornerstone of the program since it began in 1982. The McKnight Artist & Culture Bearer Fellowships Program provides annual, unrestricted cash awards to outstanding mid-career Minnesota artists in 15 different creative disciplines. Program partner organizations administer the fellowships and structure them to respond to the unique challenges of different disciplines. Currently, the foundation contributes about $2.8 million per year to its statewide fellowships. For more information, visit mcknight.org/artistfellowships.

The American Composers Forum encourages applicants from the full range of musical approaches and perspectives, and is committed to supporting a diverse pool of artists who demonstrate compelling artistic work. Accordingly, awards for our programs will represent, as far as possible, artists and projects that are diverse in creative methodology, gender, race, ethnicity, and geography.

Guidelines

ONLINE APPLICATION DEADLINE: Tuesday, October 29th, 2024 (11:59 PM Central) 

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

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 can 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

The Purpose of the McKnight Artist and Culture Bearers Fellowship 

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.

Eligibility:

(you must check all boxes)

  • 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 is 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 the following:

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

Notification 

The panelists’ decision is final and will be announced in late January 2025. Results will be posted on ACF’s website, and applicants will be notified by email. After the 2025 McKnight Composer Fellowships are announced, all applicants can set up a 15-minute feedback session with an ACF staff member.

Information Sessions 

ACF staff will offer two 60-minute 2025 McKnight Composer Fellowship Application Information Sessions online to review the application process. During these sessions, there will be time to ask questions about the application process and its components.

  • These sessions will be offered online via Zoom. You must register to receive the link.
  • We will record the sessions and post them HERE the following week.
  • Video tutorials on how to use the Zoom online meeting system can be found HERE.

Session 1: Monday, September 16th – 5:30-6:30 PM Central Time

Topic: we will review all guidelines and walk through the application process in SlideRoom. REGISTER HERE

Session 2: Wednesday, September 18th – 5:30-6:30 PM Central Time

Topic: we will examine previous awardees’ applications as case studies. REGISTER HERE

If you need one-on-one assistance with your application, please email Natalia Camargo Duarte at ncamargo@composersforum.org to schedule a meeting.

How to Apply 

The music creator applicant completes or uploads the following in the Online Application Form via the SlideRoom Application System. The online application can be found HERE.

1. Composer’s Personal Information: 

Name, Pronouns, Address, Phone, Email Address, Webpage

2. Questions Regarding Eligibility & Past Participation: 

A series of questions to confirm your eligibility for this program and past participation.

3. Work Samples: 

In this section, you will provide 2-3 work samples of your music. Together, the work samples should demonstrate the depth of work in your creative practice, including high-level proficiency in your artistic and/or culture bearer practice and your contributions to the field.

  • General Guidelines
    • Submit up to 15 minutes (total) of your original music in audio or video format. ○ Include at least one sample of work created in the past five years.
    • If you’ve previously received a McKnight Fellowship, focus on work completed since your last award.
    • Work sample 3 is optional and should be included only if you haven’t reached the total limit of 15 minutes of music.
    • Excerpts are accepted as work samples.
  • Recommendations
    • Work Sample 1 makes the most critical impression on the panelists and should represent your most distinctive and compelling musical example.
    • Work Samples 2 and 3 should each be a complementary, complete work.
    • Regardless of the linked or uploaded media duration, you will indicate start and end cue times.
    • Ensure links remain accessible and unchanged until February 1, 2025.
    • Provide active web links (SoundCloud, YouTube, Vimeo, Google Drive, etc.) to your work samples.
    • For private samples, make them unlisted so the committee can still access them.
    • Instructions for creating unlisted links:
  • Documentation
    • Each sample must clearly connect to your artistic statement, demonstrating how it reflects your vision, commitment, and role within your body of work.
    • The work description is crucial for illustrating this relationship and helping the panel understand the significance of each sample. (Up to 3000 characters.)
    • Include any supporting materials that provide insight into your creative process and role in the work.
    • If relevant, provide PDFs of notated scores (up to 10MB). For larger files, include a web link.
    • If your work includes lyrics, provide lyric sheets.
    • Acceptable sonic representations include video, spectrograms, waveforms, and graphics.
    • Note: Panelists cannot access music notation or specialized software directly.
  • Instructions for Submission: For each sample, provide:
    • Cue Start and End Times (for the specific excerpt from the audio/video files)
    • Title
    • Full Duration
    • Year of Completion
    • Ensemble/Name(s) of Performer(s)
    • Instrumentation
    • Description of the Work

5. Artist’s statement: Link to video (6 minutes max), OR typed answer (max. length: 4000-character, or ca. 600 words) 

The artist statement may take any of several directions at your discretion: information about your background, the development of your work, your interests as an artist or your aesthetic position, your future artistic direction, your career status, self-assessment, or any other information you would like to present to the panel.

6. Insights into your artistic experiences (4000-characters max, or ca. 600 words):

This can be a biography, a list of 10 artistic experiences that have shaped you as a musician, or a resume. We would like this document to enhance your artistic statement and provide further insights into your music creation. If you choose to list 10 artistic experiences, please go deeper into details on two of the most important experiences out of the ten experiences.

7. A complete works list (PDF only – up to 10MB): 

For each of your works, include the title, year created, approximate duration of work, instrumentation, year of the premiere, and performer or ensemble that premiered the work.

8. Questions regarding social media, information sessions, and how you learned about this opportunity. 

9. Acknowledgement of McKnight Artist Fellowship Community Values 

10. Acknowledgement of Terms and Conditions 

By applying, you attest:

  • You have carefully reviewed the 2025 McKnight Composer Fellowships application guidelines.
  • To the accuracy of the information supplied in the application.
  • Application materials submitted are the applicant’s sole and original work.
  • You understand the purpose and conditions of the McKnight Composer Fellowship program and accept them should you be selected as a fellow.
  • You are eligible for the call and will notify the Director of Programs if you become ineligible before the call for applications concludes.
  • Providing false or misleading information on this application or failing in any other way to comply with the rules will subject you to disqualification and forfeiture of the fellowship.
  • You understand that your application must be completed by the online application deadline of Tuesday, October 29th, 2024 (11:59 PM Central). ACF / McKnight Composer Fellowship program takes no responsibility for applications that are not in Submitted status at the deadline.

11. Music Creator’s Demographic Form 

In our commitment to racial equity, we include within that scope but do not limit it to, diverse gender identities, musical approaches and perspectives, religions, ages, abilities, cultures, backgrounds, and sexual orientations.

Sharing your information is optional, but it helps us understand the impact of our efforts to invite and welcome a broad range of artists. This information will not be shared publicly or with funders/other third parties with your name unless explicitly approved by you.

Instructions:

What you share in the 2025 Demographic Information form as part of your SlideRoom application for this program will be included in your application and seen by curators. If you prefer to keep your answers separate/anonymous, please complete this form: https://forms.gle/7phigmG7gtoynheu9. Not sharing your information will not negatively impact your application.

1. I identify as:

  • BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, Person Of Color), ALAANA (African, Latinx, Asian, Arab, Native American), Mixed Race, or Global Majority (Black, Asian, Brown, dual-heritage, Indigenous to the global south, people that have been racialized as ‘ethnic minorities’)
  • White

2. Which of the following regions do you identify with? (check all that apply.)

  • African descent/Diaspora
  • Southern African descent
  • Central African descent
  • East African descent
  • North African descent
  • West African descent
  • Caribbean descent
  • North American descent
  • Central American descent
  • South American descent
  • Central Asian descent
  • East Asian descent
  • South Asian descent
  • Southeast Asian descent
  • Middle Eastern/Southwest Asian descent
  • Native Hawaiian or Pacific Island descent
  • European descent
  • Decline to State

3. Please share the words you use to more fully communicate your identity and experiences. You may include specific race, ethnic, region, national group, and/or tribal/band affiliations you identify with. (Examples: Alaskan Native, Dakota-Shakopee Mdewakanton, Honduran, Azeri/Persian, Puerto Rican, Nigerian, Hmong, Thai, Scots-Irish, Russian Jewish descent, Laotian, Chicano, Italian, Rural/Remote resident, Yupik, Haitian and Creole, Norwegian, decline to state, I don’t know, etc.)

4. Which gender(s) do you identify with? (check all that apply.)

  • Woman
  • Gender non-conforming
  • Gender fluid
  • Man
  • Non-binary
  • Two Spirit
  • Decline to State
  • Prefer to self-identify (use the open field in the next question)

5. Open field for the question above: which gender(s) do you identify with?

6. Do you identify as transgender?

  • Yes
  • No
  • Decline to State

7. Do you identify as disabled or as a person with a disability?

  • Yes
  • No
  • Decline to state

8. Do you identify as neurodivergent?

  • Yes
  • No
  • Decline to State

Additional Information 

  • Entries must be submitted electronically on or before 11:59 PM Central on Tuesday, October 29th, 2024.
  • There will be a 24-hour grace period to accommodate any issues submitting your application by the deadline, but your application must have been started before the deadline. After the grace period, late applications will not be considered under any circumstance.
  • Entries submitted by mail or means other than the provided online application process will not be eligible for consideration.

Selection Process 

A review panel of four music creators, artists, and/or advocates is selected for their familiarity with diverse musical approaches. The panel will review applications and select fellowship recipients.

Prescreening: 

  • ACF staff review all applications for eligibility and completeness.

Panel Review Phases:

Phase 1 – Independent Review: 

In this phase, panelists assess each applicant individually and score them based on the six key evaluation criteria (see above).

  1. Panelists will only listen to up to 5 minutes of Work Sample 1 in this phase.
  2. About 50% of the applications will be passed on to the next phase based on combined scores and the panelists’ review of the list.

Phase 2 – Panel Review: 

In this phase, panelists will listen to applicants’ music together and have conversations in which they will make comparative judgments about each applicant.

Round 1: Panelists will adjust scores on the key evaluation criteria as needed and select between ten and fifteen applications to proceed to the next round.

  • The panelists may revisit Work Sample 1, this time collectively. If you wish for the panelists to listen to different sections of the same work, you can indicate alternative cue times for this review stage (always up to 5 minutes)
  • Panelists will listen to up to 10 minutes of Work Sample 2 (and Work Sample 3, if applicable).

Round 2: Panelists will provide an overall score and select the four awardees, alternates, and honorable mentions.

  • Panelists will revisit all work samples as needed.

Past curators have included Pascal Le Boeuf, Mary Prescott, J.E. Hernandez, Andrea Reynolds, Maria Chávez, Texu Kim, inti figgis-vizueta, Matthew Evan Taylor, Forbes Graham, Sarah M. Greer, Ritika Ganguly, Danny Clay, Jannina Norpoth, Carlos R. Carrillo.

The ACF staff members who oversee the McKnight Fellowship program do not contribute to the decision-making process or the selection of the McKnight Composer Fellows. The staff’s role is to provide clarity for the review process and ensure that the curators’ review and discussions proceed according to the program guidelines.

Questions 

The American Composers Forum encourages applicants to contact ACF staff to ask questions and discuss potential applications. For general questions regarding the McKnight Composer Fellowship program applications, please contact Natalia Camargo Duarte, Programs Associate, at ncamargo@composersforum.org.