The NYSCA/NYFA Artist Fellowship is an $8,000 unrestricted cash grant aimed at supporting artists living in New York State or within the Tribal Nations located in the state. This fellowship is not tied to a specific project but is intended to fund an artist's creative vision or voice, regardless of their career stage. The program covers fifteen artistic disciplines over a three-year cycle, with five disciplines available each year.

For the 2025 award cycle, applications open on October 8, 2024, at 10:00 AM ET, and close on December 17, 2024, at 5:00 PM ET. Applications must be submitted online through apply.nyfa.org/submit, and notifications will be sent to applicants in Summer 2025. There is no cost to apply.

Applicants must meet several eligibility requirements. They must be at least 25 years old by the application deadline and be current residents of New York State or a Tribal Nation within the state, having maintained residency for the last two consecutive years (2023 and 2024). Artists must not be enrolled in any degree-seeking program and must be the originators of their work, such as choreographers or playwrights, rather than interpretive artists like dancers or actors.

Further restrictions include not having received a NYSCA/NYFA Artist Fellowship within the past five years (2020–2024) and ensuring that submitted work samples have not previously earned this fellowship. Artists who have won five NYSCA/NYFA Artist Fellowships across any discipline are no longer eligible. Collaborative groups of up to three artists may apply, provided all members meet the eligibility criteria, but an individual artist cannot apply as part of a collaboration and as a solo applicant in the same cycle.

Artists may apply in up to two disciplines per cycle. However, those with conflicts of interest, such as current NYFA employees, recent trustees, or family members of panelists, are ineligible. The fellowship is designed to foster artistic excellence and provide equitable opportunities for artists across the state. For more information, visit the NYFA application portal or consult the program guidelines.