SFCA icon
SFCA icon
Hawaii State Foundation on Culture and the Arts logo

< Programs for Artists and Presenters  /  Grants and Fellowships

Culture Fellowships

The Culture Fellowship has been postponed. Read more on our news page: Creative Workforce Grant and Culture Fellowships Postponed.

About SFCA Culture Fellowships

The Culture Fellowship aims to acknowledge a new generation of traditional artists and cultural practitioners whose work exemplifies a high level of expertise and dedication to their form of art or discipline, and to recognize, honor, and support the creative achievements of renowned culture-bearers of art forms vital to Hawaiʻi’s rich cultural heritage. 

Eight awards of $25,000 will be awarded. The State Foundation on the Culture and the Arts (SFCA) Culture Fellowship utilizes American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding with support from the Hawaiʻi State Legislature.

Eligibility

The Culture Fellowship is for active individual artists and practitioners living in Hawaiʻi, and is a project-based community impact arts and culture fellowship.

  • United States citizen or permanent resident
  • State of Hawaiʻi resident
  • Age 18 years or older
  • Not barred or suspended from receiving federal funds
  • Registered and compliant with Hawaiʻi Compliance Express (Vendors.eHawaii.gov/HCE)

Important Dates

  • June 15, 2022: Application open in Hawaii.GoSmart.org
  • July 31, 2022: Application closes at 11:59 p.m., Hawaiʻi Standard Time (HST).
  • September/October 2022: Notification of funding/contracting begins
  • December 2022 – June 30, 2023: project implementation.
  • July 30, 2023: final report.

Resources and References

Graphic with text reading SFCA Culture Fellowship

Contact

Kathleen “Kacey” Bejado
Arts Program Coordinator

The SFCA Culture Fellowships Application Process

Application Requirements

  • Meet the individual eligibility requirements (listed in the 2023 Culture Fellowship Program Overview PDF, page 2). Applications that are not eligible on July 31, 2022 will not be accepted.
  • One application per individual applicant
  • Project must be implemented entirely in the state of Hawaiʻi
  • Projects are not intended to fulfill academic requirements

Application Instructions

Required Application Materials

Please refer to the applicant instruction sheet (2023 Culture Fellowships Application Instructions PDF) to guide your application process.

Application Review and Notification

  • Staff review: applications received by the deadline are reviewed by SFCA staff for eligibility and completeness. Applications that are not eligible or not complete will not be accepted.
  • Applicants will be notified about receipt and status of their application.
  • Panel review: panelists will evaluate the eligible applications on merit, need, and ability to carry out the project.
    • Panelists will discuss their scores for each application in a panel meeting that is open to the public. Information to attend panel meetings will be made available.
    • SFCA staff will make priority recommendations, based on the scores, from highest to lowest, which are submitted to the SFCA Board of Commissioners for review and approval of the prioritized list.
  • Fellowship notification: applicants will receive official notification about the status of their application after the SFCA Board of Commissioners approves the prioritized list.

Fellowship Funding

  • Appropriations from the Legislature of the State of Hawaiʻi provide public funds to support SFCA’s Culture Fellowship.
  • The pool of available funds for the 2023 Culture Fellowship is $200,000. Each fellowship that is approved for funding will be $25,000. We expect to fund eight (8) fellows.

Project Categories

  • Heritage and Preservation
  • Community Arts
  • Arts Education
  • Presenting and Performing Arts

Please see the 2023 Culture Fellowship Program Overview PDF for examples of project activities, venues, and activity types.