Deadline: 22-Sep-2025
The Black Artist + Designers Guild is offering the Creative Futures Grant to support Black graduate students in Craft as they bring bold, innovative projects to life.
The Creative Futures Grant is intended to support projects that Black students in craft may want to do but are not necessarily supported to create at their educational institutions. The grant seeks to move students toward actualizing all the phases of a creative project. Be creative. Think BIG and outside the box. Think about what you want someone looking at your work a century from now to feel. Projects must be based in craft traditions and can be: creation of new work, thesis exhibition, a permanent public art installation, a body of work outside of your graduate coursework, and travel to support research.
The Creative Futures Grant are two $5,000 cash prize intended to support projects that Black students in craft may want to do but are not necessarily supported to create at their educational institutions. The grant seeks to move students toward actualizing all the phases of a creative project.
The grant offers Black graduate students in MFA programs at US-based institutions the opportunity to pursue projects rooted in craft traditions. US citizenship is not required, though applicants must have a US-based bank account for award disbursement and be able to report the award as taxable income. This grant is not intended for business operations, but rather for projects that celebrate Black diasporic expression across craft disciplines such as fiber arts, ceramics, furniture/woodworking, metalworking/jewelry, glass, paper/book arts, and textiles/wearable arts.
Applicants are encouraged to submit images that best represent their work, whether through a series or a cross-section of related pieces. While multiple perspectives may be shown, composite images are not acceptable. The selection will be made by a jury of three craft professionals from across the United States, who will evaluate submissions on artistic excellence and project feasibility, with emphasis on reflecting the diversity of Black Diasporic expression.
The award will be disbursed in two installments of $2,500 each, with the second payment contingent upon the submission of a progress or impact report. Applicants who have previously received a BADG grant are not eligible to apply. The deadline to apply is September 22, 2025, at 11:59 p.m. EST.
For more information, visit Black Artist + Designers Guild.
