Realizing George Kaiser Family Foundation’s vision, grounded in social change, Tulsa Artist Fellowship is committed to fostering an environment where community-invested artists and arts workers have the opportunity to thrive.

AWARD STRUCTURE

ARTHUR HAYWOOD

OVERVIEW

The open call for the 2026-2028 Tulsa Artist Fellowship award is closed.

Tulsa Artist Fellowship annually appoints arts experts working across the United States who represent a wide spectrum of artistic disciplines to join the application review process. Reviewers, including art world key players, visionary artists and arts workers, awardee alum, and essential Tulsa Artist Fellowship stakeholders, evaluate submissions independently and identify top candidates to interview.

Individuals with outreach-specific roles support the open call submission by leveraging their network of experienced creatives to help identify eligible candidates. This structure deepens the Tulsa Artist Fellowship’s connection to the expansive communities and practices that constitute the field of art.

A highly competitive application will exemplify the following criteria:

• Applicant has established a rigorous and innovative arts practice

• Making art in Tulsa feels meaningful to the applicant

• Proposed project is forward-thinking, demonstrates impactful community engagement, appears achievable, and will significantly contribute to Tulsa’s arts identity

TIMELINE

APPLICATION CLOSED

All applicants will receive status notifications by September 2025. Top candidates will be invited to a virtual interview, and the anticipated selection notifications are November 2025. The 2026-2028 award term starts in January 2026 and ends in December 2028.

All dates are subject to change if beneficial to the selection process and award program.

QUALIFICATIONS

• National and local artists and/or arts workers of any medium and/or discipline with a minimum of five years of arts field experience.

• During the three-year award term, awardees must commit to residing and working in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Extended time living outside of Tulsa for personal and field-related reasons must be proposed in advance to allow time for approval consideration.

• Recognizing that groundbreaking art practices thrive within an intention-setting framework, awardees will commit to actualizing a proposed project during the three-year program term. Competitive project submissions will draw from the applicants’ artistic practice, be forward-thinking, demonstrate impactful community engagement, and make a significant contribution to Tulsa’s arts identity.

• Applicants must be at least 25 years old and a U.S. citizen, permanent legal resident, O-1 Visa holder, or Tribal ID holder.

• Previous Tulsa Artist Fellowship awardees are ineligible to reapply for additional award terms.

• Employees of the George Kaiser Family Foundation (GKFF), Tulsa Community Foundation (TCF), and GKFF Operating LLC are ineligible for this award.

APPLICATION

Tulsa Artist Fellowship makes the award process free and accessible to all applicants. The 2026-2028 application is closed.

QUESTIONS

For questions about application submissions, please email support@tulsaartistfellowship.org or call +1 (539) 302-4855. 

APPLICATION MATERIALS

• Legal Name and (if applicable) Public/Chosen Name

• Email Address

• Phone Number

• Primary Residence Address (City, State, Zip Code, Country)

• Additional Residence Addresses (if applicable)

• Date of Birth

• Pronouns

• Identity

• Household

• Race/Ethnicity

• Are you an enrolled member of a state-recognized or federally-recognized Tribe, Pueblo, Nation, Native Community, Political Entity, or Alaskan Native Village?

  Tulsa Artist Fellowship uses the Indian Arts and Crafts Act of 1990 as a guideline for awarding fellowships to Alaskan Native, Native American, and Native Hawaiian artists. The details of the act can be reviewed here: https://www.doi.gov/iacb/act

• Please select the area(s) of discipline that best describe the applicant’s artistic practice

• Resume / CV

• Website (if applicable)

• Short and Long Biography

• Artistic Collaborator Name(s) - Artistic collaborators must submit individual applications for consideration.

• Artistic Practice Statement (3200 CHARACTER LIMIT/500 WORDS MAX) Provide a statement describing your artistic practice, approach, influences, intended impact, and context of provided work samples.

• Fellowship Statement (3200 CHARACTER LIMIT/500 WORDS MAX) If designated a Tulsa Artist Fellowship award, how would this field opportunity and project resources significantly contribute to your artistic trajectory? Why Tulsa and why now?

• Project Title & 3-Year Project Description (3200 CHARACTER LIMIT/500 WORDS MAX) Project proposals must be forward-thinking, demonstrate impactful community engagement, reach completion within the three-year award term, and significantly contribute to Tulsa’s arts identity. In detail, describe your project concept, format, scope, any related public programs, intended audience(s), impact goals, location(s), intended/potential project partner(s), forecasted timeline for planning, implementation, public activations, documentation, and reflection.

• Project Role (3200 CHARACTER LIMIT/500 WORDS MAX) Why is this project urgent or necessary at this moment, and what is your connection to the subject matter that makes you the right person to create and lead it?

• Relevant project visual aids are optional (PDF, Video, Images, Audio)

• Proposed Budget $150,000 Award Stipend - Budget lines should include general living expenses, artistic practice materials/equipment, and awarded project costs. Please note that the total award stipend will be disbursed in monthly payments of $X for living expenses and $X for project costs, unless alternate payment arrangements are approved in advance. If your project would benefit from in-kind support (e.g., travel, lodging, catering, documentation, or access to select venues), please indicate your anticipated needs within your budget proposal.

• Three (3) Arts Field References - For each reference, provide their name, field role, contact information, & field relationship.
  

WORK SAMPLES

Each work sample must include a caption for the work, including title, materials used, date completed, and a short description (up to 100 words / 750 characters). The description should provide contextual information for the work. The uploaded file should have the same name as the work sample and the applicant's name.

For images: 5-10 image samples of completed work, ideally created in the past eight years. Image samples may include multiple views or detailed images of the same work. Images must be at least 72 dpi.

For writing-based practices: Poetry samples may not exceed three pages (single-spaced). Prose samples may not exceed eight pages (double-spaced). Play samples may not exceed eight pages.

For time-based media practices: Total work samples must not exceed 10 minutes. If you link to an extended video sample, provide timestamps (in hour:minute:second:frame format) where reviewers should begin and end watching/listening (ex, “Start at 00:10:05:00 and end at 00:15:05:00”). Be sure to include any streaming passwords if applicable.

Applications started by the deadline will have a 10-day grace period to submit. All applicants will receive status notifications by September 2025. Top candidates will be invited to a virtual interview, and the anticipated selection notifications are November 2025. The 2026-2028 award term starts in January 2026 and ends in December 2028. All dates are subject to change if beneficial to the selection process and award program.