Teaching Artist Cohort (TAC) Grant

The Teaching Artist Cohort is a professional development and funding opportunity administered by the Center for Craft, a nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing the understanding and support of craft in the United States. The Center for Craft focuses on supporting artists working in material-based practices and fostering equitable access to resources and opportunities. This program specifically targets mid-career craft artists who actively engage in teaching, providing both financial support and a structured cohort experience designed to strengthen both artistic and educational practices. The primary purpose of the Teaching Artist Cohort is to support artists who integrate their craft practice with teaching across a variety of settings, including community spaces, educational institutions, and workshops. The program recognizes craft broadly as three-dimensional work primarily produced by hand, encompassing traditional materials such as clay, fiber, glass, wood, and metal, as well as nontraditional materials like recycled or natural elements. The grant emphasizes artists who transform materials into new forms and who demonstrate a sustained commitment to both artistic production and teaching. Each selected participant receives a grant of 10,000 dollars alongside participation in a six-month cohort experience running from July through December. The funding is distributed in two installments, with seventy percent awarded upon completion of administrative requirements and the remaining thirty percent contingent upon completion of the program and a final evaluation interview. In addition to funding, recipients are required to actively participate in cohort programming, including virtual workshops and convenings, attending at least eighty percent of scheduled sessions. The program also requires acknowledgment of support in professional materials and participation in follow-up evaluation activities. Eligibility is limited to individual mid-career craft artists who meet specific criteria. Applicants must be at least twenty-one years old, eligible to receive taxable income in the United States, and have lived and worked in the country for the previous two years. They must demonstrate a minimum of five years of studio practice and at least three years of experience as a teaching artist. The program excludes tenured and tenure-track faculty, prior recipients of specific Center for Craft grants, and organizational or group applicants. Priority is given to individuals who have not previously received funding from the Center for Craft, with an emphasis on diverse representation across geography, materials, and teaching contexts. Applications must be submitted through the SlideRoom online platform by May 4, 2026, at 11:59 PM Eastern Time. The application process includes a cover sheet, narrative responses describing artistic practice and teaching philosophy, career goals, and supporting materials such as a CV and work samples. Applicants must also complete a demographic survey. Submissions are reviewed first for completeness and then evaluated by a panel of craft experts based on artistic merit, demonstrated practice, career timing, and potential benefit from the program. The timeline for the grant includes an application opening on April 3, 2026, an information session on April 15, 2026, and notification of awards in June 2026. The grant period officially begins in July 2026 and concludes in December 2026. The program is structured as an annual opportunity, though recurrence is implied rather than explicitly stated. Applicants are notified via email, and all communications and submissions are handled digitally. Questions may be directed to the Center for Craft through the designated program contact.

Emphasize strong artistic practice and teaching integration; demonstrate career timing and need; provide high quality work samples