The purpose of the Emerging Artist Award program is to support professional, early-career Kentucky artists engaged in creating artwork of high quality and to recognize creative excellence. The primary goal of the program is to directly support the advancement and continuation of early–career Kentucky artists’ creative work. 

To be eligible to apply to the Emerging Artist Award program, an applicant must: 

• Must have been a legal Kentucky resident for a period of at least one full year immediately prior to the application deadline  

• Remain a legal, full-time resident of Kentucky for the duration of the grant period 

• Be at least 18 years of age at the time of application for the Emerging Artist Award 

• Be a professional, working artist, responsible for creating original work, not interpreting the work of others or creating under the guidance of an instructor or mentor 

• Students in the final year of their college or university art degree program, may be eligible to apply for an Emerging Artist Award. 

Note: Applicant age does not determine emerging artist status. For the purposes of this grant application, an emerging artist is defined as a professional creator of new work who: 

• Has a developing voice that reveals significant potential 

• Is rigorous in their approach to creation and production 

• Has some evidence of professional achievement  

• Is not recognized as an established artist by other arts professionals (artists, curators, critics and arts administrators)

Residency Requirements  

Applicants must be United States citizens, lawfully admitted to the U.S. for permanent residence, or have permission from the Department of Homeland Security to work permanently in the U.S.  

The Kentucky Arts Council requires applicants to provide two proofs of Kentucky residency at the time of application. Acceptable proofs of residency are: 

• Kentucky driver’s license or Commonwealth of Kentucky identification card that includes the date issued and expiration date (Note: The arts council will not accept both a Kentucky driver’s license and a Commonwealth of Kentucky identification card as the required two proofs of residency.) 

• A screenshot of current Kentucky voter registration verification from the State Board of Elections’ Voter Information Center website 

• 2024 or 2025 Kentucky state income tax form (740 series form for full-year residents) 

• A copy of a Kentucky utility bill (electric, gas, or water) that includes the applicant’s name, current address and evidence of usage as of January or February 2026 

Emerging Artist applications will be assessed using the following criteria: 

Artistic merit (60 points) 

• Distinctiveness  

• Originality 

• Technical skill 

Resume (20 points) 

• Education/training, achievements, and commitment to creative practice  

Impact (20 points) 

• Impact of Emerging Artist Award  

Work samples are the primary means by which panelists assess artistic quality. Carefully consider your choice of work samples in relation to the program’s application criteria. Applicants who are unsure about the eligibility of their work samples should contact the program director.  

Work samples must support the selected discipline and subdiscipline. Work samples must have been completed within the past three full calendar years and up to the application deadline (for example, for the application deadline of March 15, 2026, eligible work must have been created between Jan. 1, 2023, and March 15, 2026.)  

Work samples must be easily accessed without the use of passwords, codes, or special access permission.  

For more information about work sample requirements, see Artistic Excellence in the Application Instructions below. 

• Applicants may apply only with work samples over which they had complete creative control.  

• Works based on appropriated stories, images, or music are not allowed. 

• Applicants may apply in only one discipline and subdiscipline per application year. All work samples submitted must be representative of the selected discipline and subdiscipline. 

• Work created solely for commercial or instructional purposes is not eligible. 

• Multidisciplinary, interdisciplinary or multi-category applications are not eligible. 

• Work created by collaborations or teams is not eligible. 

• Applicants with past due final reports for any Kentucky Arts Council program are not eligible. 

• Applicants may submit only one application for the Emerging Artist Award per application year.  

• Applicants may not submit applications to both the Emerging Artist Award and the Individual Artist Fellowship in the same round. 

• Program recipients may receive no more than three Emerging Artist Awards in their lifetime. 

• Individual Artist Fellowship recipients are not eligible to apply for an Emerging Artist Award. 

• Emerging Artist Award recipients must wait at least four years before applying for an additional Emerging Artist Award or an Individual Artist Fellowship (for example, a FY2023 Emerging Artist Award recipient is eligible to apply for a FY2027 Emerging Artist Award or a FY2027 Individual Artist Fellowship). 

Applications for this program are made through GO Smart application system. If you are new to the Kentucky Arts Council’s GO Smart system, you must first set up a profile. Once established, your profile remains in the system for future applications. Be sure to keep your username and password in an easy to access location for future use. If you have applied to the Kentucky Arts Council in the past six years, you may already have a profile. Do not create a duplicate profile. 

Submission of the application indicates that you have read and understand all guidelines and application instructions but does not guarantee eligibility or that all guideline requirements have been met. 

Profile

Profile Type: Select Individual Artist.  

Create your username and password and complete registration.

Include your congressional district and state legislative districts. Your Kentucky Voter Registration includes all three district numbers. 

Click SAVE then select Grant Applications & Forms at the top of the page and scroll down to Emerging Artist Award FY27.  

Completing the Application 

Click Start to open the application. As you work through the application, click Save before moving from one section to another to avoid losing your work. To access your application after saving and closing it, scroll down to Emerging Artist Award FY27 and select EDIT.  

Navigate the application by clicking on the menu on the left side of each page or by using the Previous and Next buttons at the bottom of each page.  

Applicant Information 

Include your name, your professional name (the name used on your artistic work), your mailing address (if different from your Profile address), your Kentucky county of residence, and your Kentucky Vendor Number.  

Register for your free Kentucky Vendor Number or to lookup your existing number on the Kentucky Vendor Self-Service Registration portal. Kentucky Vendor Numbers begin with either KY or KS followed by seven numbers. 

The Finance and Administration Cabinet manages the Kentucky Vendor System. All questions about registration must be addressed to the Cabinet’s Customer Resource Center by calling 502-564-9641 or emailing  [email protected]. 

Artistic Excellence  

Work samples are the primary means by which panelists assess artistic and professional quality. Carefully consider your choice of work samples in relation to the program’s application criteria. Applicants who are unsure about the eligibility of their work samples must contact the program manager at least two weeks prior to submitting their application.  

Media Library 

Select Media Library at the top of the application and follow the instructions to upload the required work sample documents. Work samples are the primary means by which panelists assess artistic and professional quality. Carefully consider your choice of work samples in relation to the program’s application criteria. Applicants who are unsure about the eligibility of their work samples must contact the program manager at least two weeks prior to submitting their application.  

Pay careful attention to the specific requirements for submitting work samples and other information. All work samples must be on 8.5-inch x 11-inch pages with one-inch margins all around and black text in 11- or 12-point font (Arial, Calibri, Courier, or Times New Roman only).  

Work samples must be in manuscript form in Word or PDF format. Work samples downloaded from websites or scanned from books or journals will not be reviewed.  

Work sample requirements: 

• Fiction and creative nonfiction: 15-20 pages (one long sample or up to three shorter samples) 

• Play/screenwriting: 20-40 pages. (one to two work samples) Play/screenwriting work samples must be at least 20 pages in length and follow standard formatting. Applicants for play/screenwriting may also include a list of characters and a one-page synopsis of the entire work for each submitted work sample. 

• Poetry: 10-15 pages (no more than two poems per page are allowed) 

Other work sample information

Images and audio and video uploads are not permitted.  

Submitted samples must be from a completed work. A completed literary work is a piece of original writing that has been finished, revised, and is ready for publication or distribution. Works-in-progress are not eligible. 

Work samples may have been published locally or regionally, but not nationally.  

Publication is not a requirement.  

Self-published work is not eligible. 

Publication information should not appear on the work samples. 

Uploading work samples is a two-step process: 

Step 1: In the Media Library, select Documents, and then Add Document Files. Upload a single work sample from your computer and type the title of the work in the next field. Click Show Additional Fields Below and complete the following sections:   

• Artist name 

• Year completed 

• Year published (if applicable) 

• Publisher (if applicable) 

• Total number of pages of completed work 

• Number of pages uploaded 

• Scene description 

• Context statement

Step 2: In the Work Sample Selection section click Attach Document and then click the check box next to the work sample you want to attach. Click Save. Use the Sort Order buttons to put your work samples in the order you want panelists to review them.

Artistic Resume 

Upload your professional artistic resume. Include your education and other literary training; awards, grants, acknowledgements, and other achievements; readings and presentations; etc. Begin with the most recent in each category and work back. Your resume may be no more than two 8.5” x 11” pages with one-inch margins all around in Word or PDF format. Use only 11- or 12-point Arial, Calibri, Courier, or Times New Roman font in black.  

(A good resource for building an artistic resume is available from the New York Foundation for the Arts [NYFA] website. Sample resumes are included.) 

Impact 

Describe how receiving the Emerging Artist Award will significantly impact your work and/or your development as a writer. 

Read the certification statement. By typing your name, you are certifying that: 

• You have read and understand the program guidelines and requirements, 

• you are eligible to apply, 

• and the information provided in your application is true and correct. 

Applicants are strongly advised to review their applications before submitting them. Click on PDF at the bottom of the page to view your application.   

Once the application is submitted, GO Smart will redirect to a page confirming submission and you will receive an email confirming that your application has been received. For your files, a PDF of your application will be attached to the email.  

If you do not receive confirmation within 15 minutes, contact the program director immediately. (Outside of office hours, email the program director at the address below.) Applications not properly submitted by the March 15 deadline will be deemed ineligible.  

Each submitted application will be reviewed by the program director, who may contact the applicant if clarification is needed.  

Panels of out-of-state, discipline-based arts professionals will review all eligible emerging artist applications according to the scoring criteria. Kentucky Arts Council staff do not participate in the panel review process, other than to assist panelists with technical issues, and have no input into panel discussion or award decisions. 

The arts council reserves the right to not offer Emerging Artist Awards due to funding availability, when fewer than five applications are received, or as a result of low panel scores.  

Panel recommendations must be reviewed and approved by the arts council’s governing board. 

Grant Agreements Forms 

Applicants who are approved for funding enter into a legal agreement with the Commonwealth of Kentucky by signing a grant agreement form. Agreements cannot be altered without prior approval from the Kentucky Arts Council.   

Grant agreement forms must be signed and returned within 30 days to initiate payment. Award payments will be issued within 30 business days of receipt of the signed grant agreement form. All funds for this program must be disbursed by the arts council and no later than June 1, 2026, and will be unavailable after this date.  

Recipients concerned about tax liability should consult a tax professional. The Kentucky Arts Council is unable to provide tax advice or information.  

Legislative Letters 

Within 30 days of award notification, all recipients must write to their Kentucky legislators with information about their awards, which are provided with funds designated for the Kentucky Arts Council by the General Assembly. Copies of these letters must be copied to the Kentucky Arts Council. A sample letter for individual artists is available on the arts council website.  

Affirmative Duty to Report Changes   

All grantees must promptly notify the Kentucky Arts Council in writing of any significant changes that could affect services provided under the grant agreement, including changes to the recipient’s name, mailing address, phone number, or email address.  

Final Reports  

All arts council grantees must submit a final report within 30 days of completion of the grant period. The grant period for the FY27 Emerging Artist Award is July 1, 2026, through June 30, 2027. Final reports will be due by July 30, 2027. To access the final report, login to your GO Smart account.  

Applicants new to the Kentucky Arts Council are encouraged to speak with the program director before applying for the Emerging Artist Award. 

The program director is available to offer the following support: 

• Consultation regarding applicant eligibility 

• Answers to applicant questions 

• Application review (Applicant must request an application review by contacting the program director at least two weeks prior to the application deadline.) 

Join the program director for additional application information: 

Drop in to ask questions during Zoom office hours:
Wednesdays, Jan. 14, Feb.11, and March 11, 3 p.m. Eastern, Registration required 

Learn how to apply during a Zoom application workshop:
Tuesdays, Jan. 27, and Feb. 24, 4 p.m. Eastern, Registration required