Application Release
August 8, 2022 at 9 a.m.
Draft Submission Deadline
September 25, 2022 at 11:59 p.m.
Application Deadline
October 16, 2022 at 11:59 p.m.
Adjudication
October - November 2022
Award Notification
Early- to mid-December 2022
Fellowship Duration
January 1, 2023 - December 31, 2023
Click HERE to review the 2023 Robert D. Beckmann, Jr. Emerging Artist Fellowship Guidelines
Applicants may submit a preliminary draft of their application for feedback from the Indy Arts Council grant services team. Please submit a draft by September 25, 2022 at 11:59 p.m.
Applicants will be notified of award status in December 2022.
We can answer questions during open office hours on Zoom every Monday from 11 am - noon. Register here.
The Robert D. Beckmann, Jr. Emerging Artist Fellowship Program awards two $3,500 fellowships each year to qualified and talented artists in music, dance, theatre, literature, media and/or the visual arts.
The program consists of two distinct components. The first component, a monetary award in the amount of $3,500, will be awarded for supplies, instruction, workshops, studio or rehearsal space, or other uses specifically related to the growth and development of the artist’s artistic work. In addition to the grant, the fellows will receive professional development and growth opportunities through the Arts Council of Indianapolis. This fellowship program seeks to introduce and provide experiences, connections, and relationships with professional arts institutions and professional artists in central Indiana.
Applications for the 2023 fellowship period are open August 8, 2022 - October 16, 2022. To view the application guidelines click here.
Ready to apply? Click here.
For more information, please contact the Grant Services department at (317) 631-3301 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
Applicants are invited to attend the following free application workshops:
The Robert D. Beckmann, Jr. Emerging Artist Fellowship Program is internally reviewed by a panel of Arts Council staff. The 2021 panelists were Ernest Disney-Britton, Vice President, Community Impact & Investment; Julie Goodman, President & CEO; Lindsey Lord, Director of Artist Services & Gallery 924; Mike Prusa, Indianapolis Artsgarden Director; and Shannon Linker, former Vice President, Artist Engagement & Director of Gallery 924.
Robert D. Beckmann, Jr. was a founding board member of the Arts Council of Indianapolis in 1987. He was an active arts advocate, patron, a performing and visual artist, as well as a community leader. Upon his death in 2001, he bequeathed funds to the Arts Council for the creation of a fellowship program to support emerging artists of all disciplines in central Indiana. It is through the lasting generosity of Robert D. Beckmann, Jr. that we offer this fellowship opportunity to emerging artists throughout central Indiana.
Massey's first poetry collection, “Bursting At The Seams,” is the story of a Black girl growing up in the Midwest. Her work advocates for wellness, human rights, and social justice through use of confessional poetry exploring themes of Blackness, womanhood, identity, memory/archive, familial relationships, the process and act of giving up self- betrayal, and the riot of Black joy. Massey will travel to Brittany, France, to attend the Le Stylo Noir Writer’s Retreat to develop new work for a second edition of “Bursting At The Seams,” which she said will be focused on, “my own ancestral connection to Indiana, Black joy, intersectionality, and how my mother's healing is connected to my own.
Dance Kaleidoscope company member Natalie Clevenger is a queer choreographer who focuses on LGBTQ+ themes with an emphasis on gender binaries. “As a dancer, we often are forced to fit into a binary or express ourselves as dictated by the choreographer,” she said. “My movement quality naturally exemplifies masculine traits, such as strong, broad movements and high jumps.” Clevenger will host a performance of new works by LGBTQ+-identifying choreographers to create a democratic, gender-inclusive space for dancers in which they are not limited by or cast according to how they present.
Taylor Marie Bamgbose’s two passions are art and mental health. Her most recent series of paintings, “State of Mind,” “explores the nuance of emotion, creating space for the viewer to reflect on how emotion is at work in their life, for better or worse,” she said. Bamgbose will use her Beckmann award to increase accessibility to her work through the production of high-quality prints and invest in the development of her career through promotional activities and professional networking.
2021 Robert D. Beckmann, Jr. Emerging Artist Fellows:
Addie Kosten - musician
Mickey Young - musician
2020 Robert D. Beckmann, Jr. Emerging Artist Fellows:
Manon Voice - spoken word
Joshua Thompson - musician
2019 Robert D. Beckmann, Jr. Emerging Artist Fellows:
Gary Gee - ceramicist and painter
Jaclyn Head - ceramicist
2018 Robert D. Beckmann, Jr. Emerging Artist Fellows:
Alicia Zanoni - painter
TOO Black - spoken word artist
2017 Robert D. Beckmann, Jr. Emerging Artist Fellows:
Derrick Carter - painter
Eric Salazar - musician
2016 Robert D. Beckmann, Jr. Emerging Artist Fellows:
Jessical Ucul - photographer
Stuart Coleman - dancer
2015 Robert D. Beckmann, Jr. Emerging Artist Fellows:
Betsy Boxberger - dancer
Kassim Norris - filmmaker
2014 Robert D. Beckmann, Jr. Emerging Artist Fellows:
Ash Robinson - conceptual artist
Melissa Kistler - sculptor
2013 Robert D. Beckmann, Jr. Emerging Artist Fellows:
Adam Bodony - conductor
Amelia Morris - photographer
2012 Robert D. Beckmann, Jr. Emerging Artist Fellows:
Joseph Crone - visual artist
Michael Burke - theatre director
2011 Robert D. Beckmann, Jr. Emerging Artist Fellows:
Kathryn Dart - painter
Patrick McCarney - lighting designer
2010 Robert D. Beckmann, Jr. Emerging Artist Fellows:
Diane L. Lewis - poet
Emily Budd - sculptor
2009 Robert D. Beckmann, Jr. Emerging Artist Fellows:
Christina Block - musician
Cindy Hinant - installation artist
2008 Inaugural Robert D. Beckmann, Jr. Emerging Artist Fellows:
Kate Oberreich - painter
Kyle Herrington - painter
924 N Pennsylvania St
Indianapolis, IN 46204
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