TULSA ARTIST FELLOWSHIP MARKS 10TH ANNIVERSARY WITH NEW APPLICATIONS FOR THE 2026–2028 AWARD TERM
Applications open from April 2 through May 29
A national panel will select ten awardees to receive $2.35 million in funding, studio space, and resources in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Performance documentation featuring 2022-2023 awardee Ashanti Chaplin, Take Me to the Altar, Flagship, 2024. Image courtesy of Tulsa Artist Fellowship. Photo by Melissa Lukenbaugh.
April 2, 2025 – Tulsa, OK – The Tulsa Artist Fellowship (TAF), a place-based, durational award dedicated to supporting visionary arts practitioners, is pleased to announce the opening of applications for the 2026-2028 Tulsa Artist Fellowship award term on Wednesday, April 2, 2025. The commencement of this upcoming cohort will bring the place-based residency program to its fully expanded award structure, which began during its 2024-2026 inaugural term, awarding thirty artists and arts workers who will overlap in their first, second, and third award years. 2025 marks the 10th anniversary of the Tulsa Artist Fellowship.
TAF opens applications for artists and arts workers of any medium or discipline with at least five years of experience in the field via tulsaartistfellowship.org. Ten selected awardees, announced later in 2025, will each receive a $150,000 stipend over three years, along with a $12,000 annual housing stipend, $1,200 yearly health stipend, $1,200 yearly studio assistant stipend, a $1,500 relocation stipend, fully subsidized studio spaces, and access to shared art-making facilities. In total, the cohort will receive over $2.35 million in support and resources.
Carolyn Sickles, Executive and Artistic Director of TAF, states, "Through art, we uncover deeper truths, forged through time and perseverance. The stewards of our cultural narrative ensure that these voices continue to shape the stories that define us. At the Tulsa Artist Fellowship, we aim to preserve the integrity and authenticity of the artistic experience, fostering trust and enabling creativity to thrive."
TAF annually appoints arts experts across the United States, representing various artistic disciplines, to join the application review process. Reviewers, including art world key players, visionary artists and arts workers, past award recipients, 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.
Current awardees of the residency are working on deeply impactful projects that engage with history, community, and social justice in profound ways. Tatyana Fazlalizadeh’s Always and Forever is a permanent public art installation honoring Black life in Oklahoma, transforming an isolated site into a living monument through sound, imagery, and community storytelling. Pardiss Kebriaei’s Seeing Incarceration explores the spatial and systemic impact of incarceration in Oklahoma through visual mapping, community discussions, and a forthcoming book on its public health effects. Kashona Notah’s Indian Towns is a novel examining four U.S. cities with significant Native populations, including Tulsa, as hubs of Indigenous life and resilience. These projects highlight the residency’s commitment to fostering artistically compelling and socially relevant work, making it an ideal opportunity for those looking to create meaningful, research-driven work with community impact.
“I feel like being in the middle is such a perfect position to be cross-cultural. The cultural exchange is very, very rich. That’s how you move conversations forward,” says Ashanti Chaplin, 2022-2023 Awardee.
Established in 2015, TAF was created as a civic enhancement initiative by the George Kaiser Family Foundation (GKFF) with an intent to address the most pressing artistic challenges for contemporary artists and arts workers living in and joining the city of Tulsa, OK. Awardees will commit to actualizing proposed work during the program term, offering the required expertise necessary to achieve the project goals while engaging with the community of Tulsa and broader audiences. The new award model advances the Fellowship’s mission to support independent arts practitioners and serve as a global model for mobilizing communities through the transformative power of the arts.
For more information, please visit https://www.tulsaartistfellowship.org.
First Friday studio conversation with awardee Eyakem Gulilat at Tulsa Artist Fellowship, 2025.
NOTES TO EDITORS
To Apply for Tulsa Artist Fellowship 2025-2027 Award Term: https://tulsaartistfellowship.org/award.
Application Period: April 2—May 29, 2025
Award Structure
$150,000 stipend paid over three years for awarded project deliverables and general artistic practice costs
$36,000 housing stipend over three years
Fully subsidized independent studio space with access to shared facilities including a ceramics studio with kilns, woodshop, metal shop, media lab, roof terrace, performance rehearsal space, podcast recording studio, and meeting rooms with video/audio capabilities - estimated resource value of $36,000 over 3 years
$3,600 studio assistant stipend over three years
$3,600 health and wellness stipend over three years
YMCA memberships to access fitness facilities
Facilitated cohort gatherings & meals
Open studio events
Childcare reimbursements coinciding with key Fellowship activities
$1,500 one-time studio move-in stipend
Qualifications
National and local artists and arts workers of any medium and/or discipline with at least five years of arts field experience
During the three-year award term, awardees must commit to reside and work in Tulsa, Oklahoma
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, or O-1 Visa 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
ABOUT TULSA ARTIST FELLOWSHIP
Established in 2015, Tulsa Artist Fellowship was created as a place-based arts initiative by the George Kaiser Family Foundation (GKFF) that addresses pressing challenges for contemporary artists and arts workers living in and joining the city of Tulsa, Oklahoma. A central part of the Fellowship’s initiative is to bring, enliven, and participate in Tulsa’s growing and thriving arts community. TAF supports contemporary artists across all mediums and is committed to celebrating diversity in all its forms and freedom of expression.
Facebook: Tulsa Artist Fellowship | Instagram: @tulsaartistfellowship
ABOUT GEORGE KAISER FAMILY FOUNDATION
George Kaiser Family Foundation (GKFF) is a charitable organization dedicated to providing equal opportunity for young children through investments in early childhood education, community health, social services, and civic enhancement. GKFF believes that Tulsa is a land of opportunity. A generous and welcoming community, this city is not bound by traditional conventions. GKFF is dedicated to making Tulsa the best city for children to be born, grow and succeed.
MEDIA CONTACTS
Georgina Zhao | FITZ & CO | gzhao@fitzandco.com | +1 212 444 4046
Grace MacDonald | FITZ & CO | gmacdonald@fitzandco.com | +1 650 823 7333