Curatorial Internship Grant from the Decorative Arts Trust
9/2/26
Curatorial Internship Grants
The Decorative Arts Trust underwrites curatorial internships for recent Masters and PhD graduates in partnership with museums and historical societies. These internships enable host organizations to hire a deserving young professional who will gain firsthand experience with the responsibilities and duties central to the curatorial field while working alongside an accomplished mentor. The Trust’s Curatorial Internship Program is designed to foster mutually beneficial opportunities that will nurture the next generation of curators while providing support for the host institution’s key initiatives. Preference is given to internships that offer meaningful opportunities for interns to make consequential contributions to exhibitions, publications, public programs, and community outreach.
Deadline
Potential museum and historical society collaborators should apply by September 30.
Amount and Funding Timeline
We currently offer two 24-month internships with one grant cycle opening annually. The Trust currently awards a two-year grant of $40,000 per year to support the intern’s salary, with additional funding available to offset cost of living adjustments. The Trust aims to announce its selection by October 31, with grant funds available as early as January 1 of the following year.
Guidelines
Please review these specifications before applying:
- The Trust encourages projects that advance diversity in the study of American decorative arts and demonstrate a clear impact on the professional development of early-career scholars.
- The Trust requires the host organization to provide the intern’s health insurance and any additional staff benefits that may be available to employees.
- Please note that mentorship is a significant consideration in this program. Applications should detail the training and supervision that interns will receive.
- Interns must work toward a well-defined capstone project that supports their professional growth. Applications should clearly outline the objectives and tangible outcomes of the project. The Trust expects partners to provide opportunities for broader professional development, peer-to-peer networking, and public outreach through tours, presentations, and the authorship of articles, posts, and other printed and online content.
- As part of our funding guidelines, institutions receiving a Curatorial Internship Grant are expected to have one staff member maintain a Trust membership for the duration of the project. Additionally, the selected intern or fellow will maintain a paid Student & Young Professional membership in the Trust during the internship and for five years following. Our website provides an overview of all our membership levels.
Please combine these sections of your application into one single PDF file and email to grants@decorativeartstrust.org:
- Section I (no more than six pages)
- A formal letter of interest
- Supporting narrative that describes the nature of the project(s) in which the intern will be engaged throughout the two-year period and identifying the staff member(s) who will supervise and mentor the intern
- A timeline of the hiring process and the project(s) described above
- Section II (no more than two pages)
- At least three images of objects that represent the proposed focus of the intern’s work. Please include at least one image for which the applicant has existing permission to publish or that is in the public domain or creative commons, and please indicate this image in the caption.
- Applicants should use the following image caption format to the best of their ability for each photo: Maker (if known), Object name or title (italics if title; only first word capitalized if two-word object name; indicate if it is a detail of larger object), date of manufacture (using c. or a range when applicable), place of manufacture. Materials. Owner, credit line, accession number. Photo credit.
- Section III (no more than two pages)
- A draft of the job description
- Section IV (no page limit)
- Brief curriculum vitae (CVs) or resumes of staff who will supervise the intern
Past Recipients
- 2026–28: Milwaukee Art Museum, Milwaukee, WI
2010–27
Read about the impact of the internship experience here.
Original post here.
Heartland Craft Guilds: Capacity Support Grants
| A capacity support grant for nonprofit craft guilds and cultural organizations APPLICATIONS OPEN NOW Heartland Craft Guilds: Capacity Support Grants is a grant program that supports craft guilds and cultural organizations rooted in preserving and sustaining craft traditions, community-based knowledge, and hands-on making across America’s heartland. Through unrestricted funding and shared learning with other guild leaders, Heartland Craft Guilds builds organizational capacity by supporting the leadership and operational systems that help organizations serve members, deepen practice, and maintain long-term stability and organizational health. Heartland Craft Guilds is a program of Mid-America Arts Alliance (M-AAA), developed with support from the Maxwell/Hanrahan Foundation. The program reflects a shared commitment to hands-on engagement with materials, mastery of technique, and the preservation, innovation, and evolution of heritage work, particularly within under-resourced and historically overlooked communities. M-AAA expects to grant a total of $180,000 in the region, through 15 unrestricted, non-matching organizational grants of $12,000 each. Applications open March 24, 2026, and close May 15, 2026 at 5:00 p.m. CT. Read the application announcement. Program at a glance Grant amount: $12,000 Number of awards: 15 Total funding: $180,000 Funding type: Unrestricted operating support Eligible region: Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Texas, and the Native Nations in this geography Program length: One year Participants will also engage in more than 50 hours of learning opportunities over the one-year program period. Applications for Heartland Craft Guilds are open through May 15, 2026. |
2026 Craft Research Fund Grant
Grants up to $15,000 are awarded to support new and interdisciplinary research about craft in the United States.
Deadline: October 17, 2025
https://www.centerforcraft.org/grants-and-fellowships/craft-research-fund-grant
The Center for Craft increases access to craft by empowering and resourcing artists, organizations, and communities through grants, fellowships, and programs that bring people together. We believe that craft matters. The Center administers national award programs including the Windgate-Lamar Fellowship for emerging craft artists, the Curatorial Fellowship for emerging craft curators and the Craft Research Fund program to encourage, expand, and support craft research in the United States. Additionally, the Center convenes national meetings, curates exhibitions, and programs lectures and workshops.
Decorative Arts Trust Grants
IDEAL INTERNSHIP GRANTS
The Trust offers grants to museums and historic sites in support of internships that improve and promote inclusivity, diversity, equity, access, and leadership (IDEAL) in the museum field. The Trust seeks to fund summer and academic-year internships beginning in the summer or fall of 2024 for high school and undergraduate students. Internships should focus on the decorative arts and object-based research, exhibitions, installations, and educational programs. IDEAL Internship Grants can be up to $5,000.
Application Deadline: August 31, 2023
CURATORIAL INTERNSHIP GRANTS
The Trust underwrites curatorial internships for recent Masters or PhD graduates in partnership with museums and historical societies. These internships allow host organizations to hire a deserving young professional who will learn about the responsibilities and duties common to the curatorial field while working alongside a talented mentor. The goal is to provide mutually beneficial opportunities that will nurture the next generation of museum curators while providing essential staffing for the host. For this grant cycle, the Trust is offering a two-year grant with $45,000 available per year for the intern’s salary.
Application Deadline: September 30, 2023
DEAN F. FAILEY GRANTS
Dean F. Failey Grants support noteworthy research, exhibition, publication, and object-based conservation projects that present new scholarship on the decorative arts, craftsmanship, and historic preservation. Preference is given to projects that employ or are led by young professionals in the museum field, and the Trust aims to support colleagues and projects that represent the full diversity of the field. The Trust will award up to $25,000 during the upcoming cycle. The funding is typically divided among multiple recipients, with grants ranging from $5,000 to $15,000.
Application Deadline: October 31, 2023
The Furniture Society’s 2023 Educational Grants
The Furniture Society is thrilled to offer scholarships through partnerships with Anderson Ranch, Arrowmont, Haystack, John C. Campbell Folk School, and Peters Valley.
The goal of these partnerships is to promote excellence in the furniture field through professional development and supporting projects of an educational nature.
The five partnerships are supported through the Educational Grants arm of The Furniture Society and provide unique educational opportunities open exclusively to currently enrolled members of The Furniture Society. Each FS grant is designed to highlight an opportunity particular and unique to the partnering institution.
Deadline to apply is February 5, 2023. For more information, visit furnsoc.org/events/grants/educational-grants/2023-educational-grants
Craft Research Fund Artist Fellowship
The Center for Craft’s “2023 Craft Research Fund Artist Fellowship Grant” was created to encourage, expand and support scholarly craft research in the United States. Awards of $10,000 will be granted to five artists to support research projects that advance, expand, and support the creation of new research and knowledge through craft practice.
Proposals are welcome from mid-career artists, artisans, designers, makers, sculptures, and so on, who identify their practice within the field of craft. The Center, and by extension this grant, recognizes craft to be a particular approach to making with a strong connection to materials, skill, and process. We believe in empowering artists, makers, scholars, and curators to grow the field, embracing new definitions, technologies, and ideas while honoring craft’s history and relationship to the handmade. Craft, in all its forms, demonstrates creativity, ingenuity, and practical intelligence. It contributes to the economic and social wellbeing of communities, connects us to our cultural histories, and is integral to building a sustainable future.
Applicants must be:
- 21 years of age or older
- Eligible to receive taxable income in the U.S.
- Residing and working in the U.S. for the last two years and for the duration of the Fellowship period
- Mid-career: Artist must self-identify as mid-career
Application deadline is 10/21/22. For more information, visit centerforcraft.org/grants-and-fellowships/craft-research-fund-artist-fellowship
Calling all teaching craft artists
The Center for Craft is excited to introduce a new grant opportunity, the Teaching Artist Cohort.
For over 25 years, the Center for the Craft has supported craft research and artists through our grant programs. As we consider the current challenges faced by artists, it is evident that many artists who teach are financially under-compensated and need time away from teaching to advance their practice. Uniquely positioned to support the sustainable career paths of artists and to advance the understanding of craft, this grant will award a dynamic group of 21 mid-career teaching craft artists a one-time, unrestricted grant of $10,000.
The Center for Craft Teaching Artist Cohort will also participate in an 8-month experience where they will be guided through training that encourages and sustains a generative practice as both artists and educators. The Center intends to develop and strengthen a network of craft artists through peer-to-peer learning and connection to enrich the impact on their communities.
Applications are due November 30, 2022.
Join a free, virtual information session for prospective applicants on October 11, from 4-5 pm ET.
For more information, visit centerforcraft.org/grants-and-fellowships/teaching-artist-cohort
Craft Archive Fellowship
The Center for Craft is pleased to announce the Craft Archive Fellowship, which will award six fellows $5,000. The 2022 Craft Archive Fellowship will foster archival research on underrepresented and non-dominant craft histories in the United States. Register for the information session on 5/31/22: eventbrite.com/e/craft-archive-fellowship-information-session-tickets-324379707437
Application deadline is 6/27/22. For more information, visit centerforcraft.org/grants-and-fellowships/craft-archive-fellowship.
Dewey Lee Curtis Scholarship Applications Due August 10
The Decorative Arts Trust is now accepting applications for Dewey Lee Curtis Scholarships to attend our Fall Symposium in Richmond, VA, on September 22-25, 2022. Graduate students and young professionals who are within five years of a degree are invited to apply by August 10. Scholarships cover the full cost of symposium registration, lodging, and a modest travel stipend.
For more information about our Fall 2002 Symposium, Richmond: Discovering Virginia’s Capital on the James, visit https://decorativeartstrust.org/richmond-2022/. We are excited to invite emerging scholars to experience this event’s lectures, tours, and networking opportunities.
Learn more and apply at https://decorativeartstrust.org/grants-and-scholarships/continuing-education-scholarships/.
The Decorative Arts Trust is now accepting applications for Dewey Lee Curtis Scholarships to attend our Fall Symposium in Richmond, VA, on September 22-25, 2022. Graduate students and young professionals who are within five years of a degree are invited to apply by August 10. Scholarships cover the full cost of symposium registration, lodging, and a modest travel stipend.
For more information about our Fall 2002 Symposium, Richmond: Discovering Virginia’s Capital on the James, visit https://decorativeartstrust.org/richmond-2022/. We are excited to invite emerging scholars to experience this event’s lectures, tours, and networking opportunities.
Learn more and apply at https://decorativeartstrust.org/grants-and-scholarships/continuing-education-scholarships/.
RESEARCH, EXHIBITION, PUBLICATION, AND CONSERVATION GRANTS
The Decorative Arts Trust underwrites grants in support of noteworthy research, exhibition, publication, and object-based conservation projects through the Dean F. Failey Fund, named in honor of the Trust’s late Governor. Areas of interest include new scholarship in decorative arts, material culture, craftsmanship, and historic preservation. Grants for up to $15,000 are awarded on an annual basis.
The application deadline is October 31, 2022. For more information or to apply, visit:
https://decorativeartstrust.org/failey-grant/
