Form 3135-0112 National Heritage Instructions

National Endowment for the Arts
National Heritage Fellowships Guidelines & Instructions
Program Description
The NEA National Heritage Fellowship is the nation's highest honor in the folk and traditional
arts. Each year since 1982, the program has recognized folk and traditional artists whose
exemplary achievements contribute to our nation's distinctive cultural heritage, increasing
opportunities for the public to encounter different artists, art forms, and cultural traditions.
Through their folk and traditional arts practices, National Heritage Fellows demonstrate the
importance of the arts to personal, cultural, and national identity.
National Heritage Fellowship nominees must be worthy of national recognition and have a
record of continuing artistic accomplishment. They must be actively participating in their art
form, either as practitioners, mentors, or as community scholars. Successful nominations
demonstrate significant contributions to living traditional arts, their source communities, and/or
the transmission of traditional knowledge to future generations.
Each year, one Bess Lomax Hawes National Heritage Fellowship will be awarded to an
individual who has made major contributions to the excellence, vitality, and public appreciation
of the folk and traditional arts. The nominee should be worthy of national recognition and must
be actively engaged in perpetuating the folk and traditional arts. Named after the influential
advocate, educator, and producer of the folk and traditional arts, Bess Lomax Hawes, this award
recognizes:
• An artist whose contributions, primarily through teaching, advocacy, organizing, and
maintaining important repertoires, have greatly benefited their artistic tradition.
OR
• An individual, such as a producer or advocate, whose efforts have significantly increased
opportunities for and public visibility of traditional arts and artists.
Individuals may be nominated specifically for the Bess Lomax Hawes Fellowship.
Nominators may submit one or more nominations per year (using a separate online form for
each submission). Nominations may be submitted by an individual or group. All nominators
must provide the name and contact information of the individual who will be responsible for all
communication with NEA staff regarding the nomination.
Awards for the National Heritage Fellowships (including the Bess Lomax Hawes Fellowship) will
be up to $50,000, and may be received once in a lifetime.

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National Heritage Fellowships Guidelines & Instructions
What are the folk & traditional arts?
Rooted in and reflective of the cultural life of a community, folk and traditional arts are
constantly evolving, shaped by values and standards of excellence passed from generation to
generation, most often within family and community, through demonstration, conversation, and
practice. Genres of artistic activity include, but are not limited to, music, dance, crafts,
foodways, regalia/adornment, occupation, ceremony, and oral expression, such as stories,
poetry, and language.
To date, the NEA has awarded 494 National Heritage Fellowships to individuals and groups
representing more than 200 distinct art forms. Recipients include bluegrass fiddler Michael
Cleveland; Japanese classical dancer Gertrude Yukie Tsutsumi; Haudenosaunee-raised
beadworker Karen Ann Hoffman (Oneida Nation of Wisconsin); oud player and composer Rahim
AlHaj; brass band group Excelsior Band of Mobile, Alabama; and radio producer and radio
network builder Hugo N. Morales. See a list of previously awarded fellows.

Nominations
Recipients will be selected from nominations made by the public. Nominations may be for an
individual or a group of individuals (e.g., a duo or ensemble, but not an incorporated
organization). Nominees must be citizens or permanent residents of the United States and may
receive the Fellowship once in a lifetime. Self-nominations are not accepted, and no one may
nominate an eligible group of which they are an active member.
Individuals who have previously received any other NEA lifetime honor award (National
Heritage Fellowship, Jazz Masters Fellowship, or an Opera Honor) are not eligible. Nominations
of deceased individuals will not be considered. In the event of the death of a recommended
recipient, no award payment will be made to the estate or heirs of the deceased.

Make a Nomination
Nominations must be submitted online through a 2-part nomination process described below.
Materials that are emailed, mailed, or faxed will not be accepted.
IMPORTANT DATES

Step

Date

Step 1 – Submit Online Nomination Form
through NEA Website

May 26, 2026, by 11:59 p.m., Eastern Time

Step 2 – Submit Supplemental Materials to
the Applicant Portal

May 29, 2026, at 9:00 a.m., Eastern Time to
June 5, 2026, by 11:59 p.m., Eastern Time

Announcement of Fellowship Award

Spring of 2027

Late, ineligible, and incomplete nominations will not be reviewed.
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National Heritage Fellowships Guidelines & Instructions
In the event of a major emergency (e.g., a hurricane or NEA systems technological failure), the
NEA Chair may adjust deadlines for affected nominations. If a deadline is extended for any
reason, an announcement will be posted on our website and social media.
Effective nominations frame the artist’s work through quality work samples, as well as letters of
support from persons such as community members, mentors and/or mentees, scholars of the
nominee’s artistic genre or cultural tradition, and the nominee’s artistic peers. It is the
responsibility of the nominator to frame the nominee’s work, cultural background, and lifetime
achievements in the Nomination Statement. While nominations will be reviewed by a panel of
experts in the field of folk and traditional arts, nominators should not assume panelists will have
pre-existing familiarity with the nominee or their specific cultural tradition.
Individuals who need assistance accessing these instructions or the associated webform may
contact accessibility@arts.gov to request an accommodation or an alternate format of the
instructions at least 2 weeks prior to the nomination deadline.

Review of Nominations
The selection criteria are artistic excellence and artistic merit, including significance within the
particular artistic tradition and contributions to living cultural heritage.
Nominations are reviewed by an advisory panel of folk and traditional arts experts and at least
one knowledgeable layperson. Panel recommendations are forwarded to the National Council
on the Arts, which then makes recommendations to the Chair of the NEA. The Chair reviews the
Council's recommendations and makes the final decision on all award recipients.
Beginning in calendar year 2026, nominations are active for one year. Nominations must be
resubmitted each year to remain active. Nominations made in the previous four calendar years
also must be resubmitted to remain active.

Submission Instructions
A complete nomination package consists of two parts: the online nomination form submitted
through the NEA website, and the Nomination Statement, Bio, Support letters, and Work
Samples submitted through the Applicant Portal. A nomination will be considered incomplete
and will not be reviewed unless both parts are submitted. Work samples are required for all
nominations unless the nomination is specifically for a Bess Lomax Hawes Fellowship. At the top
of the Nomination Statement, you must indicate if the nominee is to be considered specifically
for the Bess Lomax Hawes Fellowship.
The work samples should include both recent and archival high-quality examples of the
nominee’s work. Nominations in both the performing and non-performing arts are encouraged
to include high-quality photos or videos that effectively show the quality of the artist’s work.

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National Heritage Fellowships Guidelines & Instructions

Step 1 – Submit Nomination Form
Submit the Online Nomination Form through the NEA Website

Step 2 – Submit Nomination Statement, Bio, Letters of Support, and
Work Samples
The Applicant Portal will open on May 29, 2026, at 10:00 a.m., Eastern Time. The Application
Portal will close at 11:59 p.m., Eastern Time, on June 5, 2026. You must upload, preview/check,
and submit the Nomination Statement, Bio, Work Samples, and Support Letters during the time
the Application Portal is open. You will not have the opportunity to update the nomination
package after June 5, 2026 at 11:59 p.m.
NOTE: Your credentials (user ID and password) for access to the Applicant Portal will be created
for you by NEA staff. Staff will send your Applicant Portal registration information by email on
the morning of May 29, 2026.

Items to Upload through the Applicant Portal
Please upload items in the following order:
• Nomination Statement (Required): A PDF document not to exceed one (1) page detailing
the reasons the nominee(s) should receive a National Heritage Fellowship. Describe the
nominee's contributions to their cultural tradition and explain why this individual or group
deserves national recognition. At the top of the Nomination Statement, you must indicate
if the nominee is to be considered specifically for the Bess Lomax Hawes Fellowship.
• Bio (Required): A PDF document not to exceed one (1) page profiling the life and career of
the nominee(s), including major public appearances or exhibitions by the nominee(s), and
the titles of published works, if any.
• Letters of Support: A PDF document combining up to three (3) letters, each not to exceed
two (2) pages (for a total maximum page count of 6 pages for all letters combined). The
letters may be authored by persons such as community members, mentors and/or
mentees, scholars of the nominee’s artistic genre or cultural tradition, and the nominee’s
artistic peers.
• Work Samples (Required): Follow the instructions on the work sample limits below for the
nomination material. The maximum number of allowable work samples is all that will be
reviewed, and no more than 20 minutes of combined work samples will be reviewed. A
nomination package without work samples is considered incomplete and will not be
reviewed, unless the nomination is specifically identified as a Bess Lomax Hawes National
Heritage Fellowship.
Written Materials Guidance
For written materials: Use a 12 point font size. Leave a margin of at least one inch at the top,
bottom, and sides of all pages. Use only 8.5 x 11-inch size pages.

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National Heritage Fellowships Guidelines & Instructions
Do not:
• Exceed the limits above for written materials (Nomination Statement, Bio, and Letters of
Support). Excess pages will be removed or otherwise not reviewed by the advisory panel.
• Embed hyperlinks in any of the PDF documents except for the PDF containing work
samples.
• Enable any document security settings for or password protect any PDF file you submit.
• Submit files in a format other than PDF (e.g., Word, Excel, PowerPoint, aac, avi, mov, mp3,
mp4, mpa, mpeg, wav, wma, wmv).
• Submit links to sites that require work samples to be downloaded (e.g., Dropbox, Google
Drive), or sites that require a user account.
• Submit items that we do not request.
Work Sample Guidance
Upload separate PDFs based on work sample type:
1. AUDIO, VIDEO, & WEBSITE Links: Upload one PDF with clickable links to ALL audio clips,
video clips, and/or website work samples on an external hosting site (e.g., Vimeo,
YouTube, etc.). Do not submit links on separate PDFs.
2. IMAGES: Upload one PDF with images, separate from your links. Images may be on
separate pages, but should not be uploaded as multiple PDFs.
3. DOCUMENTS: Upload each document as an individual PDF.
Type
AUDIO & VIDEO
SAMPLES
Up to 5 audio samples;
Up to 3 video samples

Guidance
If the sample exceeds five minutes, indicate which five-minute
segment you would like to be reviewed. If not indicated, panelists
will be directed to review the first five minutes of the selection.

Up to 5 minutes per
sample

We recommend that videos be closed or open captioned.
o Resources for YouTube
o Resources for Vimeo

WEBSITES
Up to 5 links

Do not use this work sample type to submit additional audio clips,
video clips, images, or documents in excess of the stated limits.

DIGITAL IMAGES
Up to 20 Images
DOCUMENTS
Up to 2 documents, 12
pages each.

Each image counts toward the 20 image maximum, regardless of
how many images are included per page.
Examples of documents may include literary samples,
publications, periodicals, catalogues

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TECHNICAL GUIDANCE: AP FILE UPLOAD & DESCRIPTIONS
File Naming: Files may fail to upload if the file name:
• Exceeds 100 characters.
• Begins with a space, period, hyphen, or underline.
• Contains these characters: #%&{}\<>*?/$!‘“:+`=|"@
There can be a delay between the upload of your items and seeing them in the AP. Do not
immediately assume that your upload failed; wait and try again. Close to the deadline, upload
time may be longer due to high traffic, don’t wait until the night of the deadline to begin
uploading. The total space available is 250MB.
AP Upload Box: For each item, provide the following information:
TITLE:
• For letters/statements of support, state the type of item and the name(s) of the
supporter(s). (Ex: Letters of Support from John Doe, Jane Doe, and James Doe).
•

For work samples, state the title of the work and/or name of the nominee represented
by the work sample (Ex: This Little Light of Mine or Jane Doe).

FILE TYPE: Select “PDF” file type.
DESCRIPTION: 500-character limit, including spaces
• For statements of support, simply enter “statements of support”.
•

For work samples:
o Name of the nominee(s) featured. Describe what the nominee is doing or wearing, if
it is unclear which person in the work sample is the nominee (e.g., Jane Doe is
wearing a red shirt).
o Title or description of the nominee’s work or activity.
o Date the work was created/performed.
o Brief description including how the work sample relates to the proposed
nomination.
o For audio and video samples, length of the sample.

Privacy Act
The following notice is furnished in accordance with the Privacy Act of 1974, 5 U.S.C. 552a.
This information is solicited under the authority of the National Foundation on the Arts and the
Humanities Act, 20 U.S.C. 951 et seq. and is primarily used for the purpose of application
review. Personal data, such as home address or personal cell phone number may not be
released, either in entirety or in part, as exempt from disclosure under the Freedom of
Information Act. Failure to provide the requested information could result in rejection of your
application.

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Paperwork Reduction Act Statement
The public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated at an average of 1
hour per response including the time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources,
gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of
information. We welcome any suggestions that you might have on improving the guidelines and
making them as easy to use as possible. Send comments regarding this burden estimate or any
other aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing this burden, to:
webmgr@arts.gov, attention: Reporting Burden. Note: Applicants are not required to respond
to the collection of information unless it displays a currently valid U.S. Office of Management
and Budget (OMB) control number.
OMB No. 3135-0112 Expires TBD

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