Camille J. Gage Fellowship Award
The Camille J. Gage Artist Fellowship (CJG Fellowship) provides a platform and resources to honor Minnesota-based artists who have demonstrated a legacy of service with their creative gifts at the intersections of art and activism, to be recognized for their contributions, and rewarded for their tireless passion and dedication to our communities.
Fellowship application and nomination opens January 4, 2024.
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About Camille
About CamilleCamille Joy Gage’s legacy is multi-faceted. It is one of being a kind-hearted friend who had a knack for bringing community together. She was a multi-talented, creative and fierce activist who protested, volunteered, advocated and worked hard with a focus on climate change, women’s reproductive rights, racial justice and homelessness.
She found herself in the service of others; at Minneapolis homeless encampments, at the Native American Community Development Institute and on the Indigenous-led Nibi walks. She touched the lives of countless relatives, friends, neighbors and community members. She often said her daily goal was “to make someone else smile and make their world better for a day.”
Camille helped start several art galleries and organizations, including Form + Content Gallery and WARM (Women’s Art Registry of Minnesota), now known as the Women’s Art Resources of Minnesota. She also produced and edited poetry and essay books, including “Fierce Lament” and “One Minneapolis: A City in Verse,” at the request of former Minneapolis Mayor Betsy Hodges, which featured poets from across Minneapolis neighborhoods.
As an artist her work hangs in the Minneapolis Institute of Art, and includes a permanent installation at the Weisman Art Museum called “Untitled (Robe for Judith)” and “Made Here” — an initiative to bring art and activation to downtown storefronts, plus many other community and public art projects.
About the Fellowship
The Camille J. Gage Artist Fellowship provides a platform and resources to honor Minnesota-based artists who have demonstrated a legacy of service with their creative gifts at the intersections of art and activism, to be recognized for their contributions and rewarded for their tireless passion and dedication to our communities.
YWCA Minneapolis, with its bold mission of eliminating racism and empowering women, was selected as the host organization of the fellowship as it most aligned with how Camille engaged with the community and for people with marginalized identities.
The 2024-2025 Camille J. Gage Fellowship awardee will receive a $45,000 cash award and a yearlong opportunity to promote their work in partnership with the YWCA Minneapolis. The award will be presented in person at the 2024 Empower Possible annual YWCA Minneapolis gala on April 27, 2024.
Artists can apply directly or be nominated for the award. The awardee will be selected by a committee of YWCA Minneapolis leaders, family and close collaborators of Camille J. Gage.
Application Criteria
The application criteria are:
- Resides and works in Minnesota
- Gathers and amplifies the voices and creativity of others in their work
- Weaves diverse artistic talents into transformational community building
- Cares about uplifting other artists alongside their own artistic practice
- Shows deep concern for their community as a welcoming and just place that leverages art to achieve this goal
- Maximizes artistic opportunities for others, especially those whose voices have traditionally been marginalized
- Brings art outside of more traditional spaces, and into the streets or other public spaces within their community
Timeline
- September 27, 2023: Fellowship announcement and publication
- January 4, 2024: Fellowship application and nomination opens
- February 9, 2024: Fellowship application and nomination closes
- March 18, 2024: Awardee notified and confirmed
- April 2, 2024: Awardee publicly announced and fellowship term begins
- April 27, 2024: Awardee publicly honored at the Empower Possible annual gala
- April 2, 2025: 2024-2025 Camille J. Gage Fellowship term closes