INSTITUTE, W.Va.—West Virginia Creative Network (WVCN) and West Virginia State University (WVSU) Extension Service announce the opening of applications for the Creative Entrepreneur Fellowship (CEF) to artists working and residing in West Virginia. 

The CEF program provides entrepreneurship training and financial literacy education, helping artists boost their business practice with mentoring, education and resources. The program also provides experiences, connections, skills and relationships with West Virginia professional artists and arts institutions to support the fellows in their career goals. 

The Fellowship provides technical training, mentoring, consulting, branding, and a $2,500 award to assist each fellow with the successful development of their creative business. The cohort is required to travel during the six-month fellowship; the fellows receive a travel stipend to assist with travel costs. Through increased visibility, marketing and networking the program assists each fellow to integrate into local and regional markets and access to professional development. Each year, the WVCN’s Creative Entrepreneur Fellowship program awards qualified and talented artists working in the fields of traditional and fine craft or visual arts. As of 2025, CEF has named 7 cohorts, with a total of 38 Fellows. 

WVCN’s Creative Entrepreneur Fellows are artists who demonstrate not only a superior level of mastery in their craft, but also the aptitude to become successful professionals capable of leading well-managed creative enterprises. Fellows represent the potential for outcomes beyond the scope of their individual bodies of work and are viewed as future contributors to growing local economies and businesses that make communities more desirable places for all. 

Applications are open and available through the WVCN website. The deadline to apply is Jan. 11, 2027. The new CEF cohort will be announced in the spring of 2027.

To learn more about the program, contact WVSU Arts Extension Educator Robby Moore at robby@wvcreativenetwork.org. Visit www.wvcreativenetwork.org for more information about WVCN and all of their programming. 

Follow West Virginia State University and WVSU Extension Service on Facebook and X @WVStateU. 

-WVSU-