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CINTAS
Fellowships

Join us at the 2026 CINTAS Fellowship Awards Ceremony
on
October 20th, 2026 at 6PM
@
Knight Center for Music Innovation, University of Miami.

&

Stay tuned for the 2027 competition opening January 1st!

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CINTAS Fellowships acknowledge creative accomplishments and encourage excellence in architecture & design, creative writing, music composition, photography and the visual arts. Eligibility is limited to artists of Cuban citizenship or direct descent. Applications are reviewed by panels of qualified jurors from each artistic discipline. The Board of the CINTAS Foundation awards fellowships based on the recommendations of the panels. CINTAS fellows are free to pursue their artistic activities as indicated in their application. The fellowships are not awarded to performing artists. Fellowships are not awarded more than twice to the same person. Second awards are granted only to candidates demonstrating outstanding artistic development. 

Fellowships are awarded annually for the disciplines selected and announced on the website for each year. The amount of the fellowship is $25,000 currently. The award is considered taxable income by the Internal Revenue Service of the United States and subject to all current laws and regulations. 

The CINTAS Fellowship Program is administered by the CINTAS Foundation Board.

CINTAS Fellowship in Architecture & Design

* The Competition for the 2026 CINTAS Foundation Fellowships is now CLOSED!

Overview

Candidates in the fields of architectural design, interior design, urban design and urban planning may submit an application for the fellowship using the Application Form. Candidates must upload work samples using the Work Samples Form. To use these forms you must have a Google (or Gmail) account. If you don't have an account, please create a free gmail account. It's easy.

Since 1963, the CINTAS Foundation has awarded many fellowships in architecture. In addition to supporting Cuban artists, many early in their careers, the CINTAS Foundation also maintains a growing collection of works by past fellowship winners and other esteemed Cuban artists. For the purpose of historical value and documentation, architectural award recipients are encouraged to submit representative samples of their work (i.e. architectural drawings) to be added to the CINTAS Fellows Collection after the grant period. 

ELIGIBILITY: Creative artists of Cuban citizenship or direct lineage (having a Cuban parent or grandparent). Candidates engaged in research, students, or performing artists are not eligible to apply for CINTAS Fellowships. CINTAS Fellowships can only be awarded a maximum of two times to an individual.

NOTICE TO APPLICANTS: The award ($25,000 US) is considered taxable income under US tax law and the Foundation will withhold appropriate US taxes. Fellows who are not US citizens and who are living abroad must provide a US taxpayer identification number when they accept the fellowship to receive payment. The address for the Internal Revenue Service website: www.irs.gov, at which the form is readily available. The Foundation's grant of an award is subject to current and future US laws and regulations that may limit its ability to issue funds to Cuban Nationals.

Application

All forms must be filled out completely and included in submission. All forms should be signed and dated as required, electronic signatures are acceptable.

The full application must be submitted. The application may be completed in English or Spanish. Please complete all sections of the application. Both, the Architect/Designer, and Project Statements must be uploaded with the application form.

Architect/Designer and Project Statements

Prepare two narrative statements: The Architect/Designer Statement describes your personal history, your development as an architect/designer, and your plans for the future. The Project Statement describes the project or activity that you would undertake if awarded a CINTAS Fellowship. Please include a timeline for the project and identify other sources, where appropriate, of funding for the project.

Letters of Recommendation

Two letters of recommendation must be received for the
application. Letters must be submitted directly from the
recommender and received by the application deadline. Each letter of recommendation must be submitted as a PDF attached to an email containing the recommender's signature and written in English or Spanish. Hard copies of the signed letters are acceptable only if necessary.

Submission of Work Samples

All material should be submitted to the CINTAS Fellowship Selection Program by the application deadline. Candidates must upload work samples using the Work Samples Form.

CINTAS - Brandon Fradd Fellowship in Music Composition

* The Competition for the 2026 CINTAS Foundation Fellowships is now CLOSED!

Overview

The CINTAS Foundation Brandon Fradd Fellowship in Music Composition competition is offered annually. With his generous Legacy Endowment, Mr. Fradd has made it possible for the foundation to give an annual fellowship in perpetuity and thus support the rich heritage of Cuban music for generations to come.

The winner of this year's Fellowship in Music Composition will be eligible to have their work, if suitable, performed as part of the New Music Miami ISCM Festival led by Maestro Orlando Jacinto García and being held at the Jewish Museum of Florida - FIU. The corresponding experience and exposure of such prestigious performances represents a highly enriched award to the winner.

Candidates must submit a minimum of three and a maximum of five recordings, two should be recent works completed within the last five years. Links to recordings must accompany scores. Scores must be received in pdf format. A list of all submitted works (including the date of each) must be provided, showing which works have been performed.

Since 1963, the CINTAS Foundation has awarded many fellowships in music composition. In addition to supporting Cuban artists, many early in their careers, the CINTAS Foundation also maintains a growing collection of works by past awardees and other esteemed Cuban artists. For historical value and documentation, award recipients are encouraged to submit signed music scores (i.e., representative samples of their work) to be added to the CINTAS Fellows Collection after the grant period.

ELIGIBILITY: Creative artists of Cuban citizenship or direct lineage (having a Cuban parent or grandparent). Performing artists are not eligible to apply for CINTAS Fellowships. CINTAS Fellowships can only be awarded a maximum of two times to an individual. Students enrolled in graduate programs are eligible to apply in Music Composition.

NOTICE TO APPLICANTS: The award ($25,000 US) is considered taxable income under US tax law and the Foundation will withhold appropriate US taxes. Fellows who are not US citizens and who are living abroad must provide a US taxpayer identification number when they accept the fellowship to receive payment. The address for the Internal Revenue Service website: www.irs.gov, at which the form is readily available. The Foundation's grant of an award is subject to current and future US laws and regulations that may limit its ability to issue funds to Cuban Nationals.

Application

All forms must be filled out completely and included in submission. All forms should be signed and dated as required, electronic signatures are acceptable.

The full application must be submitted. The application must be completed in English or Spanish. Please complete all sections of the application. Both the Composer and Project Statements must be uploaded with the application form.

Composer and Project Statements

Prepare two narrative statements: The Composer Statement describes your personal history, your development as a musician, and your plans for the future. The Project Statement describes the project or activity that you would undertake if awarded a CINTAS Fellowship. Please include a timeline for the project and identify other sources, where appropriate, of funding for the project.

Letters of Recommendation

Two letters of recommendation must be received for the
application. Letters must be submitted directly from the recommender and received by the application deadline. Each letter of recommendation must be submitted as a PDF attached to an email containing the recommender's signature and written in English or Spanish. Hard copies of the signed letters are
acceptable only if necessary.

Submission of Work Samples

All materials should be submitted to the CINTAS Fellowship Selection Program. Candidates must upload work samples using the Work Samples Form.

Pieces should be carefully itemized on this form. Links to sound files in Soundcloud, Spotify, Bandcamp, Dropbox, and/or other similar site and/or personal web pages are acceptable. Please make sure that access is available and does not expire. Submissions where access is not available will be rejected.

CINTAS - Sondra Gilman González-Falla Fellowship in Photography

* The Competition for the 2026 CINTAS Foundation Fellowships is now CLOSED!

Overview

The CINTAS Foundation proudly announces the inception of its first fellowship dedicated exclusively to the art of photography. The fellowship is named in honor of Sondra Gilman González-Falla and generously funded by her family. 

Sondra Gilman held a variety of leadership positions. At the Whitney Museum of American Art, she was Chairman of the Painting and Sculpture Committee, Vice President of the Executive Committee, Chair of the Photography Committee, and served on the Permanent Collection Review, Building, and Facilities Committees. She played an instrumental role in bringing photography into the Whitney’s collection leading the initiative to create a committee devoted to the acquisition of photographs. The position of curator of photography and the Museum’s photography gallery were endowed by and named after her. She also started the Gilman Paper Company collection now hosted at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

“From the Heart”, “Shared Vision”, “Beauty of Lines” shows, and books of her photography collection have traveled to many museums around the country and throughout Europe. She was honored at the 2012 Whitney Gala and named with her husband, Celso González-Falla, as owning one of the top ten finest photography collections in the world by Art  News. The Aperture Foundation at its 60th Anniversary Gala gave tribute to Sondra and Celso for their contribution to Aperture’s legacy.

Sondra’s commitment to the arts extended to the theater world. She and her husband were honored with Theatreworks USA’s Lee Salk “Good Works” Award, Musical Theatre Works’ Annual Award for Distinguished Contributions to Musical Theatre and Urban Stages for their work in promoting and supporting musical theater. The Vivian Beaumont Theatre at Lincoln Center named its Patron Room after her.

Sondra was Chairman of the Board of the Sondra & Charles Gilman Jr. Foundation, Inc., Chairman of the Gilman and González-Falla Arts Foundation, President and Chairman of the Board, Gilman and González-Falla Theatre Foundation, Inc., and Chairman of the Board, Soncel Financial, Inc., a real estate development in southeastern Georgia.

ELIGIBILITY:  Creative artists of Cuban citizenship or direct lineage (having a Cuban parent or grandparent). Performing artists are not eligible to apply for CINTAS Fellowships. CINTAS Fellowships can only be awarded a maximum of two times to an individual.

NOTICE TO APPLICANTS: The award ($25,000 US) is considered taxable income under US tax law and the Foundation will withhold appropriate US taxes. Fellows who are not US citizens and who are living abroad must provide a US taxpayer identification number when they accept the fellowship to receive payment. The address for the Internal Revenue Service website: www.irs.gov, at which the form is readily available. The Foundation's grant of an award is subject to current and future US laws and regulations that may limit its ability to issue funds to Cuban Nationals.

Application

All forms must be filled out completely and included in submission. All forms should be signed and dated as required, electronic signatures are acceptable.

The full application must be submitted. The application must be completed in English or Spanish. Please complete all sections of the application. Both the Photographer and Project Statements must be uploaded in the application form.

Photographer and Project Statements

Prepare two narrative statements: The Photographer Statement describes your personal history, your development as a photographer, and your plans for the future. The Project Statement describes the project or activity that you would undertake if awarded a CINTAS Fellowship. Please include a timeline for the project and identify other sources, where appropriate, of funding for the project.

Letters of Recommendation

Two letters of recommendation must be received for the
application. Letters must be submitted directly from the
recommender and received by the application deadline. Each letter of recommendation must be submitted as a PDF attached to an email containing the recommender's signature and written in English or Spanish. Hard copies of the signed letter are acceptable only if necessary.

Submission of Work Samples

All material should be submitted to the CINTAS Fellowship Selection Program by the application deadline. Candidates must upload work samples using the Work Samples Form. Pieces should be carefully itemized on this form. 

CINTAS Fellowship in Creative Writing

* The Competition for the 2026 CINTAS Foundation Fellowships is now CLOSED!

Overview

Candidates may submit proposals in the field of creative writing. Candidates may submit an application for the fellowship using the Application Form. Candidates must upload work samples using the Work Samples Form. To use these forms you must have a Google (or Gmail) account. If you don't have one, please create a free Gmail account. It's easy.

Since 1963, the CINTAS Foundation has awarded over many fellowships in creative writing. In addition to supporting Cuban writers, many early in their careers, the CINTAS Foundation also maintains a growing collection of works by past awardees and other esteemed Cuban artists. For the purpose of historical value and documentation, award recipients are encouraged to submit creative writing sample, signed book, or other such representative samples of their work to be added to the CINTAS Fellows Collection after the grant period.

ELIGIBILITY: Creative writers of Cuban citizenship or direct lineage (having a Cuban parent or grandparent). Performing artists are not eligible to apply for CINTAS Fellowships. CINTAS Fellowships can only be awarded a maximum of two times to an individual. Students enrolled in graduate programs are eligible to apply in Creative Writing.

NOTICE TO APPLICANTS: The award ($25,000 US) is considered taxable income under US tax law and the Foundation will withhold appropriate US taxes. Fellows who are not US citizens and who are living abroad must provide a US taxpayer identification number when they accept the fellowship to receive payment. The address for the Internal Revenue Service website: www.irs.gov, at which the form is readily available. The Foundation's grant of an award is subject to current and future US laws and regulations that may limit its ability to issue funds to Cuban Nationals.

Application

All forms must be filled out completely and included in submission. All forms must be signed and dated as required, electronic signatures are acceptable.

The full application must be submitted. The application may be completed in English or Spanish. Please complete all sections of the application. Both the Writer and Project Statements must be uploaded in the application form.

Writer and Project Statements

Prepare two narrative statements: The Writer Statement describes your personal history, your development as a writer, and your plans for the future. The Project Statement describes the project or activity that you would undertake if awarded a CINTAS Fellowship. Please include a timeline for the project and identify other sources, where appropriate, of funding for the project.

Letters of Recommendation

Two letters of recommendation must be received for the
application. Letters must be submitted directly from the
recommender and received by the application deadline. Each letter of recommendation must be submitted as a PDF attached to an email containing the recommender's signature and written in English or Spanish. Hard copies of the signed letter are acceptable only if necessary.

Submission of Work Samples

All material should be submitted to the CINTAS Fellowship Selection Program by the application deadline. Candidates must upload work samples using the Work Samples Form. Samples should be carefully itemized on this form. 

CINTAS Fellowship in Visual Arts

* The Competition for the 2026 CINTAS Foundation Fellowships is now CLOSED!

Overview

Visual Arts may include painting, sculpture, installation art, and the media arts. Media arts encompasses narrative, non-narrative, documentary, animation, or experimental time-based works using audio, digital, film and/or video media; also included is computer art in which the computer is an essential element of the work's creation, presentation or understanding.

Artists may submit a maximum of  ten (10) digital images. The panel WILL NOT consider work samples that exceed the maximum. Images submitted without a detailed image list will not be considered. Installation work may be accompanied by a link to a video.

Sculpture and Installation Art

At least two views of each work must be included. Ten images of at least five different pieces should be included. A video of not more than three minutes of a sculpture in motion may be included only for work in which mechanical or kinetic motion is an integral aspect of the work. 

Film

The film category is open to films and visual experiences of a radical and/or experimental nature, either narrative, non-narrative or documentary. Candidates may submit one or two work samples, either completed feature length films or short films and/or works in progress. Recent work is preferable. Commercial work (i.e., work-for-hire) and work over which the applicant did not have creative control are not eligible for consideration. On the Work Sample Form, please specify clearly the candidate’s specific contributions to the work (e.g. director, producer, writer, etc.). Applicants must submit a link to each film. 

Media Arts

A maximum of two work samples, no longer than six minutes each, may be submitted, in addition to the complete works. Only links to the work are acceptable. Please indicate the full running time of each sample submitted on the Work Sample Form.

Since 1963, the CINTAS Foundation has awarded over 185 fellowships in the visual arts. In addition to supporting Cuban artists, many early in their careers, the CINTAS Foundation also maintains a growing collection of works by past awardees. For the purpose of historical value and documentation, award recipients are encouraged to submit art work (i.e., representative samples of their work) to be added to the CINTAS Fellows Collection after the grant period. 

ELIGIBILITY:  Creative artists of Cuban citizenship or direct lineage (having a Cuban parent or grandparent). Performing artists are not eligible to apply for CINTAS Fellowships. CINTAS Fellowships can only be awarded a maximum of two times to an individual.

NOTICE TO APPLICANTS: The award ($25,000 US) is considered taxable income under US tax law and the Foundation will withhold appropriate US taxes. Fellows who are not US citizens and who are living abroad must provide a US taxpayer identification number when they accept the fellowship to receive payment. The address for the Internal Revenue Service website: www.irs.gov, at which the form is readily available. The Foundation's grant of an award is subject to current and future US laws and regulations that may limit its ability to issue funds to Cuban Nationals.

Application

All forms must be filled out completely and included in submission. All forms must be signed and dated as required, electronic signatures are acceptable.

The full application must be submitted. The application must be completed in English or Spanish. Please complete all sections of the application. Both the Artist and Project Statements must be uploaded in the application form.

Artist and Project Statements

Prepare two narrative statements: The Artist Statement describes your personal history, your development as an artist, and your plans for the future. The Project Statement describes the project or activity that you would undertake if awarded a CINTAS Fellowship. Please include a timeline for the project, and identify other sources, where appropriate, of funding for the project.

Letters of Recommendation

Two letters of recommendation must be received for the
application. Letters must be submitted directly from the
recommender and received by the application deadline. Each letter of recommendation must be submitted as a PDF attached to an email containing the recommender's signature and written in English or Spanish. Hard copies of the signed letter are acceptable only if necessary.

Submission of Work Samples

All materials should be submitted to the CINTAS Fellowship Selection Program. All work samples must be in digital format. Candidates must upload work samples using the Work Samples Form. Samples should be carefully itemized on this form.