Available Scholarships
We are excited to offer the following programs for financial support. Interested applicants may apply using the links below; questions about specific scholarships or the application process should be directed to workshops@sfcb.org.
SFCB Book Arts Mentorship Award for Summer 2025:
With the support of the Maxwell/Hanrahan Foundation, SFCB will offer two one-on-one mentorships for experienced book artists held at SFCB’s facility in Potrero Hill. Our mentors this year are Julie Chen and Zach Clark.
This program is an opportunity for mid-career and established artists from underrepresented communities to learn from skilled professionals in the bookbinding, letterpress, and artists book fields. Priority will be given to applicants who identify as Black, Indigenous, and people from other racially marginalized groups. Mentees will work closely with their mentor who will provide personalized guidance tailored to their individual artistic goals and needs.
The two selected mentees will each receive a $3000 stipend to cover program expenses, including travel, lodging, per diem, materials, and miscellaneous costs. Both mentorships will take place during the week of June 23-27, 2025.
CURRENT SCHOLARSHIPS:
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Through a generous grant from The Windgate Foundation, SFCB is able to offer need-based tuition assistance for many of our workshops. Interested applicants must apply at least 3 weeks before their selected workshop's start date to be considered for financial assistance. Applicants will be notified at least 2 weeks before the workshop begins regarding whether or not the application has been approved.
Deadline to apply: this scholarship has a rolling application deadline and is ongoing.
ANNUAL SCHOLARSHIPS:
The annual Alice A. Forlin Memorial Scholarship is intended to assist emerging underrepresented artists whose practice would benefit from in-depth exposure to letterpress printing or bookbinding. The scholarship covers full tuition and materials cost of either the Bookbinding Core 1-4 :: Weeklong Intensive or the Cylinder Core 1-4 :: 4-Day Intensive during the Spring workshop term (January-April). SFCB defines an emerging artist as someone in the early stages of their artistic career who has not yet gained widespread recognition or significant professional experience. This includes recent graduates of arts programs or individuals who are actively developing their artistic practice.
The scholarships for 2025 have been awarded. The application for 2026 will open in late 2025.
PAST SCHOLARSHIPS:
(Spring 2025): Two artists received the Alice A. Forlin Memorial Scholarships for the Bookbinding and Cylinder Core Intensive workshops during the Spring 2025 term.
(Summer 2024): SFCB Book Arts Mentorship Award: SFCB announced a new national mentorship award in book arts and letterpress printing. With the support of the Maxwell/Hanrahan Foundation, SFCB partnered with esteemed artists and educators John DeMerritt, Li Jiang, and Emily McVarish to offer three, five-day, one-on-one mentorships for three experienced artists held at SFCB’s facility in Potrero Hill.
(Spring 2024): Two artists received the inaugural Alice A. Forlin Memorial Scholarships for the Bookbinding and Cylinder Core Intensive workshops during the Winter 2024 term.
(Winter 2023): In conjunction with SFCB's exhibition, Paper is People: Decolonizing Global Paper Cultures, SFCB offered two related workshops for BIPOC-identifying (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) students during December 2023. Recipients were awarded scholarships covering the full tuition and materials cost of either "Exploring Materiality, Meaning and Memory: Natural Dyes in Papermaking" (instructor: Trina Michelle Robinson) or "Paper Bojagi" (instructor: Steph Rue). A grant from the Zellerbach Family Foundation supported scholarships for these two workshops.
