Notification of Open Granting Cycle, 2026
JJR Emerging Artist Award
August 2025
Applications for the 2026 J.J. Reneaux Emerging Artist Award are currently being accepted, now through September 29, 2025.
The Emerging Artist Award honors a storyteller of major and unique talent who has yet to be recognized on a national scale. By providing a one-time grant of $2,000, the J.J. Reneaux Committee seeks to advance the award winner as a storyteller by funding activities designed to increase storytelling skill. The J.J. Reneaux Emerging Artist Award both supports the field of storytelling and celebrates its namesake.
J.J. Reneaux was a galvanizing performer whose stories and songs of her native Cajun culture captivated audiences everywhere until her death from cancer at the age of 44. Known for her authenticity and joie de vivre, J.J. wished to elevate up-and-coming artists to perpetuate the storytelling art she loved.
The J.J. Reneaux Awards also encompass a second granting program: the J.J. Reneaux Mentorship Award, presented to a mentor-mentee pair to support a year-long mentoring relationship. These two awards are given in alternate years; the next Mentorship Award will be presented in 2027.
Since the inception of the J.J. Reneaux Awards in 2005, thirteen emerging storytellers and twelve mentor pairings have received this esteemed honor. The nonprofit artist support organization Artists Standing Strong Together (ASST, “assist”) administers the fund. Details about the application process as well as the application itself can be found on the ASST website at www.asst.art/jjreneaux. Questions may be directed to Sue Kessler, ASST Executive Director at .