Creative Futures Cape Cod
Creative Futures Cape Cod (CFCC) is a 12-week paid fellowship for adults in Hyannis and the surrounding communities, between the ages of 18-40, who desire a career in the creative economy.
CFCC is a program of The Cordial Eye and will include collaboration from Amplify POC, Belonging Books, EforAll Cape Cod, and Love Live Local. Participants can expect to gain knowledge and experience in their chosen art form, to learn about the role of an artist in community, to learn entrepreneurship and branding basics, and to build community with other creative professionals on Cape Cod.
CFCC is designed to center individuals from historically-excluded communities (BIPOC, LGBTQ+, disabled, low-income, and those with a history of involvement with the justice system) and is open to applicants from any background.
Applications are open from 12/8/2025-12/31/2025.
The program runs February 9 - May 15, 2026.
Two Tracks:
Artist Fellow Track:
Open to musicians, writers, and visual artists of all genres, the CFCC Artist Fellow Track will pair each fellow with a local arts professional for weekly individual mentorship, host weekly cohort classes, compensate for independent work time, and pay each intern $2500 and assistance purchasing materials for their participation in the program.
The time commitment for this track is as follows:
1-hour meeting each week with an individual mentor (schedule arranged between Mentor and Fellow)
Weekly 2-hour cohort meeting, days/times to be determined by group availability
Independent work time- Fellows will be paid for approximately 4 hours a week
End-of-program showcase on the evening of Friday, May 15th.
Teaching Artist Track:
Open to musicians and visual artists of all genres, the CFCC Teaching Artist Track will pair each fellow with a local arts professional for student teaching and mentorship, host weekly cohort classes, and compensate each intern $2500 and assistance with purchasing materials for their participation in the program. Participants can expect to gain hands-on teaching experience, insturction on lesson-planning, classroom management, trauma-informed education, and barriers to equity in educational settings, and build community with other creative professionals on Cape Cod. Note: The Teaching Artist Fellow Program does not issue any formal or legal teaching certification. It is designed to equip creative professionals to teach in community arts settings, such as nonprofits, museums, and studios.
The time commitments for this track are as follows:
10 weeks of student teaching, approx 2 hours a week (schedule to be arranged between Mentor, Fellow, and The Cordial Eye)
Weekly 2-hour cohort meeting, days/times to be determined by group availability
End-of-program showcase on the evening of Friday, May 15th.
Applications close December 31st at midnight.
Please email any questions about the program to info@thecordialeye.org
This program is funded by CERP and The Cape Cod Foundation.
Frequently Asked Questions
What’s up with the age limits? Artists of all ages need support!
We HEAR you and we agree! Creative Futures was developed in response to multiple community assessments that identified the 18-40 age group as the demographic most severely lacking in resources for workforce development and continuing education, as well as the demographic most likely to be impacted by the justice system. CFCC is a response to this specific need, so it centers this particular age demographic.
We look forward to continuing to develop offerings and support for everyone in our community who faces barriers to engagement with creative life on Cape Cod.
What kind of person makes a strong applicant for CFCC?
You should be a visual artist, writer, or musician of any genre, with enough experience in your media to realistically work as a professional, given the right support! It is okay if you’re still figuring out your path, experimenting with your media, or finding your specific focus as an artist, but CFCC does not provide instruction for developing artistic skills. If you are applying as a piano player, you need to already know how to play piano. As a muralist? You need to know how to paint.
How are mentors selected?
We interview each participant in CFCC to find out what kind of support they need and what kinds of personalities they respond well to. We then work within our artistic network to match participants with artists who are aligned in artistic discipline and approach. We prioritize local artists as mentors but sometimes look outside our region if the right fit cannot be found locally.
How and when are we paid?
Payments are made in 4 monthly installments. For participants who have special considerations around disability payments or other benefits, we are happy to work out whatever schedule works most beneficially.