ShadFest Scholarship Application
The 2026 application will open in February!
Contact us if you have any questions about the scholarship.
Please note that incomplete applications will not be accepted.
Please note that incomplete applications will not be accepted.
Applicants for the Jim Hamilton Memorial ShadFest Scholarship must live in the South Hunterdon Regional High School or New Hope-Solebury High School sending districts. Candidates can be attending public or private high schools, and current college students no older than 20 years of age from these areas are eligible to apply as well. ShadFest Scholarship money is to be used in the pursuit of a degree in visual art, writing, performing arts, or culinary arts. Also eligible is a degree program to teach any of the aforementioned arts.
Two scholarships are available every year. Each scholarship is $25,000, and it's paid over four years - winners receive $10,000 the first year, and $5,000 for the three years after that. Recipients are required to check in with the scholarship committee every year, both so that we can ensure that the funds are being used to study art and so that we can share the winners' progress with the community.
The ShadFest Scholarship is merit-based. If no applicants are deemed eligible, the scholarship money will be held for future years.
The selection of recipients is made by the scholarship review committee. Their decision is based on a portfolio review, a personal statement submitted by the applicant, and the recommendations from the applicant's teacher and guidance counselor as well as on the applicant's presentation during the interview with the committee. In addition to skill and creative thinking, the committee will take into account the applicant's demonstrated commitment to their art as well as how the candidate intends to represent the Delaware River Towns in the wider world. Faced with two students of equal talent, financial need will be taken into account, and first priority will be given to high school seniors.
A note about generative AI:
The ShadFest Scholarship is about nurturing creativity and helping young artists achieve their full potential. This means we believe in fairly compensating creative workers as well as protecting them against theft, plagiarism, and technologies that circumvent their ethical and equitable treatment. Please do not use AI in any part of your application.
To be considered for the Jim Hamilton Memorial ShadFest Scholarship, candidates must submit a completed application and be available for an in-person interview on an assigned day.
Two scholarships are available every year. Each scholarship is $25,000, and it's paid over four years - winners receive $10,000 the first year, and $5,000 for the three years after that. Recipients are required to check in with the scholarship committee every year, both so that we can ensure that the funds are being used to study art and so that we can share the winners' progress with the community.
The ShadFest Scholarship is merit-based. If no applicants are deemed eligible, the scholarship money will be held for future years.
The selection of recipients is made by the scholarship review committee. Their decision is based on a portfolio review, a personal statement submitted by the applicant, and the recommendations from the applicant's teacher and guidance counselor as well as on the applicant's presentation during the interview with the committee. In addition to skill and creative thinking, the committee will take into account the applicant's demonstrated commitment to their art as well as how the candidate intends to represent the Delaware River Towns in the wider world. Faced with two students of equal talent, financial need will be taken into account, and first priority will be given to high school seniors.
A note about generative AI:
The ShadFest Scholarship is about nurturing creativity and helping young artists achieve their full potential. This means we believe in fairly compensating creative workers as well as protecting them against theft, plagiarism, and technologies that circumvent their ethical and equitable treatment. Please do not use AI in any part of your application.
To be considered for the Jim Hamilton Memorial ShadFest Scholarship, candidates must submit a completed application and be available for an in-person interview on an assigned day.
Please prepare the following before filling out the ShadFest Scholarship application form.
- The portfolio of works must contain at least 5 and no more than 10 examples of your work - please see specifics below. Portfolios will be judged on skill and creative thinking. Digital portfolios are required, but applicants are encouraged to bring original art to the interview or give a short performance of no more than 3 minutes for the review committee.
- Visual artists: please upload 10 images. The images should be submitted as jpegs saved at 72 dpi and a minimum of 800 x 800 pixels.
- Performing artists: please provide links to 5 audio/video files that are no longer than 5 minutes each. These links should be submitted in a PDF, and, accompanying each link, please include a brief description of the performance - what is being performed, where, and with whom. The description of each performance should be no more than 200 words.
- Writers: please upload 5 writing samples that are no longer than 1,000 words each, submitted as PDFs
- Culinary artists: please submit photos of 5 dishes you have made. The photos should be jpegs saved at 72 dpi and a minimum of 800 x 800 pixels, and they should be accompanied by the recipes, which should be submitted as PDFs. If the recipe is original, please tell us what inspired you to combine these flavors. If you are cooking from a recipe, please tell us if you added something that made the dish your own.
- The 500-word personal statement must answer the following questions:
- Visual artists, performing artists, and writers:
- What motivates you as an artist?
- Why do you want to make art your profession?
- How do you see the role of art in the community?
- Culinary artists:
- What motivates you as a culinary artist?
- Why do you want to make food in your profession?
- How do you see the role of food in the community?
- Visual artists, performing artists, and writers:
Once you have completed the application form, your guidance counselor and art teacher will automatically be sent an email requesting that they upload the following documents. We require that these supporting materials come directly from your guidance counselor and art teacher.
Application requirements for current college students are slightly different. Please send us your transcript and provide the contact information for an art teacher who can send us one letter of recommendation.
- Student Transcript: student must maintain at least a C average to be eligible.
- Student Activity Inventory: please highlight community service.
- Guidance Counselor Letter of Recommendation
- Art Teacher Letter of Recommendation
Application requirements for current college students are slightly different. Please send us your transcript and provide the contact information for an art teacher who can send us one letter of recommendation.