Engaging Artists Fellowship

More Art’s year-long Engaging Artists Fellowship is designed to help emerging NYC artists and community organizers develop and sustain a socially engaged and public art practice.

The Fellowship curriculum includes mentorship and structured opportunities for peer feedback and community building, cultivating the cohort as a collaborative and collective learning environment, alongside workshops and artist talks tailored to participants’ interests and needs, and access to programming opportunities in New York City.

The infrastructure and laboratory provided by More Art allow selected emerging and underrepresented artists to gain a deeper understanding of the history and vitality of public and socially engaged art. This fellowship encourages artists to not only expand and to develop their social practice but also to promote use of socially engaged art as a tool for change.

EA Fellows will finish with a culminating presentation at the end of the fellowship year. Many fellowship projects become multi-year initiatives, and, as such, the culminating presentation is not a conclusion of the fellows’ work but rather an opportunity to highlight their budding creative practice and project journey.

The 2026/27 application for the Engaging Artists Fellowship is now open! The deadline to apply is April 9th, 2026 by 11:59pm EST.

Program + Application

Timeline + selection information

March 9, 2026: Application opens.

April 9, 2026 by 11:59 EST: Applications due.

May/June 2026: Shortlisted candidates will receive interviews.

June 2026: Selected Fellows will be notified.

August 2026: Fellowship year starts.

July 2027: Fellowship year ends.

Information session

Join us via Zoom on Wednesday, March 18th, 2026 at 12-1 pm for our information session: RSVP here

We’ll introduce More Art, share general information about the Fellowship program and structure, address key questions on the application, and answer participant questions.

Click here to watch a recording of last year’s Fellowship Information Session.

Please email madison@moreart.org with any questions about the Fellowship or application process by April 6th and we will respond as soon as possible!

What to expect

The Fellowship brings together a cohort of 6–8 artists who engage through a hybrid model of virtual and in-person gatherings, with an emphasis on in-person participation to cultivate a shared, collective learning environment.

Each Fellow will receive monthly 1-to-1 individualized mentorship sessions with More Art staff. Additionally, the Fellowship Leader will facilitate monthly generative workshops, invited artist talks, discussions, and collaborative feedback sessions, tailored to the practices and needs of the cohort. The program will culminate in culminating presentations by each Fellow, public or otherwise, of or about work developed over the course of the program. At the end of the year, Fellows can expect to receive a small stipend of at least $750 each (each member of a collective will receive a stipend) to be used for expenses related to their practice. Fellows can also expect to spend 15 hours per month on average on More Art-related work.

Some topics covered in previous workshops include:

  • History of Public Art
  • Education for and history of Socially Engaged Art (SEA)
  • Step-by-step Guide to Creating Socially Engaged Public Art
  • How to Propose your Public / SEA Project
  • Equitable practices and ethics to consider for SEA
  • Grants & Funding for SEA
Who can apply?

The Engaging Artists Fellowship offers insights and strategies to collaborate with communities, rebuild and shape our society, and build sustainable careers. More Art welcomes applications from NYC artists of all disciplines, including but not limited to: visual artists, performers, choreographers, designers, and new media artists. Currently enrolled undergraduate students may not apply. Collective applications are welcome. An interest in socially engaged practice is crucial.

The Fellowship is a program for incubation, experimentation, collaboration, and implementation stages of early socially engaged public art projects. We understand and encourage artists who see the combination of socially engaged work and creative practice as a long-term commitment no matter how much of a body of work they’ve generated previously.

Qualifications
  • Interest in More Art’s work and eagerness to learn (no prior experience in public art or socially engaged art necessary!)
  • Willingness to present, support, and attend work produced in community and public settings, as opposed to galleries and museums
  • Strong commitment to More Art’s values, including but not limited to social justice and public engagement, inclusion, diversity, equity, accessibility, and collaboration
  • Commitment to intersectional thinking and artmaking
  • Willingness to act with care and respect toward all collaborators, including More Art staff, other Fellows, and community members
  • Eagerness to contribute to a nurturing environment with and for Fellows
    Interest in establishing and/or sustaining partnerships with community-based organizations, advocacy groups, agencies, neighborhoods, places, individuals and/or groups of New Yorkers
  • Belief that art and artists are integral to empowering social justice movements by creatively illuminating social issues, engaging new audiences in activism, and catalyzing public discourse
Requirements
  • Over 18 years of age
  • Not enrolled in a degree program during the time of the Fellowship
  • NYC-based during the time of Fellowship
  • We ask that Fellows not commit to more than 2 other residencies and/or fellowships during their Fellowship year with More Art to avoid scheduling conflicts and over-commitment
Fellowship output + expectations

Over the course of the Fellowship year, Fellows are expected to:

  • Develop a Theory (or theories!) of Change, with help from the Fellowship Leader
  • Develop a set of individualized goals for the Fellowship year
  • Develop a culminating presentation (public, or otherwise), with assistance from More Art staff, of or about the work you’ve developed during the More Art Fellowship
  • Attend monthly 1-to-1 individualized mentorship meetings with More Art staff
  • Attend monthly in-person and virtual workshops/artist talks
Have a question? Contact us

Please email madison@moreart.org with any questions about the Fellowship program or application process by April 6th, 2026 and we will respond as soon as possible!

Engaging Artist Fellows

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