New York Fellowship

The New York Fellowship is a 6-month grant which allows Fellows to immerse themselves in the cultural life of New York City.

Fellows may seek new creative inspiration through open-ended exploration, participate in workshops or training programs, or conduct focused research. Fellowship cohort members interact and learn from each other, participate in ACC’s Enrichment Program, and connect with creative communities in New York City during their grant period.  While The New York Fellowship will have one open application period from 11/1/2022-11/30/2022, one cohort begins in January and another cohort begins in July. Awarded applicants will be assigned to either the January or July cohorts based on a combination of applicant-noted preference and ACC-managed cohort matching. 

The New York Fellowship does not support production-based proposals. Artists are not expected to create new work or seek representation, and the fellowship  does not offer support for these activities. The New York Fellowship provides travel (health) insurance support services only for awarded applicants. This does not include comprehensive health insurance coverage; travel (health) insurance will only cover basic injury and illness.

ACC will provide two types of support services to New York fellows as detailed below. 

Logistical Support
ACC staff will help administer J-1 visa sponsorships in advance of a grantee’s scheduled travel, register grantees for travel (health)  insurance, and facilitate housing arrangements in New York. The costs for these services will be withheld from the awarded grant amount. 

Programmatic Support
ACC staff will provide guidance and help arrange activities tailored to the individual goals and interests of each fellow. These may include:

• Enrichment Program: The New York Fellowship Enrichment Program is an ongoing series of site visits introducing program participants to New York City's rich cultural ecosystem. Fellows meet with cultural practitioners and other creatives to gain a deep and nuanced understanding of cultural production and discourse in New York City.
• Fellowship Office Hours: Fellowship Office Hours allow grantees to receive feedback on their projects from ACC program staff. Office Hours reinforce each fellow's research interests by connecting grantees with resources, contacts, and information to advance their proposed projects. 
• City Exploration recommendations: The City Exploration service introduces grantees to New York City's dynamic cultural offerings by providing information on local cultural activities.

As ACC intends to provide an immersive cultural exchange experience for grantees through the New York Fellowship, applicants must:

• Articulate what kind of cultural exchange they plan to create during the fellowship, why the cultural exchange experience is important at this specific timing of their career, and how they plan to share their experience or outcomes with a larger community or field after the fellowship ends  
• Show artistic, scholarly, or professional excellence and potential for continued growth
• Be independent, resourceful, curious, open-minded, and eager to explore outside the boundaries of their training
• Speak confident English for participating in conversation and forming relationships, without requiring special language assistance  

Applicants may apply with a focused research project, but open-ended exploration is also allowed and encouraged. Examples of common activities include:

• Observing contemporary trends in an art practice or best practices in a professional field
• Exploring across fields or disciplines
• Seeking creative inspiration by attending performances, exhibitions, or other cultural events
• Participating in specialized workshops or training
• Meeting peers to exchange knowledge and ideas
• Traveling to other parts of the U.S.

If selected, fellows are expected to:

• Commit to the program schedule after a start date has been set and minimize outside commitments during the program
• Take the initiative to pursue interests and follow up on staff recommendations

Please note the following restrictions:

• This program is not intended for creating new work, exhibiting, performing, presenting, or other public activities.
• Previous ACC grantees are not eligible to apply.
• For travel to the U.S. lasting less than six months, applicants should apply for the Individual Fellowship Program, even if they plan to spend time in New York.