DVAA 2023 Fellowship Program

DVAA is now accepting applications for our 2023 Fellowship program.

Inspired by the vision of DVAA’s founders to build community through art, The DVAA Fellowship Program was created in 2018 to better serve the DVAA Membership and the arts communities of Philadelphia. We annually support under-represented voices, innovative ideas, and underserved artists through three distinct Fellowship tracks. Fellows accepted into the program are encouraged to develop and pursue experimental concepts and themes within their exhibition with the support of DVAA staff and resources. Proposed projects may explore a central theme, work from a common medium, highlight a specific community, or involve a specified number of collaborators.

WHAT WE OFFER:

• 3 Week long solo exhibition at DVAA
• 3-year Artist Membership with DVAA
• Financial Stipend
• Support over the course of the year through monthly events, workshops, critiques, and one-on-one meetings
• Logistical and conceptual assistance from DVAA’s Fellowship Director and DVAA’s Co-Directors
• Marketing support from DVAA’s Marketing Coordinator
• Integration into DVAA’S membership network and community
• Artist Profile on the DVAA website

WHAT IS EXPECTED:

• The Fellowship is a year-long partnership between DVAA and the selected artists. 
• Selected Fellows are expected to be active members of the DVAA community throughout their fellowship term by: attending DVAA programs and events, participating in a group critique leading up to your exhibition
• DVAA Fellows will work closely with the concurrent Fellows and Resident artists, providing feedback, insight, skills, and resources as appropriate. 
• Selected Fellows will lead the exhibition process including theme creation, artist management, and ultimate layout and presentation of their proposed exhibition, working alongside DVAA's Co-Directors and Fellowship Director who will oversee, advise, and provide assistance towards the installation of the exhibition and any corresponding events.

WHO CAN APPLY:

We award the fellowship to 3 individuals

Local artists over 18 who are planning to live in Philly during the program, not currently enrolled in another fellowship or degree-granting program, able to articulate need (financial hardship, lack of experience, or other institutional barriers).

The Da Vinci Fellowship Program is designed to support historically underrepresented and underserved artists at any point in their careers. Underrepresented and underserved refers to communities or groups who have disproportionately been denied access and/or experienced insufficient and inadequate representation in the visual arts due to institutional discrimination. 

FELLOWSHIP APPLICANTS MUST APPLY FOR ONE OF THREE DA VINCI FELLOWSHIP TRACKS:

The Michelle Angela Ortiz Track -

This fellowship provides an opportunity for an artist/curator exploring international identities and personal narratives to curate a show in the Da Vinci Art Alliance gallery space. Artists in this fellowship track are challenged to push their exhibitions beyond white box gallery spaces, engaging with local communities to examine, explore and challenge Euro-centric narratives to bring us closer together while uplifting artists of color. The Michelle Angela Ortiz Fellow will work alongside DVAA's Exhibitions and Programming Director to oversee, advise, and install the exhibition.

Named for Michelle Angela Ortiz and her 20 years of work using her art to represent people and communities whose histories are often lost or co-opted. This fellowship track is for a Philadelphia based, emerging artist/curator to develop an exhibition that explores and challenges who is in charge of the narrative and why?

The Kathryn Pannepacker Track -

This fellowship provides an opportunity for an emerging artist/curator to curate an exhibition exploring social, political, or cultural content that engages local communities in the Da Vinci Art Alliance gallery space. By spearheading the exhibition process including theme creation, artist management, and ultimate layout and presentation, the Kathryn Pannepacker Fellow is able to develop and enhance their skill set. The Kathryn Pannepacker Fellow will work alongside DVAA's Exhibitions and Programming Director to oversee, advise, and install the exhibition.

Named for textile/visual/community artist Kathryn Pannepacker who revitalized DVAA in 1997 and who continues to work deeply with local communities around criminal justice, homelessness, substance abuse and other mental/behavioral health challenges.

The Linda Lee Alter Track -

The Linda Lee Alter track supports queer artists, centering those who have historically lived within the margins, giving them a space at and with DVAA to explore connection, transformation and liberation.

This Fellowship track is named for Philadelphia artist, collector, and philanthropist; Linda Lee Alter. The selected artist/curator Fellow will present an exhibition or curatorial project that explores LGBTQ+ narratives. Artists/curators working in all mediums are invited to celebrate Philadelphia’s broad diversity of sexual and gender minorities through thoughtful, provocative and visionary visual arts presentations. The Linda Lee Alter Curatorial Fellow was offered in 2021, but continuation of this track may not be available in future years.