Apply to be a 2025 DVAA Fellow
Open Call for the 2025 fellowship program:
DVAA is now accepting applications for our 2025 Fellowship program.
Inspired by the vision of DVAA’s founders to provide a creative refuge for marginalized artists, the DVAA Fellowship Program was created in 2018 to better serve the DVAA Membership and the arts communities of Philadelphia. We annually support underserved artists with innovative ideas through four 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.
What we offer:
3-week long exhibition in DVAA curated by the Fellowship artist
2 years of free 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 staff
Marketing support from DVAA’s Marketing Coordinator
Artist profile on the DVAA website
In 2025 the exhibition schedule will be as follows:
SEPTEMBER 2025:
Gallery 1 - Kathryn Pannepacker Fellow
Gallery 2 - Linda Dubin Garfield Fellow
OCTOBER 2025:
Gallery 1 - Linda Lee Alter Fellow
Gallery 2 - Michelle Angela Ortiz Fellow
What is Expected:
The Fellowship is a year-long partnership between DVAA and the selected artists.
Fellowship artists are expected to be active members of the DVAA community throughout their fellowship term by actively engaging in DVAA programs and events. They will be invited and strongly encouraged to attend meetups with other Fellows and Resident artists in their cohort.
Each Fellowship artist is expected to create programs related to their exhibition to create opportunities for audience members to connect deeper to the work on view.
DVAA’s Fellowship Director and the rest of the staff will be able to provide guidance and assistance towards the installation of the exhibition and any corresponding events. However, as the leader of their Fellowship project, each Fellow is responsible for ensuring all deadlines are met on time, and project needs are communicated with ample time. The Fellows are the main point of contact for their exhibition and related programming.
Stipends are paid in the early summer, prior to the Fellowship exhibitions. Fellows must provide a W9, a plan for outside engagement during their exhibition, and a completed marketing form in order to receive payment of their stipend.
artwork courtesy of 2021, 2022, 2023, & 2024 Fellowship cohorts
DVAA Gallery Floor Plans
Click to expand Gallery 1 floor plan
Click to expand Gallery 2 floor plan
Who Can Apply:
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.
To qualify, applicants must be:
Over 18
Planning to live in the greater Philadelphia region during the full year of 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)
Fellowship applicants must apply for ONE of four Da Vinci Fellowship Tracks:
The Linda Dubin Garfield Track
In honor of Linda Dubin Garfield’s lifelong commitment to using art as a medium towards advocacy work, this Fellowship track is awarded to a Philadelphia printmaker or collective to develop a curatorial project using the medium of printmaking. Proposals for this track must center their curatorial project around collaborative opportunities that address issues people in Philly are facing and find space for solutions. Artists within this track receive a limited amount of studio time to create parts of their exhibition at a local community printshop, BYOprint.
The Michelle Angela Ortiz Track
Named after Michelle Angela Ortiz and her 25+ years of work in our neighborhood using art as a vehicle to represent people and communities whose histories are often lost or co-opted. This Fellowship track provides an opportunity for one artist/curator to explore personal narratives of marginalized identities by engaging with local communities to examine, explore, and challenge Euro-centric narratives through an exhibition and related programming.
The Kathryn Pannepacker Track
Kathryn Pannepacker revitalized DVAA in 1997 and continues to work deeply in partnership with local communities around criminal justice, the opioid crisis, and the politics surrounding displacement. This Fellowship track offers an opportunity for one artist/curator to create an exhibition and related programming exploring social, political, and/or cultural content that engages local communities in and external to the DVAA space.
The Linda Lee Alter Track
Created to honor Lee Alter, a renowned Philadelphia artist, collector, philanthropist, and founder of the Leeway Foundation, the Linda Lee Alter track annually provides an opportunity for one queer artist/curator each year to create an exhibition and related programming that explores connection, transformation, liberation, and LGBTQ+ narratives.
Selection Criteria
The selection of the Da Vinci Fellowship Cohort is facilitated by DVAA’s Exhibition Committee and the Fellowship Director. The Exhibition Committee will be selecting proposals based on the following criteria:
Clarity of proposal and project objectives
Ability to execute the proposed exhibition including background and skills to carry out the proposed project
Quality of photo documentation and supplementary materials
Quality of community engagement plan (of local and DVAA communities)
Demonstrated need
After an initial review by the Exhibitions Committee, finalists will undergo an interview process with DVAA staff who will alert all candidates with their decision by September 1st.
Application Materials
[200-300 words] Artist or Collective biography and demonstration of need
[300-500 words] Written exhibition statement that includes a thoughtful and considered exhibition concept and community engagement plan
[200-400 words] Plan of action that includes selected/proposed artists for group exhibitions, install plans/ideas, and where assistance will be needed
High-quality images, at 300dpi (can include installation shots, video documentation, and/or artwork images)
Additional application materials (can include diagrams, sketches of proposed work, installation plans, performance plans, etc.)
Submitting an Application
Only digital applications will be accepted, submit through the buttons below
Application fee: $5
Deadline to apply: May 31st, 11:59 PM
Applicant notification: By September 1st
AGREEMENT
By submitting to this call, the artist is agreeing to allowDVAA to use images of the artwork on its website and social media, if awarded a fellowship. Artist retains full copyright of the work. Images will not be used by DVAA aside from the DVAA website, press releases, and social media posts.
If you have questions about the Da Vinci Fellowship program or need support in the application process, please contact Kara@davinciartalliance.org