Fellowship + Residency Programs

Fellowship Program

a year-long partnership between DVAA & selected artists

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 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 at DVAA

• Financial stipend

• Support through monthly events, workshops, critiques, and one-on-one meetings over the course of a year

• Logistical and conceptual assistance from DVAA’s Fellowship Director and staff

• Marketing support from DVAA’s Marketing Coordinator

• Artist Profile on the DVAA website

WHAT’S 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 artists is expected to cultivate opportunities for audience members to connect deeper to their exhibitions by creating supporting programming.

• 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 within 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.

WHO CAN APPLY:

4 Positions Available

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)

Residency Program

One-Month Long Studio Residency + Year-Long Development Program

In 2021, DVAA expanded our Fellowship by adding a Studio Residency program. This program was created to support underrepresented artists from a diverse range of backgrounds, ages, and experience levels at pivotal stages in the development of their artistic practices. Each Resident gets one month of 24/7 studio access in the residency space at DVAA, support from the DVAA staff throughout their residency year, and a year of professional development opportunities alongside the rest of the Fellowship and Residency Cohort. 

WHAT WE OFFER:

• 1 month of 24-hour access to a private studio space on the third floor of Da Vinci Art Alliance (This is not a live-in space and does not include room and board)

• Inclusion in Cumulative Threads, DVAA’s annual exhibition featuring Resident’s work made within the year of their cohort program.

• 2-years of free Artist Membership at DVAA

• Support over the course of the year through monthly events, workshops, critiques, and one-on-one meetings

• Ongoing support from DVAA’s Programming Coordinator and the rest of the staff

• Artist Profile on the DVAA website

WHAT’S EXPECTED:

In keeping with DVAA’s community-oriented mission, residents will be expected to engage with their Fellowship & Residency cohort and with the larger DVAA membership through in person and digital events throughout their residency year. Residency programming and events will include professional development workshops and meetings, and weekly check-ins with DVAA’s Programming Coordinator during the month of their studio access. 

WHO CAN APPLY:

10 Positions Available

The Da Vinci Residency Program is designed to support historically underrepresented and underserved artists at any point in their careers. However, it is typically geared towards artists in a transitional period of their practice. This refers to artists who have recently graduated from a program, full time caregivers who are trying to find time for their art practice, people transitioning careers, a recent move, etc. Please feel free to apply if you feel like something in your life is calling out for time to focus on your practice both individually and amongst a community.

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 a degree-granting program

• Able to articulate need (financial hardship, lack of experience, or other institutional barriers)

The Residency is open to artists working in any medium, however, please note that the nature of our studio space and building creates some practical restrictions. 

• The studio is located on the third floor of our 180 year old building that has narrow stairs and no elevator. 

• It is not equipped with an industrial ventilation system to accommodate the use of volatile or toxic chemicals. 

• We do not have an automatic sprinkler system, so practices such as welding or glass torchwork are prohibited in the building for fire-safety reasons. 

• DVAA has a small outdoor space where artists may use spray paint, fixatives, and other more toxic materials at their own risk with the suggestion to provide themselves and regularly use a respirator. 

• Any artist using the yard will be asked to put a tarp down prior to spraying anything to avoid damaging the permanent art installation in the yard.

DVAA encourages prospective applicants to reach out with any questions about specific materials or techniques that they are unsure fall into the allowable categories. 

If you are an artist who typically uses art processes that DVAA cannot accommodate, please describe this in your application and include what alternative materials and processes you will be utilizing during your time with us.