Vera List Center Fellowship Program: Matter of Intelligence

As part of their sabbatical, a year of slowing down and recalibrating their institutional rhythms and programmatic reappraisals, the Open Call has been reimagined to better support and celebrate the richness and diversity of creative practice, scholarship, and knowledge of their extended communities, thus shaping their curatorial thinking, approaches, and programs throughout their two-year exploration of intelligence.

With Matter of Intelligence, and an emphasis on forms of collective intelligence, this cycle of the Open Call places artists and their ideas at the forefront of their exploration from the outset, continually highlighting these voices and perspectives throughout the two-year inquiry. This approach builds on a solid history of past fellowship project proposals that have been successfully supported and presented through the center’s programs and publications.

Projects submitted in the first round will be considered for the VLC Fellowship, as well as a range of other programs, including the center’s seminar series, exhibitions, annual VLC Forum, and digital or print publications. A limited number of applications will advance to the second round and be invited to submit full proposals for fellowship commission projects. This new open call approach is designed to minimize the labor involved in the fellowship application, while continuing to engage and develop ideas and projects from the first round within the center’s programs.

Fellowship project proposals creatively and rigorously approach the Focus Theme in content and form and make an intellectual and artistic contribution that advances the understanding of intelligence. Up to four two-year, non-residential fellowships will be awarded to commission and support scholarly and creative work that critically engages with the Vera List Center’s 2025–2027 Focus Theme: Matter of Intelligence.

The VLC Fellowship appointment is one of reciprocity and mutual benefits: VLC Fellows draw from the curatorial, academic, and professional resources of the Vera List Center and The New School, including faculty and students, as they contribute to the intellectual foundation of the Center. As commissions, the resulting VLC Fellowship projects are presented to the public through the Vera List Center’s interdisciplinary public programs and institutional networks.

Funding Information

• The Vera List Center Fellowship is part-time and non-residential, lasting two years. Along with the $25,000 in financial support, the VLC provides extensive curatorial and professional development services to support the fellowship project from conception through production and presentation. In addition to these financial and professional resources, fellows receive a budget for travel, project production, and presentation, allocated in consultation with and at the discretion of the VLC. Each fellowship is highly individualized, depending on the research, project feasibility, and intended outcomes.

Eligibility Criteria

• Journalists, scholars, activists, visual and performing artists, critics, public intellectuals, curators, and cultural practitioners working in any field where they engage art and politics are encouraged to apply.
• They strongly encourage applications from diverse candidates worldwide, especially those who have not yet received significant institutional support and for whom the opportunity to research, experiment, and make new work in a university setting would be impactful.
• Fellowship candidates must demonstrate experience in conceiving, researching, and executing work and projects. Applicants may not be enrolled in a degree-granting program. Projects primarily focused on promotion, funding ongoing business operations, or curating and documenting existing work are not eligible.

Assessment Criteria

• In addition to the artistic and/or scholarly excellence of the proposed fellowship project, applications will be assessed for:
  • The critical and creative ways the proposal expands on and interrogates the VLC Focus Theme as it explores diverse approaches to intelligence
  • The significance of the VLC Fellowship and proposed project to the candidate’s long-term practice
  • The candidate’s ability to translate research interests to practical and viable work or project within the fellowship timeframe
  • How well do VLC and New School resources align with the project’s needs and feasibility?
  • Whether the proposed project advances diverse insights into the field of politically engaged art, the Vera List Center and The New School.

For more information, visit Vera List Center for Art and Politics.