About Artistic Research Fellowships
Folger Institute Artistic Research Fellowships are open to artists working in all media whose work would benefit from significant primary research. This includes, but is not limited to, visual artists, writers, dramaturgs, playwrights, performers, filmmakers, and composers. Artistic fellowships may be conducted either as a virtual fellowship for one month or as a residential fellowship at the Folger for one, two, or three months.
While a terminal degree is not required for Artistic Research Fellowships, applicants should describe their training and level of industry-specific experience in their CV. All applicants must apply as individuals, including artists working as collaborators.
All Artistic Research applications open:
October 1, 2022
All Artistic Research applications due:
January 15, 2023, by 11:59 pm (ET)
Resources and Benefits
- Access to Folger electronic resources and Researcher Services consultation
- Opportunities to meet with Folger Theatre, Consort, and Poetry professionals, as well as Folger curators, librarians, and conservators, as relevant
- Participation in scholarly and community-building programs with other Folger Fellows
- Exposure on the Folger website, social media, and newsletters
- J1 Visa sponsorship, if needed
Short-term Residential Fellowships for Artistic Research
Short-term residential fellows will need to schedule their residencies within an abbreviated timeframe: between January 1, 2024 and June 30, 2024.
The Folger Institute offers short-term artistic research fellowships for a period of one, two or three months, with a stipend of $4,000 per month. Residential Artistic Research Fellowships are open to artists working in all media whose work would benefit from significant primary research onsite at the Folger. This includes, but is not limited to, visual artists, writers, dramaturgs, playwrights, performers, filmmakers, and composers.
Please note that this residential fellowship provides access to and time with our collection. It does not, however, include studio space. Artists who need studio space while in residence will be expected to arrange their own.
While a terminal degree is not required for Artistic Research Fellowships, applicants should describe their training and level of industry-specific experience in their CV. All applicants must apply as individuals, including artists working as collaborators.
Virtual Fellowships for Artistic Research
Virtual fellows must take their month-long fellowship between July 1, 2023 and June 30, 2024.
One-month virtual fellowships for artistic research are open to artists working in all media whose work would benefit from significant primary research and that is related to the histories, concepts, art, and objects of the early modern world and its legacies. This includes, but is not limited to, visual artists, writers, dramaturgs, playwrights, performers, filmmakers, and composers. This one month virtual fellowship carries a stipend of $4,000. For context, here are some generalized examples from our 2022-23 cohort.
- An artist working with a Folger digitized manuscript requests funding to produce imagery inspired by that manuscript using innovative printing techniques as well as creating related performance art pieces.
- A visual artist requests funding to produce a series of paintings that explore mental illness in Tudor England.
- A filmmaker requests funding to write a script for a miniseries inspired by Shakespeare and his contemporaries.
- A playwright requests funding to research and write a contemporary Latinx interpretation of a play by Shakespeare.
- An artist requests funding to produce performance art that explores the crossroads of scientific fact and speculative fiction in the early modern US.
- An artist requests funding to create a multi-media exhibit that explores Indigenous objectification in the early modern world and its continuation today.
- A writer requests funding to write longform poetry focused on constructs of gender in the early modern period.
While a terminal degree is not required for Artistic Research Fellowships, applicants should describe their training and level of industry-specific experience in their CV. All applicants must apply as individuals, including artists working as collaborators.
See what Folger Artistic Fellows are researching
The problems with adapting Coriolanus, and why we should try anyway
The Fairy King’s Grimoire
A guest post by Alexander D’Agostino I am an artist working with queer histories and images, through performance and visual art. During my Artist Research Fellowship with the Folger, I am creating The Fairy King’s Grimoire: a reimagining of the…
When the Body is Ill, The Mind Suffers: Shakespeare's Unravelling of Women’s Hysteria and Madness in the Elizabethan Era
a guest post by Alexandria Zlatar During my research fellowship with the Folger Institute, my investigation has undertaken an exploration into a highly under-represented aspect of mental health and has focused on lived-in experiences of mental illness in Shakespearian England.…