New York Community Trust Van Lier Fellowships

Snug Harbor is excited to announce the launch of the New York Community Trust Van Lier Fellowships at the Newhouse Center for Contemporary Art. Through an annual open call process reviewed by a juried panel, two early career visual artists who identify as African, Latine, Asian, Arab, and/or Native American descent, will be awarded a year-long fellowship including access to an exclusive studio space, extensive professional development, several weeks access to a private cottage, an artist fee, and a culminating exhibition. Fellows are encouraged to approach their fellowship from a place of exploration and growth, encouraging new ideas and taking creative leaps, and working to develop their practice and skills to advance their professional creative pursuits.

The New York Community Trust Van Lier Fellowships are a New York-based program that supports early-career artists in theater, music, and visual arts to advance their careers through financial stipends, mentorship, and professional development. The fellowship aims to help talented artists establish themselves in the professional arts community. Funding comes from the Edward and Sally Van Lier Fund through the New York Community Trust, which carries out the legacy of Edward and Sally Van Lier to support opportunities for young persons who aspire to a career in the arts.

NEW YORK COMMUNITY TRUST VAN LIER FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM OBJECTIVES

• Provide young, ALAANA (of African, African American, Latin, Asian, Arab, and/or Native American descent) visual artists with robust professional development, alongside studio space and support to develop a new exhibition
• Cultivate a supportive environment for artists to take creative risks in their process, practice, and vision
• Incubate discourse and community engagement around new ideas and artistic expression

Two selected artists will receive

• $15,000.00 residency and exhibition honorarium, to be dispersed based on a phased schedule throughout the year-long residency to support the development of a new exhibition
• $2,500.00 professional development stipend to be utilized within residency period
• One-year exclusive access to a private studio located at Snug Harbor
• Up to 2 weeks of access to private residence in one historic cottage located on Snug Harbor’s campus to support the development of the exhibition
  
• Photo documentation of their work and installation photos of the exhibition for their portfolio
• Professional development support and training sessions in marketing, budgeting, curatorial, exhibition design, public programming, and other relevant topics

Requirements

This call is free and open to visual artists who:

• Live in one of the five boroughs of New York City—proof of address will be required
• Are between 18-30 years old at the time of the fellowship start date (July 1, 2026)
• Identify as an artist of ALAANA (African, Latin, Asian, Arab, and/or Native American) descent
• Identify as emerging artists with a growing visual arts practice in one of the following disciplines (drawing, craft, installation art, papermaking, printmaking, painting, photography, sculpture, textile and fiber arts, video and new media)

Please note the following ineligibility

Applicants who are or will be enrolled in a college or university degree-granting program between July 1, 2026 – June 30, 2027, are not eligible to apply
Recipients of previous Van Lier Fellowship awards, regardless of institutional affiliation, are not eligible to apply

Application Instructions

Applications are due by Monday, March 16 at 11:59 PM ET. Before applying, please review program guidelines at https://snug-harbor.org/opencall/. Incomplete, ineligible, or late submissions will not be reviewed. Selection notifications will go out to all applicants no later than the first week of June 2026. Fellowships will take place in Fiscal Year 2027 (Between July 1, 2026, and June 30, 2027) with a public culminating exhibition taking place at the Newhouse Center at Snug Harbor in the Spring 2027.