Application Guidelines

2023-2024 KALA FELLOWSHIP AWARD

Application for Kala’s 2023-2024 Fellowship and Special Program Award is closed. The 2024/2025 Fellowship application will re-open in January of 2024.

Feel free to contact Leyla Rzayeva at leyla@kala.org with related questions and to research Kala’s Artist-in-Residence (AIR) Program opportunities here!

For over 30 years, Kala Art Institute has awarded artists time, space, and financial support for their work through the Kala Fellowship award. The Kala Art Institute Fellowship is an artist residency award for local, national, and international artists. Artists producing innovative work in mediums including printmaking, digital media, installation art, social practice, photography, and book arts are encouraged to apply. Fellowship Awards will be given based on conceptual creativity, originality and artistic excellence.

The 2023/24 Fellowship competition will be chaired by Kala’s Artist Residency Manager Leyla Rzayeva. The jury is made up of Kala’s Artistic Director Mayumi Hamanaka, MoAD Interim Director of Exhibitions & Curatorial Affairs Selam Bekele, and Fellowship alumni artist Alisa Ochoa. In 2023, Kala will award six artists a $3,000 stipend, unlimited access to Kala’s facilities for up to nine months, one Kala class, and a culminating show in the Kala Gallery. The award is geared towards supporting artists in completing specific projects or bodies of work that would benefit from Kala’s specialized equipment in printmaking and digital media.

New this year we have funding for one of the six Fellowships to be designated for a veteran artist (one who has served in the U.S. armed forces).

In addition, in partnership with the Sustainable Arts Foundation, we also have support for parent artists. One of our six fellowships is designated for a parent artist (with a child under 18 at home). We also have several additional parent artist residencies (more info under Special Programs).

Each Fellowship Award Includes:

Cash Award: $3,000
Studio Residency: Up to nine months of studio residency at Kala Art Institute with 24/7 access to our communal studio spaces.
Kala Class: One class that will provide training in a chosen area of printmaking and/or digital media.
Exhibition: Each artist selected is included in our annual group exhibition of Fellowship artists. Public programs for artists are also possible and determined on an individual basis with each artist.
Community: Access to a community and network of approximately 75-80 artists working at Kala, participation in Kala events, and support of Kala staff.

Program Period
The 2023-2024 Fellowship residency period is August, 2023 through June, 2024. Artists must be able to schedule a residency during that time. The group exhibition schedule is to be determined.

2023 Competition
The 2023-2024 Fellowship Award selection will be chaired by Kala’s Artist Residency Manager Leyla Rzayeva. The jury is made up of Kala’s Artistic Director Mayumi Hamanaka, MoAD Interim Director of Exhibitions & Curatorial Affairs Selam Bekele, and Fellowship alumni artist Alisa Ochoa. 

The application is OPEN for this program.  Please visit Slideroom! Application deadline: March 15th, 2023, 9:00 pm PDT.

A Full Application Includes:
-Completed Application Form, you can apply on Slideroom.
-Statement of Interest in working at Kala Art Institute and how a Fellowship Award will affect a specific future project and/or how it will impact your overall practice.
-Artist CV
-Documentation of recent work: Provide 1-15 items. Allowed Media Types: Images (up to 5MB each), Video (up to 250MB each), Audio (up to 30MB each), PDFs (up to 10MB each), 3D Models, External media from YouTube, Vimeo and SoundCloud
-Two References
-$20 Application Fee

Please note:
– This is a studio residency only; limited housing is included. Upon receipt of award, artists will be notified.
– Students who will be enrolled in a degree granting program in the 2023-2024 academic year are not eligible for the award. For questions about the online application guidelines, e-mail Artist Residency Manager, Leyla Rzayeva at leyla@kala.org.