2027 Creative Catalyst Fellowship Open Call - Asian American Arts Alliance (A4)
Submit an application to produce work engaging the public on critical issues facing Asian American and Pacific Islanders around the theme of Belonging, with potential to reach broader audiences and spark civic conversation.
Does this fit your work? 5 questions score every call to your medium, location and budget. Free.
Get matched →- Deadline
- 50 days left
- Entry fee
- Free
- Award
- $30,000
- Location
- AAPI Civic Engagement Fund, 45 W 36th Street, 6th Floor, New York, NY 10018 (retreat in-person February 16-18, 2027; location to be finalized)
- Exhibition window
- Feb 16, 2027
About
Overview
The Creative Catalyst Fellowship supports individual artists whose work engages the public on critical issues facing Asian American and Pacific Islanders (AAPIs) and can serve as a catalyst for civic participation. Selected artists join a cohort for peer sharing, communications consultation, and promotion of their final work. Art speaks to us, feels our pain, paints our dreams, and opens our minds in profound new ways. The goal is to give independent artists the resources and freedom to do their art in a way that puts that art to work in the world.
Awards
Up to eight artists will each receive $30,000 to produce work with the potential to break through to broader audiences and spark conversation.
Theme
This year's theme is Belonging—a sense of community, home, agency, and the essential right for our communities to flourish. It is a counterweight to racism and violence, and advances a vision of inclusion that recognizes the ways AAPI communities have shaped and contributed to this country.
Fellowship Requirements
- Attend a virtual orientation at the start of the program
- Attend a two-day, in-person Creative Catalyst Fellows retreat on February 16–18, 2027 (location to be finalized; the AAPI Fund covers travel and accommodations)
- Participate in virtual check-ins throughout the Fellowship
- Submit a Narrative Report
- May be invited to AAPI Fund events and asked to showcase art (attendance optional)
Key Dates
- Information sessions (optional): Tuesday, September 1, 2026, 3:00–4:00 pm PT and Friday, September 4, 2026, 12:00–1:00 pm PT
- Application deadline: Thursday, October 15, 2026, 11:59 pm PT
- Fellows retreat: February 16–18, 2027
Eligibility
- Individual artists whose work engages the public on critical issues facing Asian American and Pacific Islanders
- Previously awarded Creative Catalyst Fellows can reapply three years after completing their previous Fellowship
How to Apply
Submit your application by filling out the online form. For a sample of the application, see the program website.
- Who this is for
- Asian American or Pacific Islander (AAPI)
- Award
- $30,000 per artist (up to 8 artists)
- Entry fee
- Free to enter
- Theme
- The fellowship supports work engaging the public on critical issues facing Asian American and Pacific Islander communities around this year's theme of Belonging—a sense of community, home, and agency that counterweights racism and advances inclusion.
- Eligibility
- Individual artists whose work engages the public on critical issues facing Asian American and Pacific Islanders; previously awarded Fellows can reapply three years after completing their previous Fellowship.
- Audience
- Individual artists
Every listing links to the organizer's official page. Always confirm deadlines, fees, and entry rules there before you apply.