30 Fellowships for Black Writers, Curators, and Critics
Fellowships play a critical role in shaping intellectual and creative production within the arts by providing time, financial support, and institutional affiliation. For Black writers, curators, and critics, these opportunities are particularly significant, offering access to resources and networks that have historically been restricted within cultural institutions.
Beyond financial support, fellowships often function as sites of knowledge production, enabling participants to develop research, publish critical work, and contribute to curatorial discourse. They also serve as mechanisms of visibility, positioning fellows within broader conversations that influence how art is interpreted, historicized, and circulated.
The following list highlights a range of fellowships supporting Black cultural practitioners across writing, curatorial practice, and critical theory.
30 Fellowships
Writing + Criticism
https://www.whiting.org/writers/whiting-creative-nonfiction-grant
Whiting Foundation grants for writers.https://www.nyfa.org/awards-grants
New York Foundation for the Arts fellowships.https://www.poetryfoundation.org/foundation/fellowships
Poetry Foundation fellowships.https://www.cavecanempoets.org
Fellowships for Black poets.https://www.kimbiliofiction.com
Residency + fellowship for Black fiction writers.https://www.hedgebrook.org
Residencies for women writers of color.https://www.macdowell.org
Interdisciplinary fellowships including writing.https://www.yaddo.org
Residencies supporting writers and artists.
Curatorial + Research Fellowships
https://www.studiomuseum.org
Studio Museum in Harlem fellowship (highly competitive, major career accelerator).https://www.getty.edu/foundation/initiatives/current/connecting-art-histories/
Getty-funded fellowships in global art histories.https://www.moma.org/research-and-learning/research-programs/fellowships
MoMA fellowships for research and curatorial studies.https://www.metmuseum.org/about-the-met/fellowships
Metropolitan Museum fellowships.https://www.huntington.org/fellowships
Research fellowships for scholars and writers.
Interdisciplinary + Cultural Practice
https://www.creative-capital.org
Funding and mentorship for artists and thinkers.https://www.sundance.org/programs/artist-programs
Fellowships for storytellers and filmmakers.https://www.vera.org/fellowships
Fellowships intersecting art and social justice.https://www.opensocietyfoundations.org/grants
Fellowships focused on social impact and cultural work.https://www.fulbrightonline.org
Global fellowships for research and teaching.
BIPOC + Targeted Fellowships
https://www.mellon.org/programs/higher-learning
Mellon-funded humanities fellowships.https://www.nalac.org/programs
Latinx + BIPOC arts fellowships.https://www.arts.gov
National Endowment for the Arts fellowships.https://www.blackpublicmedia.org
Fellowships for Black media makers and storytellers.https://www.thedorisd Duke.org
Arts fellowships and grants.
Emerging + Independent Writers
https://www.pen.org
PEN America fellowships and grants.https://www.jackjonesliteraryarts.org
Support for emerging writers of color.https://www.tinhouse.com/workshop
Writing workshops and fellowships.https://www.92y.org
Residencies and fellowships in writing.https://www.awpwriter.org
Association of Writers & Writing Programs opportunities.
Global + Research-Based
https://www.biennialfoundation.org
Curatorial fellowships and research opportunities.https://www.resartis.org
Residency network with fellowship funding options.
Fellowships do more than provide funding. They shape discourse, determine whose work is studied, and influence how cultural narratives are constructed and preserved.
Access to these opportunities remains uneven, but awareness is a critical first step. For many practitioners, the ability to locate and pursue these fellowships can mark the difference between sustained practice and discontinuity.