Call for Artists: Apply to the 2025 AFH Artists Fellowship!

Application Deadline: 12/31/24

Are you a professional artist dedicated to creating work with a sustainable process, practices, message, and/or impact? Are you ambitious about your career and eager to take your brand and craft to the next level? 

Artists for Humanity (AFH) is excited to open the application for the 2025 Fellowship Program. This 9-month fellowship offers a transformative opportunity for five emerging Boston artists to work directly with a prominent and professional mentor to refine their artistic research process and vision as sustainable creators as they develop a meaningful body of work and produce a final exhibition.

Fellows will receive valuable experience with collaborative project development, working with clients, visibility, and other benefits including a stipend, professional development resources, and access to the dynamic AFH network.

Discipline and Research Focus 

Sustainably made art is more than an aesthetic choice; it’s a practice rooted in discovery, research, and responsible innovation. Sustainable creation challenges artists to rethink process, materials, and techniques in ways that respect both the environment and society.  Developing sustainable methods calls on artists to reduce harm while maximizing positive impact, producing work that has a message consistent with its creation.

Sustainable practices in art open up avenues for creativity and innovation, but they also demand critical thinking. By challenging conventional artistic practices, artists are pushed to invent new methods of creation, often using less or different materials than they traditionally would. These methods provide a problem-solving framework where each decision, from material selection to the final artwork, involves weighing environmental impact, social justice, and creative expression.

The 2025 Fellowship Mentor

veronique (nico) d’entremont is a trans-disciplinary artist and visual storyteller whose innovative practice blends sculpture, performance, and social engagement. Their work explores themes of memory, spirituality, and healing, often using unconventional materials and processes to create transformative environments. With a focus on world-building and decentering dominant narratives, d’entremont empowers others to connect with themselves, their communities, and the natural world.

Exhibited in galleries and museums in the US and Mexico and supported by prestigious residencies and awards, d’entremont also co-founded the Liberated Arts Collective with formerly-incarcerated individuals who believed in the necessity and power of art to heal from the impacts of institutionalization. As a mentor, they bring a wealth of technical expertise, creative vision, and a commitment to fostering dialogue and liberation through artistic exploration.

Who Should Apply

We welcome applications from artists who are:

• Committed to developing sustainable art practices and processes

• Eager to expand their artistic research methods, explore new mediums and techniques, build artistic networks, and establish a financial support model

• Seeking mentorship, professional growth, and enhanced visibility in the Boston arts community

What You'll Gain

• A $14,400 stipend to support your artistic journey (paid biweekly) 

Please note that Artists For Humanity will not be providing additional funding for project materials. Fellows are encouraged to manage their stipends thoughtfully to accommodate any material costs. However, AFH will assist in any material budget proposals and the sourcing of donated materials. 

• Mentorship from a leading professional in the field of sustainable art: veronique (nico) d’entremont

• Professional development workshops tailored to drive priority skill sets and your own growth goals

• Access to the studio space, tools, and storage of AFH and The Foundry, a makerspace where Fellows will be given a membership for the duration of the Fellowship

• Opportunities to showcase your work to an expanded audience through a designated external client project, the Fellowship culmination exhibit, and a guided application process for future funding

Expectations

Fellows must commit to: 

• Dedicating two days a week to the Fellowship

- Time will be split between AFH and The Foundry. 

- Fellows will be expected to keep track of the shared Google calendar.

- Mondays are required, whereas the second day is flexible. 

- Professional development sessions are mandatory and will be designated to Mondays at AFH

• Spending 16 hours per week developing their artistic practice through independent research, making, networking, and other relevant activities.

• Conducting one workshop for AFH teens in whatever technique they wish to share.

• Preparing work and producing an exhibition in October 2025 showcasing their work.

Key Program Details

• Duration: 9 months, beginning March 2025 

• Commitment: Fellows are required to dedicate two 8-hour days a week (16 hours total) to the program. Mondays are in person and required attendance for professional development workshops; the second day can be flexible. 

• For more information, please view this 2025 Information Sheet.

Application Requirements

• Thoughtfully completed application form (link below)

• Artist’s CV or resume

• Portfolio (does not need to be fully developed)

Portfolio Template for this who may not have one already

Example Portfolio provided by the 2025 Mentor,  veronique (nico) d’entremont

Important Dates

• Application Opens: 12/2/24

• Application Deadline: 12/31/24

• Interview Process

- Screening/Q&A Session (30 minutes, virtual): 1/6/25 - 1/13/25

- First Round Group Interviews (2 hours, in-person): 1/21/25 - 1/23/25

- Second Round Interviews (30-45 minutes, virtual): 2/3/24 - 2/7/24

• Acceptance Notification: 2/14/25

• Program Start Date: March 2025

• Culmination Exhibit: October 2025

• Program End Date: November 2025

Join us in fostering a more sustainable future through art. We can’t wait to see your work!

Have questions or need more information?

Contact Nicole Dubov, AFH Fellowship and Alumni Program Manager at ndubov@afhboston.org