ABOUT PEW FELLOWSHIPS IN THE ARTS

Pew Fellowships in the Arts (PFA), established by The Pew Charitable Trusts in 1991, awards grants of $50,000 to artists working in a wide variety of performing, visual, and literary disciplines. The grants provide financial support directly to the artists so that they may have the opportunity to dedicate themselves to creative pursuits exclusively. The program aims to provide such support at moments in artists’ careers when a concentration on artistic growth and exploration is most likely to have the greatest impact on an artist’s long-term professional development.

PFA is founded on the belief that the vitality of the arts today-and especially tomorrow-is dependent upon the ability of artists to create new work. Ultimately, the cultural community of a city, region, or nation cannot survive without the nourishment and stimulation that the creation of new work by living artists provides. Whether it is a performance in a concert hall, an exhibition in a museum, a poetry reading at a school, or a community arts festival, the cultural life of our society is built, fundamentally, upon its artists and the work they are able to make on an ongoing basis.

Opportunities for contemporary artists in the United States to concentrate on the development and creation of art are extremely limited. Arts institutions are devoted, for the most part, to the presentation and preservation of artworks themselves. Those institutions that do support the creative process most frequently do so on a short-term or commission basis, which restricts an individual’s ability to grow creatively over time and to experiment in his or her artistic discipline. Many artists are also beholden to marketplace pressures that may preclude experimentation.

A primary function of the fellowships is to free artists from other activities-literally, to “buy time”-so that they may focus on creative development for a considerable period. It is anticipated that the funds will be used in large part to release artists from other types of employment so that they may pursue artmaking. Grant funds may be used to support costs that include, but are not limited to, materials, assistants, training, and travel. The specific use of funds is at the discretion of the individual.

PFA makes awards to artists working in twelve different discipline categories, which rotate on a four-year cycle. Applications are accepted annually for the three discipline categories under consideration in that year. In 2000, applications were received in the areas of folk and traditional arts, painting, and scriptworks. Discipline categories reviewed in other years include choreography, craft arts, fiction and creative nonfiction, media arts, music composition, performance art, poetry, sculpture, and works on paper. Panels of distinguished artists and arts professionals from outside the five-county Philadelphia area review applications. Panelists, chosen for their expertise and aesthetic breadth, serve for one year.

Fellowship selections are made through a two-step process involving preliminary and final selection panels. Three separate preliminary panels, which are discipline-specific, review the applications and select a small pool of finalists. The final selection of fellowship recipients is made by an interdisciplinary panel, composed of artists and arts professionals representing the three discipline categories being considered that year.

Fellowships may be awarded to artists at any stage of their career development, from early to mature, and to artists working in a wide range of aesthetics and traditions. Fellowship recipients are determined according to two primary criteria. First, and most important, applicants are judged on their artistic accomplishment and future promise. Submitted work samples are the basis for this judgment. The quality of work is considered in the context of the applicant’s individual experience, training, and career stage. Second, panelists consider the impact that a fellowship will have on the applicant’s career and artistic development. The artist’s statement, along with the submitted work samples, is the basis for this judgment. Up to twelve fellowships are awarded annually to artists living and working in the five-county Philadelphia area.

Pew Fellowships in the Arts is a program of the Philadelphia Center for Arts and Heritage, funded by The Pew Charitable Trusts and administered by The University of the Arts.