Howard Fellowships Grant

Howard Fellowships Grant

Status: ACTIVE
Funder: George A and Eliza Gardner Howard Foundation
Amount: US $40,000
Last Updated: September 19, 2025

Summary

The Howard Fellowships, administered by the George A. and Eliza Gardner Howard Foundation, support early mid-career artists and scholars with $40,000 awards for independent projects in selected fields. This unrestricted, non-residency fellowship encourages significant creative development and public visibility through exhibitions or publications. Applicants should demonstrate a promising program of work and must currently reside in the U.S. or its territories. Ten fellowships are awarded annually, promoting artistic and intellectual advancement.

Overview

The George A. and Eliza Gardner Howard Foundation is an independent foundation administered at Brown University. It awards a limited number of fellowships each year for independent projects in selected fields, targeting its support specifically to early mid-career individuals, who have completed at least one major project and demonstrate potential to be future leaders in their fields. Artists and scholars supported by the Howard Foundation are expected to devote a substantial portion of time during the fellowship year to advancing new work.  It is an unrestricted, non-residency fellowship for the sole purpose of aiding the intellectual and artistic development of the recipients. Fellowship funds may be used in combination with sabbatical leaves or other sources of support, but this is not a requirement. The Howard Foundation offers fellowships in a cyclical rotation of fields. Successful candidates will be given the option of postponing receipt of their fellowship, so as to make the Howard competition accessible to those whose personal plans do not line up exactly with the year in which awards are offered in their fields. A total of ten fellowships of $40,000 will be awarded in the fields of: Object Based Arts and Installation Based Arts The Foundation will consider proposals from artists in any field who work with object or installation based works.  In accordance with the fellowship program's overall goal of supporting early mid career artists and scholars, applicants should have a record of exhibitions, performances, or other forms of public visibility for their work and demonstrate a promising program of creative development, expression, and experimentation. Art History, Architecture, and Visual CultureThe Foundation will consider proposals from scholars in any field who's work is focused in Art History, Architecture, or Visual Culture.  In accordance with the fellowship program's overall goal of supporting early mid career artists and scholars, applicants should have a record of publications other forms of public visibility for their work.

Eligibility

You can learn more about this opportunity by visiting the funder's website. Current professional status must be appropriately viewed as “early mid-career” as understood by the Howard Foundation.Normatively candidates for a Howard Fellowship will have completed their formal studies within the past five to fifteen years of the application date and should also have successfully completed at least one major project beyond degree requirements that would be sufficient for the awarding of tenure at higher education institutions or for achieving comparable peer recognition in creative practice fields, e.g., through publication or exhibition.  If not classically trained, artists should be within the frame of  5-15 years as an active professional in their career. Creative practitioners are not required to hold academic appointments. Howard Fellowship must provide you with time off from other responsibilities to work on your proposed project.Our support is particularly intended to augment paid sabbatical leaves. In the case of independent artists or scholars, or those without paid leaves, we would expect that a Howard Fellowship would enable them to devote a substantial block of time to the proposed project. Howard Foundation Fellowships are unrestricted awards for the sole purpose of aiding the intellectual and artistic development of the recipients. The Howard Foundation has no funds to pay indirect costs, so any decision about payment of benefits on the stipend would be a matter for you to resolve with the appropriate officials at your institution.Must be, regardless of your citizenship, currently living and working in the United States or U.S. Territories.Proposed project must fall within one of the fields established for this year's round of applications.You can submit an application in only one field.You have up to four years to take the fellowship.Note that fellowship funds are intended mainly to support time for creative work.

Ineligibility

Candidates who are already nationally and internationally recognized leaders in their fields as reflected by their promotion to full professor or by comparable standing in creative fields are not normally eligible for a Howard Fellowship.Note that fellowship funds do not underwrite costs of equipment, exhibitions, performances, or publication.