What is the Latinx Artist Fellowship?

The first program of its kind, the Latinx Artist Fellowship is a $50,000 award to 15 of the most compelling Latinx visual artists working in the US today. Over the initial five-year commitment, 75 artists will be awarded a total of $3.75 million.

The Fellowship is administered by the US Latinx Art Forum (USLAF) in collaboration with the New York Foundation for the Arts and supported by the Ford Foundation and the Mellon Foundation; a combined commitment of $5 million will support the Fellowship, administration, and capacity building at USLAF.

The Fellowship launches the Latinx Art Visibility Initiative, a three-part program led by the Mellon and Ford foundations; later phases will provide support to museums committed to collecting and studying Latinx art and will develop partnerships with scholars and students studying Latinx art and artists.

What is the US Latinx Art Forum?

Established in 2015, the US Latinx Art Forum (USLAF) supports the creation of a more equitable art world by championing artists and arts professionals dedicated to Latinx art through research, studio practice, pedagogy, and writing. USLAF generates and supports initiatives that benefit an intergenerational network of over 450 members and advances the vitality of Latinx art within academia, art institutions, and collections. 

What is Latinx?

Latinx is an inclusive, gender nonbinary term. We define Latinx/o/a as a person of any race, ethnicity, and/or Latinx-identity affiliation who is of Latin American/Caribbean descent and who is born in the United States or is a long-term resident of the US and its territories. We favor the broadest definition of Latinx, inclusive of: Afro-Latinx, Asian-Latinx, Chicanx, Cuban American, Dominican American, Hispanic, Indigenous, Mexican American, Mestizx/a/o, Puerto Rican, etc.

Who are the Latinx Artist Fellows?

Designed to reflect the diversity of the Latinx community, the Fellowship is also intergenerational, with an equal representation of emerging, mid-career, and established artists.

How were the Fellows selected?

The Fellows were selected by a jury of previous fellows and curators at partner organizations. The jury selects fellows from a pool of nominations submitted by artists, curators, scholars, and other arts professionals with expertise in Latinx art. If you would like to submit a nomination, please contact us, and we will add you to our mailing list when the nomination period opens.

Why is the Fellowship necessary?

Although the National Association of Latino Arts and Culture and USLAF both support Latinx artists with grants, there is not currently a larger financial award or fellowship to validate US Latinx visual artists. Latinx people account for nearly 20 percent of the total US population, yet Latinx causes and organizations receive only 2 percent of philanthropic funding. From 2013 to 2019, annual funding to Latinx arts and culture dropped from $39 million to $13 million (see https://latinxfunders.org/).

The Fellowship, and the larger Latinx Art Visibility Initiative, are designed to address the intersection between the lack of philanthropic support, academic attention, and market representation for Latinx art and artists.

At its heart, this Fellowship is a long-overdue opportunity to lift up Latinx artists—to provide them with necessary financial support, expand and secure their place within American art history, and encourage the growth of patronage.