A4 Announces New Artist Fellowships

The Asian American Arts Alliance, with support from the New York Community Trust, announces two new fellowship opportunities for emerging Asian American artists: the 2021 Jadin Wong Fellowship and the 2021 Van Lier Fellowship.

Fellowships will be awarded to Asian American generative artists in the fields of dance and music, age 30 or under, based in New York City.

Each Fellow will receive a $6,000 cash stipend, professional development training, mentoring sessions, and additional career support. The Fellows will be selected through an open call jury process. Applicants will be evaluated based on the artistic quality of their work, the impact they hope to make on New York City's artistic community, and the projects they intend to create as a result of their Fellowship opportunity.

Interested applicants may view guidelines and eligibility on the A4 website; the deadline for submissions is Sunday, March 21, 2021 at 11:59 p.m. EDT. Selected Fellows will be announced in late April 2021.

Applicants are strongly encouraged to attend one of the online information sessions before applying. The information session for the 2021 Jadin Wong Fellowship will be held on Tuesday, February 23 from 12:00-1:00 pm EST; the information session for the 2021 Van Lier Fellowship will be held on Wednesday, February 24 from 12:00-1:00 pm EST.

The 60-minute information sessions will include background and logistics of the awards process, as well as pointers on preparing a strong application. Participation in the information sessions is highly recommended. Applicants can register for the Jadin Wong Information Session here and the Van Lier Information Session here.

The Jadin Wong Fellowship is a tribute to the life and work of renowned Chinese American actress, dancer, comedienne, and advocate Jadin Wong (1913-2010). Since her teenage years, Ms. Wong had been a pioneer and innovator for Asian American performing arts, performing in venues throughout America, Europe, and Asia, and founding her own arts management company that specialized in representing Asian American talent, paving the way for future Asian American performers. She established the Jadin Wong Educational Fund at the New York Community Trust to support aspiring artists, musicians, and dancers of Asian descent. Previous winners of the award include Shoey Sun, Jesse Obremski, Takehiro "Take" Ueyama, and Daisuke Omiya.

For more than 25 years, the New York Community Trust has been administering the Edward and Sally Van Lier Fund, providing support to hundreds of talented young artists, many of whom have become accomplished professionals widely respected in their fields. These fellowships carry on the Van Liers' legacy of arts appreciation by supporting arts groups and training programs to provide education, training, or other support to young artists. 2021 marks A4's fifth year of offering Van Lier Fellowships. Previous Fellows include Miranda Cornell (Theater), Maia Chao (Visual Arts Practice), Simon Wu (Visual Arts Curation), Rob Rusli (Music Composition), Pawan Benjamin (Music Performance), Seonjae Kim (Theater, Directing), and Diana Oh (Theater, Acting).

The Asian American Arts Alliance is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to ensuring greater representation, equity, and opportunities for Asian American artists and cultural organizations through resource sharing, promotion, and community building. Since 1983, A4 has sought to unify, promote, and represent the artistic and cultural producers of one of New York City's fastest-growing populations. We are a diverse alliance of artists, organizations, and arts supporters who believe that working together as a pan-ethnic, multidisciplinary community is essential to nurturing the development of artists and arts groups. A4 serves as a thoughtful convener of the Asian American cultural workforce around issues of race, identity, and artmaking and provides a critical voice for this community. We are the only service organization in the country dedicated to the professional development of Asian American artists in all disciplines.
http://www.aaartsalliance.org

The New York Community Trust is a community foundation, helping New Yorkers achieve their charitable goals and making grants that respond to the needs of our City.