New Village Arts Announces Call for Fellows for the 2024-2025 Dea Hurston Fellowship

New Village Arts has announced a Call for Fellows for the Dea Hurston Professional Fellowship.

In loving memory of the incredible Dea Hurston, who passed away on July 7, 2024, this prestigious opportunity aims to select two emerging theatre professionals who demonstrate outstanding talent and a commitment to community-building within the arts. BIPOC individuals are strongly encouraged to apply. 

The Dea Hurston Fellowship (DHF) program at New Village Arts was created to address the lack of paid opportunities for women, BIPOC, and other underrepresented theatre artists and students in San Diego. The DHF, which will currently focus on San Diego County, is centered on the belief that a more diverse theatre environment leads to better and more inspiring stories that have a broader positive impact on our communities. 

Kiara Hudlin, NVA's Education & Fellowship Manager and Hurston Fellow, is thrilled to be at the helm of this program launch, sharing that "Dea Hurston created this program to bring opportunities to the people that lacked access in various areas of the arts. She first worked with Moxie Theatre and San Diego Opera to fulfill these dreams and I'm very grateful that New Village Arts is now a branch of her legacy. As a young, Black woman, and artist, I can wholeheartedly say that this is a program I needed and would have benefitted from in my earlier years in the arts. I am honored to be the manager of the Dea Hurston Fellowship at New Village Arts and I can't wait to see how it continues to change the face of White American Theatre as we move forward in our goal of creating more opportunities for underrepresented theatre artists in San Diego County."

The DHF is designed to support artists working within San Diego County to create meaningful connections and discourse with NVA, youth and college-aged partners, and the greater San Diego theatre and arts community. The Professional fellows are offered a key role as Theatre Professionals working on an NVA production within our 23rd Season, a Fellows stipend of $10,000, a dedicated mentor, and the opportunity to work with high school and college affiliated NVA partners to further support young theatre professionals in San Diego. After the Fellowship, Fellows will be given the opportunity to publicly present about their work, and possible additional engagements with the NVA community.  Full Fellowship expectations are outlined in the contract. The stipend includes all expectations of each Professional Fellow over the Fellowship. 

The Call for Fellows opens on July 15th, 2024, and the deadline for submissions is August 15th, 2024. Aspiring fellows are invited to submit their applications online via the New Village Arts website.

To ensure proper consideration, applicants must provide the following:

• Contact Information

• Letter of Intent: A concise statement not exceeding one page outlining the artist's goals for the fellowship and their approach to utilizing the community-building opportunities provided.

• Current Resume/CV: A comprehensive overview of the artist's professional background, not exceeding three pages.

• PDF Portfolio: Five to ten images and/or video clips of past work, with each entry accompanied by a title, date, and brief statement (up to 200 words) describing the work. Video should be no longer than 5 minutes.

Eligibility is limited to artists who meet the following guidelines: 

• Must be at least 18 years old at time of entry. 

• Must reside in San Diego or North County. 

• The residency seeks to support underrepresented San Diego-based artists and administrators and encourages Black and/or BIPOC artists and administrators to apply.

• Candidates may not be enrolled in a degree-seeking program, either part-time or full time, at an institution of higher learning at the time of application deadline or during the period of the residency.  

• Artists affiliated with New Village Arts in an administrative capacity are not eligible to apply. This includes all full time administrative staff and Board members working with the organization in any sort of their official capacity.

• Artists with previous experiences benefiting from increased professional opportunity are encouraged to apply. 

The Dea Hurston Fellowship is sponsored by the San Diego Foundation, US Bank and the California Arts Council. Sponsorship opportunities are available.

For more information about the Dea Hurston Professional Fellowship and to submit an application, please visit https://newvillagearts.org/the-dea-hurston-fellowship/. Join us in shaping the future of theatre and fostering a more inclusive and vibrant artistic community.

About New Village Arts 

NVA is now celebrating 22 years of award-winning professional theatre, thrilling and unique visual arts, and thriving education and outreach programs. NVA attracts over 30,000 patrons to the Dea Hurston New Village Arts Center in Carlsbad Village to experience professional theatre in its intimate, 100 seat house and has been recognized as one of the finest theatres in San Diego County and a regional leader in equity, diversity, and inclusion. 

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