2027 Fellowship Open Call
Applications Open August 31 - October 4, 2026
Amplify’s Fellowship program champions artists working outside conventional art spaces to investigate the layered civic histories, cultural traditions, and living ecologies that shape our region. Designed to support site-responsive installations, book and publishing projects, films, performances, and other publicly engaged project-based work, the Fellowship provides $10,000 in project support, individualized project mentorship, and feedback in a small cohort-based learning environment.
For the 2027 Fellowship, preference will be given to projects that engage with the theme of Migration by exploring how movement shapes our communities, environments, and collective futures. We welcome project-based work that examines migration not only as the movement of people, but also as the circulation of ideas, languages, labor, waterways, seeds, species, capital, and culture.
We especially encourage projects that invite public participation or engagement. This may take the form of site-responsive installations, performances, workshops, or other shared experiences, as well as the circulation of books, printed matter, films, digital media, archives, or other forms of knowledge. We value projects that create opportunities for people to encounter, contribute to, or engage with ideas in ways that foster dialogue, learning, and reflection outside conventional art spaces.
Applications are now closed. Keep scrolling to see selection process details and timeline.
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The Fellowship is one year beginning in January of 2027 and ending in January of 2028. Fellows are expected to actively participate in all regularly scheduled cohort meetings and contribute to a culture of generosity, curiosity, and shared learning. Prospective applicants should approach this program willing to expand their practice with curiosity and critical feedback from other Fellows and mentors.
Fellows will be paired with mentors from outside the Omaha area early in the program in a matchmaking process that responds to each artist’s questions, methods, and ambitions. Mentors will be selected from a pool of curators, artists, and arts professionals with substantial experience in developing project-based work.
Click here for an outline of the 12-month Fellowship schedule.
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Applications will be reviewed in a four-phase review process:
Amplify Arts staff will review to ensure applicants meet eligibility requirements and have submitted a complete application.
All eligible applications will be reviewed and scored by a panel of arts professionals.
Panel members will recommend up to five applicants to interview with Amplify staff.
Amplify staff will conduct interviews and select up to three applicants to participate in the Fellowship, based on panelists’ recommendations.
Applications will be evaluated based on the following criteria:
The project is public-facing and speaks to the theme of Migration.
The project can be fully realized with the $10,000 project budget.
The work sample demonstrates an active practice and a history of thoughtful, compelling work.
Overall, the application sparks an interest in learning more.
If invited to interview, applicants will receive prep questions in advance and have the opportunity to interview in person or on Zoom.
Amplify Arts staff participate in the application scoring and review process. Amplify staff will also conduct interviews and make final selections based on selection panelists’ recommendations.
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August 31: Applications Open
September 8, 6:00 pm - 7:00 pm: Virtual Application Information Session
September 15, 12:00 pm - 2:00 pm: Virtual Application Office Hours
September 17, 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm: Virtual Application Office Hours
October 4, 11:59 pm: Application Closes
October 5 - October 18: Application Review
October 19 - October 23: Applicant Interviews
October 30: Application Status Updates Delivered
About the Fellowship
Amplify Arts works to build communities where arts and culture are valued as essential to how we belong, relate, and collectively imagine what’s possible.
Our Fellowship supports artists working outside conventional art spaces to investigate the layered civic histories, cultural traditions, and living ecologies that shape our region. Rooted in an understanding of place as dynamic and contested, the fellowship positions artistic inquiry as a vital method for examining the intersection of social, political, and environmental systems.