National Leaders of Color Fellowship Application Open Now
By Elizabeth Snell
United States Regional Arts Organizations (USRAOs) are now accepting applications for an eight-month leadership development experience for leaders of color.
The application is open now and the deadline to apply is Sunday, October 13, 2024.
Creative West has partnered for the third consecutive year with its five United States Regional Arts Organization (USRAO) counterparts in continued support for the National Leaders of Color Fellowship, a transformative leadership development experience curated by Creative West in order to establish multicultural leadership in the creative and cultural sector. By partnering with the other RAOs (Arts Midwest, Mid-America Arts Alliance, Mid Atlantic Arts, New England Foundation for the Arts, South Arts), the program has expanded nationwide and its mission has become a national endeavor.
The no-cost fellowship takes place online from December 2024 through June 2025. Fellows receive access to specialists in the field, strategic learning objectives determined to deepen thought on anti-racist and culturally-oriented leadership practices, and national-level network and cohort building. Upon completion of the program, participants transition to alumni status and have opportunities to collaborate with the USRAO in their region as advisors, funding panelists, and/or other professional capacities.
“Building on the growth of the program’s first two years of this national pilot in collaboration with the other USRAOs, we’re excited to welcome the third and final cohort into this impactful pilot program,” said Anika Tené, director of grants, awards and programs at Creative West. “Helping us to test this program over these years, we look forward to continuing LoCF within the USRAO collective as well as our external evaluation process, and preparing the program to be replicated within other like-minded organizations. The program continues to demonstrate the power of collaboration between institutions and BIPOC leaders. We look forward to fostering meaningful dialogue and strategic engagement with this year’s cohort.”
Questions? Join the free information session
Join the program managers for an upcoming applicant information session on September 26, 2024, at 6 p.m. Central Time. The session will discuss details of the program and logistics of completing an application and will also conduct a walkthrough of the LoCF grant management platform, GO Smart™. Register here.
Apply Now
For additional information and to apply, visit artslead.org/about/leaders-of-color-fellowship.
About the U.S. Regional Arts Organizations
The United States Regional Arts Organizations (USRAOs) strengthen and support arts, culture, and creativity in their individual regions as well as across the nation. They serve the nation’s artists, arts and culture organizations, and creative communities with programs that reflect and celebrate the diversity of the field in which they work. They partner with the National Endowment for the Arts, state arts agencies, individuals, and other public and private funders to develop and deliver programs, services, and products that advance arts and creativity. Learn more at www.usregionalarts.org.