The Socrates Annual Fellowship is an opportunity for early career artists to realize new public artworks at Socrates Sculpture Park, a public park in Long Island City, Queens. The Fellowship is a highly competitive program that reflects the Park’s commitment to artistic experimentation and nurturing artistic careers. This important training ground for early career artists allows Artist Fellows to gain experience creating ambitious public art projects. Socrates encourages artists to create proposals for new works in disciplines including sculpture, performance, social practice, ecology as well as across multiple and new disciplines.
Fellowship recipients receive a Production Grant up to $8,000 to support their project, a $2,000 honorarium, and seven-days-a-week access to the Park’s resources and facilities, including the outdoor artist studio, as well as the technical and administrative support needed to design and realize an artwork within the Park. Fellows are responsible for the production and transportation of their own artworks, but will collaborate closely with Socrates’ curatorial, operations, and public programs staff.
The Fellowship culminates in The Socrates Annual, an exhibition that showcases Fellows’ completed works, from September 2025 – March 2026.
THE SOCRATES ANNUAL FELLOWSHIP 2025 – UP/ROOTED
Since 1986, Socrates has served as a steward of an urban waterfront Park—the threshold between the East River’s coastal ecology and the diverse communities in our Western Queens neighborhood. This coming year, Socrates embarks on a multi-year Seawall Reconstruction Project necessitating the relocation of several plant species and pathways to make space for restoration and construction work.
In response, this year’s Fellowship will respond to the theme “Up/rooted,” which explores the complexities of uprooting species for long-term sustainability and resilience. The term “uprooted” evokes the tension between dislocation and resilience. “Up” signifies the act of lifting away, while “root” refers to the hidden systems below the ground—anchoring life and absorbing essential nutrients. This duality invites us to reflect on the implications of relocation and adaptation, exploring how when done thoughtfully it can foster new growth and understanding. In what ways can we foster regeneration while acknowledging and mitigating the losses within our ecological and social landscapes? How might we navigate the delicate balance between ecological preservation and community needs to create a more resilient future?
Recognizing the limited footprint for large-scale sculpture, we encourage proposals that take a multi-disciplinary approach to the theme and creatively engage overlooked areas of the Park, inviting an upward gaze—into the trees, and overhead. How might lifting your eyes to the canopy and sky reveal connections between the unseen, nourishing systems underground and the expansive possibilities above? “As above, so below…”
Please note that due to ongoing construction along the shoreline, the north entrance and main lawn will be fenced off. Sites for consideration may be found on this map, and include the tree grove, the south eastern areas of the Park, and CUBES.
Building on the success of 2024’s expanded Fellowship which included ecology-focused projects activated through performance, workshops, and public programs, this year’s Artist Fellows will once again have the opportunity to begin on-site work as soon as April 2025. Applicants should clearly articulate their production needs and ideal start date considering factors such as: NYC’s growing season, site research/gestation period, and structural design support. The 2025 Artist Fellows will operate as one cohort with rolling installations and programming series ongoing from May-September 2025. This cohort will include up to eight artists with a diverse range of disciplines.
FELLOWSHIP
Project development phase: March – May 2025
On-site fabrication window: April 2025 – August 2025
Public programming: May 2025 – March 2026
For the 2025 Artist Fellowship, Socrates will accept up to eight artists with a diverse range of disciplines. All project proposals should respond to the theme “Up/rooted”. We encourage project proposals that include a holistic life-cycle approach regarding materials and de-installation. Project proposals do not need to include a proposed site, but may note their desired surroundings (tree grove, underutilized corners of the Park, construction fence, etc). Final site placement is determined during the Fellowship period and in conversation with the Curator and Director of Exhibitions.
Production timelines and budgets will be developed in close collaboration with Socrates staff beginning in March 2025. The 2025 Artist Fellows will operate as one cohort with rolling installations and programming series from April-September 2025. The Fellowship will culminate with an exhibition celebration and fundraiser in mid-September.
Since its inception, the Socrates Annual Fellowship has championed artists with a multi-disciplinary approach to public art, including outdoor sculpture, ecological “living” installations, performance, and social practice.
Performance / Socially Engaged Art/ Social Practice: Project proposals that involve community-driven programming, ongoing public participation, and performance with or without a sculptural presence are strongly encouraged. Socrates regularly hosts live performances, educational workshops, and public programs during the summer season, often utilizing a combination of rented, donated, and in-house equipment. Projects are encouraged that build on, respond to, or interrogate not only the Fellowship theme, but also the Park’s ongoing community engagements. Proposals should also clearly articulate a project’s equipment and support needs, while considering the changing weather patterns inherent to the Park’s waterfront environment such as wind, rain, occasional flooding, ice, snow, heat and sun. Socrates recently unveiled The Cubes, which include a small indoor space for public programming.
Outdoor Sculpture: A unique opportunity for early career artists to fabricate and realize large-scale public artworks within the Park’s waterfront site. Artists will have seven-days-a-week access to the resources and fabrication facilities of the Park’s outdoor artist studio beginning in April 2025. Artist Fellows are responsible for the fabrication, transportation, and installation of their works alongside the supervision of Socrates staff. All outdoor sculpture will be developed in close collaboration with the Director of Studio and Fabrication. Artists are required to reside in the New York tri-state area during the production period of the Fellowship.
Ecology: Socrates has a long history of working closely with artists who address ecological themes in their works, and in 2024, Socrates successfully piloted an expanded Fellowship that increased the Park’s capacity to support artists whose practices involve ecology, environmental justice, gardening, farming or horticulture. Ecology-focused proposals should include a holistic life-cycle approach regarding plantings and materials; for example, how plants or ecological features might be incorporated into parts of the Park at the end of The Socrates Annual 2025 exhibition or distributed in the neighborhood in tandem with community partners. We encourage artists to consider their materials’ footprint on the Park site. Projects should have a physical presence throughout the spring, summer, fall and winter seasons, and specifically consider the full seasonal growing cycle from March 2025 – March 2026.
ELIGIBILITY
Fellowships are awarded to artists whose practices would benefit from the resources provided at this stage in their careers. Artists who have not previously exhibited work at Socrates are eligible to apply, and those who have applied in the past will receive special consideration. However, artists who have already participated in the Fellowship or are enrolled in school, college, or university during the Fellowship period are not eligible.
Applicants must reside in the New York tri-state area during the production phase of the Fellowship.
REVIEW PROCESS AND SELECTION CRITERIA
Completed online applications must be submitted by the deadline of Friday, November 15 at 11:59 PM and will be reviewed by a jury composed of Socrates staff, former Artist Fellows, and curatorial advisors. After the jury review, Socrates staff will reach out to applicants individually to discuss their proposed projects before confirming the final selection in early 2025. The jury will evaluate proposals based on several factors, including feasibility, creative rigor, site-responsiveness, community alignment, thematic relevance, and the quality of previous work.
Once selected, Artist Fellows will meet with Socrates staff to discuss their project proposals in detail. These meetings will begin in early 2025 and continue throughout the Fellowship. Artist Fellows will also participate in an on-site orientation and attend individual progress meetings to establish timelines, assess progress, address challenges, and plan project installations. Project and installation support details will be discussed with each selected artist. Socrates’ staff typically work Monday through Friday, 10 AM–6 PM.
All selected proposals are subject to final approval by Socrates staff and must meet safety requirements to withstand weather conditions and public interaction throughout the duration of The Socrates Annual 2025 exhibition.
TIMELINE
APPLICATION DEADLINE: November 15, 2024 by 11:59 PM
FINALIST NOTIFICATION: January 2025
FELLOWSHIP:
Public Announcement: March 2025
Project development phase: March – May 2025
On-site fabrication: April 2025 – September 2025
Installation: rolling* May 2025 – September 2025
Public programming: May 2025 – March 2026
Exhibition dates: On view beginning June 2025; full exhibition opens in mid-September 2025
Website link: https://socratessculpturepark.org/opencalls/open-call-the-socrates-annual-fellowship-2025/#open-call-2025-theme
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