Organizer Information
The Queens Museum is an art museum and educational center at Flushing Meadows–Corona Park in Queens, New York City, established in 1972. Its building was constructed for the 1939–40 World's Fair as the New York City Pavilion — one of the few structures from that fair intended to be permanent — and from 1946 to 1950 housed the General Assembly of the newly formed United Nations. For over fifty years, the Queens Museum has served one of the most diverse communities in the world, presenting artistic and educational programs and exhibitions that directly relate to the contemporary urban life of its constituents while maintaining the highest standards of professional, intellectual, and ethical responsibility.
The Jerome Foundation was founded by Jerome Hill (1905–1972), a noted filmmaker, composer, and painter, and awards grants to emerging artists in Hill's home state of Minnesota and New York City, where he spent much of his creative life. Founded in 1964, Jerome Foundation's grantmaking mission is to support diverse early career generative artists, culture bearers, and arts leaders who take creative risks, seek innovative approaches, and have a clear creative purpose and vision guided by service to their community. The QM-Jerome Foundation Fellowship for Emerging Artists, now in its eighth cycle, is supported by a grant from the Jerome Foundation to the Queens Museum.
Title & Description
2027–28 QM-Jerome Foundation Fellowship for Emerging Artists
The Queens Museum and the Jerome Foundation jointly offer the QM-Jerome Foundation Fellowship for Emerging Artists, a year-long fellowship providing two emerging visual artists based in New York City with financial support, professional development, mentorship, and the opportunity to develop and present a solo project exhibition at the Queens Museum. The 2027–28 cycle is the eighth iteration of this programme, which since its first cohort in 2014–15 has supported artists including Kameelah Janan Rasheed, American Artist, sonia louise davis, Emile L. Gossiaux, Umber Majeed, and others.
The fellowship is structured around the development of a new project culminating in a solo exhibition at the Queens Museum in 2028. Each fellow works closely with the museum's curatorial team, receives professional development consultations, and is matched with a mentoring artist from New York City's established art community. The fellowship is intended to support artists at an early but active stage of their practice — those with demonstrated creative ambition who have not yet had access to the institutional resources and scale that a major museum can provide.
Categories
- Visual Arts
- Fellowship
- Research
Eligibility
- Open to emerging visual artists residing in any of the five boroughs of New York City
- Applicants must have resided in NYC for at least one year prior to the beginning of the fellowship in January 2027, and must remain in NYC through the end of the fellowship period
- Applications from individual artists or artist collectives of no more than two members are accepted
- Defined as emerging: at least 2 years, but no more than 10 years of experience generating new artistic works outside a degree-granting program (demonstrable breaks such as caregiving or medical leave are not counted within this period)
- Not currently enrolled in a degree-granting program
- Has not had a solo exhibition at a museum or at established commercial galleries in the US or New York
- Has not received major grants targeting mid-career or established artists (examples include the Hodder Fellowship, Lee Krasner Award, MacArthur Fellowship, FCA Ellsworth Kelly Award, and Herb Alpert Award)
- Is not a tenured faculty member at a university or college
- May have exhibited work in other countries on a limited basis, but has not had major exhibition opportunities in the US or in New York
- Age and formal training in a degree programme are not factors in determining eligibility
Program Benefits & Awards
- $20,000 award per fellow, paid in two installments; covers artist fee, materials, and relevant production costs for the work created for the exhibition
- Professional development consultations with Queens Museum curatorial and programming staff throughout the fellowship year
- Mentorship from one New York City–based established artist (four sessions over the course of the year; fellows propose a list of artists whose practice aligns with their own, and one is selected in consultation with the QM team)
- Solo project exhibition at the Queens Museum, opening in 2028
Application Fee
None
Application Requirements
Applications are evaluated on the strength of the proposed project, overall practice, and work samples. Strong applications demonstrate a clear and ambitious vision, readiness to expand and experiment in their practice, and an understanding of the context at the Queens Museum. Visual materials related to the proposed project may be submitted as work samples but are not required. Full application materials are specified in the Queens Museum's application form (via the link below).
How to Apply?
Online Application
Key Dates
- Application deadline: 28 September 2026
- Shortlisted candidate interviews (in-person at QM): November 2026
- Notification to all applicants: Before the end of 2026 (before the fellowship start)
- Fellowship begins: January 2027
- Solo exhibitions open: 2028
Location
Queens Museum, Flushing Meadows–Corona Park, Queens, New York City, United States
Additional Details
- Two optional information sessions are offered to prospective applicants (attendance is encouraged but not mandatory). A second session is scheduled for 9 September 2026, 6:00–7:30 pm. Registration details are available on the Queens Museum's website.
- The $20,000 award is a lump sum paid in two installments and is intended to cover the full scope of production for the fellow's exhibition — not a living stipend.
- Fellows propose a shortlist of established New York City–based artists for consideration as their mentor; the museum selects one per fellow for four mentorship sessions during the year.
- For general fellowship enquiries: exhibitions@queensmuseum.org