Artist in Residence Fellowship

Application deadline: March 20, 2026
Stipend: $10,000
Eligibility: The residence is open only to artists who have been directly impacted by the criminal legal system through personal experience or the experience of loved ones.

Civil Rights Corps is excited to announce the launch of its 2026 Artist in Residence fellowship. Each year, a groundbreaking visual artist whose work urgently confronts the subject matter of our civil rights work will be chosen as the Civil Rights Corps Artist in Residence.
About Us
Civil Rights Corps is an innovative non-profit civil rights law organization based in Washington, D.C. our groundbreaking litigation and advocacy work has resulted in systemic reforms to legal systems across the country. Our staff has led the way in bringing pioneering challenges to the rise of modern American debtors’ prisons and the American money bail system. We are passionate and dedicated advocates who seek to fight inequality and protect the rights of the most underrepresented, impoverished, and marginalized members of our society.
Artist in Residence Program
Our criminal system’s ability to accomplish mass human caging, depends on ignoring and erasing the stories of the human beings on whom we inflict unspeakable suffering. The Artist in Residence will be given a monetary stipend of $10,000 to assist in producing urgent and vivid works that communicate the humanity of our clients and others in their position. That the works should shed light on the toll that the unjust practices in the criminal system takes on the bodies and minds of the people directly impacted by it and on our communities more broadly.
The language used in police reports, court arguments, and prison budgets enables large-scale indifference; art makes us understand, makes us care, and makes us act.
Expectations

The Artist in Residence will be expected to produce a work or several works dealing specifically with the subject matter of Civil Rights Corps’ work, particularly the organization’s work trying to re-sensitize our legal system and culture to the brutality of human caging and to the systemic injustices in the U.S. criminal legal system.
The Artist in Residence will be expected to attend two events over the course of the 12-month fellowship in which the Artist will describe the Artist’s work and its connection to Civil Rights Corps and participate in discussion with Civil Rights Corps staff concerning the organization’s work. The events may occur virtually pending continued COVID-19 social distancing restrictions.
The Artist’s work will be featured on the Civil Rights Corps’ website and permanently displayed in the Civil Rights Corps offices.

Application Requirements

The residence is open only to artists who have been directly impacted by the criminal legal system through personal experience or the experience of loved ones.
The Residence should be informed about CRC’s issue areas and prepared to speak to how the work they create connects to the organization’s mission and body of work.
Artists may be based anywhere in the country.
Priority will be given to artists who have demonstrated engagement with racial and economic injustice in the U.S. criminal system.
Please submit 7-10 high-resolution photos of your work, as well as a statement of no more than one page about your interest in the Fellowship.
Applications are due by March 20, 2026, and should be sent to [email protected] Attn: Quinita Ennis Artist in Residence Program

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Apply Now