Archiving the Arts Fellowship



Type: Part-time [8-10 hours/week]
Period: August 1, 2024, to July 31, 2025 (12 months)
Support: $10,000 stipend; $1,000 equipment budget; $1,000 travel budget
Application Deadline: May 19, 2024

SAADA is at the forefront of advancing a community-driven approach to archival collecting, where archival work is done by, with, and for our community. SAADA's work ensures that South Asian Americans are recognized as an essential part of the American story.

The three selected Archiving the Arts fellows will each work with one South Asian American arts organizations to collect oral history interviews with leaders, members, and constituents, and document significant moments from these organizations’ histories.

Our three partner arts organizations for this initiative are:

• The Music Circle (Pasadena, CA)
• South Asian Womxn’s Creative Collective (New York, NY)
• Twelve Gates Arts (Philadelphia, PA)

This year-long fellowship is part of a research study supported by a grant from The Wallace Foundation and in partnership with the UCLA Community Archives Lab, to address the relative lack of archival representation for arts organizations that serve communities of color. Through this work, we aim to create useful knowledge about how BIPOC arts organizations can engage in documentation practices that ensure that their stories are preserved, included in mainstream narratives about arts communities, and given the prominence they deserve.

Fellows will each receive a $10,000 stipend, $1,000 equipment budget, and $1,000 travel budget, along with travel expenses covered for an in-person convening in Philadelphia.

Timeline
August 1, 2024 - July 31, 2025: One-year commitment.

Eligibility
This fellowship program is open to all U.S.-based individuals with valid work authorization. No formal archival training is necessary, but applicants should have a strong demonstrable interest and commitment to community memory and storytelling.

Eligible applicants must live within commuting distance to one of the three arts organizations, which are located in:

• Pasadena, CA (for The Music Circle)
• New York, NY (for South Asian Womxn’s Creative Collective)
• Philadelphia, PA (for Twelve Gates Arts)

Commuting distance is defined as living in an area where you can reasonably travel to the organization's location within a few hours or less, by train, bus, or personal vehicle.

Application Timeline
April 4, 2024: Call for applications is made available online
May 19, 2024: Application deadline
June 3 - June 14, 2024: Virtual interviews with finalists
Late June 2024: Fellows selected

Commitment
During the fellowship period, fellows will be responsible for:

• Dedicating 8-10 hours/week to the project over the duration of the fellowship period.
• Participating in monthly calls with their partner organization and SAADA staff.
• Participating in regular meetings, virtual and in person, with their partner organization.
• Working with their partner organization to conduct oral history interviews with ten individuals, such as organizational leaders, members, and constituents.
• Digitizing materials for preservation that reflect critical moments of their partner organization’s history.
• Maintaining open lines of communication with their partner organization and SAADA staff.

Support
Fellows will receive:

• A stipend of $10,000 (paid in installments over the fellowship period).
• A budget of $1,000 to cover equipment costs.
• A budget of $1,000 to cover travel costs for in-person meetings and interviews with their partner arts organization staff and stakeholders.
• Training on oral history methodology and digital archival practices from SAADA staff and advisors.
• Support and guidance from SAADA staff throughout the duration of your project.

If you are interested, eligible, and able to meet the requirements of the fellowship, fill out the application form below by Sunday, May 19, 2024 at 11:59pm (your local time zone) to be considered for this opportunity. Please direct all questions and inquiries to fellowships@saada.org.

Please note: The application form will not save your information while in progress, so we encourage you to enter your responses into the Word version, then when completed, copy that over to the live application form below.