2023 Fellowship Program Application is Now Closed



2022-12-1


information & deadline


open call for 2023 fellowships and grants applications

The Asian Cultural Council Hong Kong is now accepting applications for 2023 fellowships & grants. Application deadline is December 1, 2022 at 12:59p.m. (HK Time). The following are the general eligibility requirements for applicants from mainland China, Hong Kong SAR and Macau SAR. For applicants from other countries/regions, please refer to the New York headquarter's website

*Applications Accepted: 11/1/2022-12/1/2022 (HK Time)
*Funding Period: 8/1/2023-12/31/2024
*The next global funding cycle will open in Fall 2023.

Applicants are strongly recommended to read the following guidelines carefully before completing the application.

  1. Overview
  2. Guidelines for Specific Program
    1. New York Fellowship
    2. Individual Fellowship
    3. Graduate Scholarship
    4. Organization Grant
  3. How to Apply
  4. Application Forms

i. overview

Individual applicants (those applying to the Individual Fellowship, New York Fellowship, and Graduate Scholarship)

  • Must reside in or be citizens of mainland China, Hong Kong SAR or Macau SAR
  • Must be practicing artists, humanities scholars, or arts professionals in an eligible field

Organization grants applicants

  • Must be based in mainland China, Hong Kong SAR or Macau SAR
  • Must be a registered nonprofit or NGO, or have fiscal sponsorship from a nonprofit or NGO
  • May request ACC funding only for project participants who meet all the individual applicant eligibility criteria described above

In order to be competitive, applicants must not only be eligible, but must also be a good fit for ACC’s program priority, support services and available funds. Please read all the sections below to understand these factors before deciding to submit an application. After reading this overview, you will find more detailed guidelines on each respective fellowship and grant section, and answers to common questions in the FAQ. Applicants who have not studied this information are less likely to submit a competitive proposal.

Eligible Fields
Must be practicing artists, humanities scholars, or arts professionals in an eligible field

Support services
In addition to funding, ACC offers logistical and programmatic support to its fellowship and grant recipients. The level of support varies by fellowship or grant type and by destination country. Support may include (a) recommendations of sites to visit or activities to participate in; (b) personal introductions to relevant contacts; (c) J-1 visa sponsorship for individuals traveling to the U.S.; and (d) access to the global ACC community of alumni and partners. ACC has supported over 6,000 exchanges since 1964. By combining funding with advice, feedback, and personal introductions, ACC's program builds relationships that strengthen cross-cultural ties beyond the duration of the grant.

Program priority
Priority is given to process-driven activities that enable cultural immersion, relationship-building, collaboration, or the exchange of knowledge among peers. Examples of process-driven activities include research, training, study, and exploration. ACC fellowships and grants are not intended for production-focused activities such as touring, performing, exhibiting, publishing, or making work.

Allowable Use of Funding 
Unless otherwise specified in the program-specific guidelines, in all fellowship and grant programs ACC funds may only be used for activities that involve travel between one or more eligible countries/regions; funding cannot be used for any activities that take place in the individual's country of primary residence

ACC funds may be used for costs associated with travel and research only. Research is broadly defined as any activities in pursuit of creative, scholarly, or professional inquiry, and may take many different forms. The following examples of allowable expenses are not a complete list and are given as a general guideline only:

  • Allowable travel expenses may include international airfare, local transportation, visas, travel insurance, accommodations, traveler's health insurance, and living expenses.
  • Allowable research expenses may include admission fees and tickets to cultural institutions and events, fees for classes or workshops, and modest translator fees.*

*Projects requiring the extensive use of paid translators are unlikely to be funded. 

ACC funding cannot be used for:

  • Activities that do not involve travel
  • Commercial and industrial design
  • Commercial activity or commercial artists of any kind
  • Production costs (including exhibitions, tours, film production, and publication)
  • Arts in education
  • Undergraduate or secondary school study
  • Full graduate school tuition costs
  • Projects taking place outside the funding period
  • Regranting programs

ii. guidelines for specific program

In addition to the general eligibility guidelines described above, the following guidelines are currently in effect for each program:

1. New York Fellowship Program

A six-month fellowship program based in New York City, with logistical and programmatic support from ACC staff. Fellowships may involve targeted research projects or open-ended exploration. 

Eligible Fields:
Eligible fields

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
The New York Fellowship is a 6-month grant which allows Fellows to immerse themselves in the cultural life of New York City.

Fellows may seek new creative inspiration through open-ended exploration, participate in workshops or training programs, or conduct focused research. Fellowship cohort members interact and learn from each other, participate in ACC’s Enrichment Program, and connect with creative communities in New York City during their grant period.  While The New York Fellowship will have one open application period from 11/1/2022-11/30/2022, one cohort begins in January and another cohort begins in July. Awarded applicants will be assigned to either the January or July cohorts based on a combination of applicant-noted preference and ACC-managed cohort matching. 

The New York Fellowship does not support production-based proposals. Artists are not expected to create new work or seek representation, and the fellowship  does not offer support for these activities. The New York Fellowship provides travel (health) insurance support services only for awarded applicants. This does not include comprehensive health insurance coverage; travel (health) insurance will only cover basic injury and illness.

ACC Support Services 
ACC will provide two types of support services to New York fellows as detailed below.

Logistical Support
ACC staff will help administer J-1 visa sponsorships in advance of a grantee’s scheduled travel, register grantees for travel (health)  insurance, and facilitate housing arrangements in New York. The costs for these services will be withheld from the awarded grant amount. 

Programmatic Support
ACC staff will provide guidance and help arrange activities tailored to the individual goals and interests of each fellow. These may include:

  • Enrichment Program: The New York Fellowship Enrichment Program is an ongoing series of site visits introducing program participants to New York City's rich cultural ecosystem. Fellows meet with cultural practitioners and other creatives to gain a deep and nuanced understanding of cultural production and discourse in New York City.
  • Fellowship Office Hours: Fellowship Office Hours allow grantees to receive feedback on their projects from ACC program staff. Office Hours reinforce each fellow's research interests by connecting grantees with resources, contacts, and information to advance their proposed projects. 
  • City Exploration recommendations: The City Exploration service introduces grantees to New York City's dynamic cultural offerings by providing information on local cultural activities.

Review & Selection Criteria 
As ACC intends to provide an immersive cultural exchange experience for grantees through the New York Fellowship, applicants must:

  • Articulate what kind of cultural exchange they plan to create during the fellowship, why the cultural exchange experience is important at this specific timing of their career, and how they plan to share their experience or outcomes with a larger community or field after the fellowship ends  
  • Show artistic, scholarly, or professional excellence and potential for continued growth
  • Be independent, resourceful, curious, open-minded, and eager to explore outside the boundaries of their training
  • Speak confident English for participating in conversation and forming relationships, without requiring special language assistance  

Opportunities & Expectations 
Applicants may apply with a focused research project, but open-ended exploration is also allowed and encouraged. Examples of common activities include:

  • Observing contemporary trends in an art practice or best practices in a professional field
  • Exploring across fields or disciplines
  • Seeking creative inspiration by attending performances, exhibitions, or other cultural events
  • Participating in specialized workshops or training
  • Meeting peers to exchange knowledge and ideas
  • Traveling to other parts of the U.S.

If selected, fellows are expected to:

  • Commit to the program schedule after a start date has been set and minimize outside commitments during the program
  • Take the initiative to pursue interests and follow up on staff recommendations

Please note the following restrictions:

  • This program is not intended for creating new work, exhibiting, performing, presenting, or other public activities.
  • Previous ACC grantees are not eligible to apply.
  • For travel to the U.S. lasting less than six months, applicants should apply for the Individual Fellowship Program, even if they plan to spend time in New York.

 

2. Individual Fellowship Program

One- to six-month fellowships for individuals, or up to two collaborators, undertaking self-directed research. Partial funding may be requested for longer dissertation research trips. Programmatic support from ACC staff is available as needed. 

Eligible Fields
Eligible Fields 

Eligible Destinations
Eligible countries / regions

Program Description
The Individual Fellowship Program supports individuals (and up to one additional collaborator) pursuing research projects or other forms of creative inquiries across cultures. This may take the form of observation tours, specialized training, dissertation fieldwork, or other non-commercial creative, scholarly, or professional activity. As in all ACC programs, the emphasis is on process-driven a  ctivities that enable and promote cultural immersion, dialogue, relationship-building, collaboration, and/or the exchange of knowledge among peers. The project should foster mutual cultural exchange through learning, interacting, and observing. 

The Individual Fellowship does not support production-based proposals. Rather, it provides precious freedom for applicants to explore the proposed topic without the need to produce a final project or end product . Examples of common activities include:

  • Observing contemporary trends in an art practice or best practices in a professional field
  • Exploring across fields or disciplines
  • Seeking creative inspiration by attending performances, exhibitions, or other cultural events
  • Participating in specialized workshops or training
  • Meeting peers to exchange knowledge and ideas

ACC Support Services

Support services are intended to enhance a proposed plan of activity, give increased access to artistic communities and cultural resources in the destination country, and deepen the cultural exchange experience. However, proposals should be feasible with or without additional guidance from ACC. 

Support may include:

  • Recommending sites to visit or activities to participate in, especially in Hong Kong, Japan, the Philippines, Taiwan, and the U.S.
  • Connecting grantees to ACC’s broader community of fellows and alumni, with particular support for grantees based in New York City.
  • Administering J-1 visa sponsorship and health insurance for travel to the U.S.

Review & Selection Criteria

As the Individual Fellowship intends to support open-ended cross-cultural inquiries, applicants must:

  • Articulate what kind of cultural exchange they plan to create during the fellowship, why the cultural exchange experience is important at this  specific timing of their career, and how they plan to share their experience or outcomes with a larger community or field after the fellowship ends. 
  • Show artistic, scholarly, or professional excellence and potential for continued growth.
  • Be independent, resourceful, and open to cultural exchange experiences beyond the specific goals of the fellowship activities.
  • Demonstrate the feasibility of their proposal, including consideration of the accessibility of communities or cultural resources of interest, and the logistics of transportation, accommodations, language barriers, and budget.


Opportunities & Expectations
If selected, fellows are expected to:

  • Begin their fellowship travel within the funding period described above
  • Notify ACC of any changes to their fellowship plans

Please note the following restrictions: 

  • If an applicant plans to include collaborators, the maximum number of  collaborators eligible to be awarded under a single grant is 2 people. Collaborators must submit a single application to ACC and must plan to travel together; separate trips by each individual are not permitted. Financial support for a collaborative fellowship is not likely to be larger than an individual fellowship, so successful applications tend to propose a shorter period of travel.
  • All fellowships should be completed in a single trip. ACC funding may not be used for multiple international airfares to the same region or country, except in rare cases with prior written approval from ACC.
  • U.S. bound travel cannot begin prior to September 1, 2023, as additional time is required to administer the visa application. 
  • This program is not intended for creating new work, exhibiting, performing, presenting, or other public activities.
  • Funding amounts are calculated based on the proposed destination country(ies) and length of travel. Amounts are also subject to revision if plans change significantly after the fellowship is awarded.
  • For dissertation field research longer than six months, applicants must indicate additional prospective funding sources. 

 

3. Graduate Scholarship Program

A living stipend for students from Asia pursuing graduate degrees in the U.S., with priority given to students who do not have access to comparable programs at home, and to those studying in fields that are underrepresented in their home countries. 

Eligible Fields
Eligible Fields

Program Description
ACC gives a small number of scholarships each year to students admitted to a graduate degree program in the U.S. in an eligible field. This funding is intended to cover travel and living expenses related to graduate study; tuition costs are not supported by this grant. Applicants who have not yet received an admissions offer are welcome to apply, but ACC must receive proof of admission before funding can be awarded. Priority is given to applicants who choose to study abroad because comparable programs are not available in their home country and to those working in fields that are underrepresented in their home country. By enabling access to academic training for international students, ACC aims to contribute to the diversification of scholarly narratives and critical discourse.

ACC’s graduate scholarships  offer support to students enrolled in full-time, in-residence degree programs active during the regular academic year. Students who have completed the coursework phase of their graduate education or those applying to or are enrolled in part-time, summer-only, or online programs are not eligible for consideration. 

Graduate scholarships are awarded for one academic year with the possibility of renewal; applicants may request up to two additional years of funding in their initial application. For students seeking multiyear funding support, proof of eligibility status will be required on an annual basis . After verifying annual eligibility, ACC will determine funding renewals based on the student’s good academic standing, reporting requirements, and ACC’s funding capacity.

ACC Support Services
During the funding period, graduate scholarship recipients are invited to participate in ACC’s broader community and engage with current ACC fellows and alumni. 

Review  & Selection Criteria
As ACC’s mission is to foster cultural exchange, Graduate Scholarship applicants must:

  • Articulate how the impact of cultural exchange opportunities and grant funding affect the grantee’s degree program experience in addition to  how they plan to continue and sustain cross-cultural dialogues after the conclusion of the program.
  • Show a track record of or potential for artistic, scholarly, or professional excellence and continued growth
  • Represent an artistic practice, profession, or field of scholarship that is underserved by graduate programs or underrepresented in their home country
  • Enroll  in a full-time, in-residence, degree-granting graduate program during the funding period described above 
  • Provide ACC with proof of admission by February 2023

Opportunities  & Expectations
If selected , fellows are expected to:

  • Maintain good academic standing at their graduate institution and report their grades for the academic year

Please note the following restrictions:

  • Degree programs in education (e.g. museum education) are not eligible, even if the focus is arts-related. 
  • Commercial degree programs and applicants with only a commercial arts background are not eligible. 
  • Applicants must apply to graduate programs independently.  ACC cannot recommend specific graduate programs or help prospective students with their applications to graduate school. 
  • Applicants must secure other sources of funding for tuition, as ACC funding only covers living costs and travel costs up to $30,000 a year.

Refer to the above for an explanation of the allowable use of funds and other general information. Frequently asked questions are answered in the FAQ.

 

4. Organization Grant

Organization and project grants are awarded primarily to support cultural exchange opportunities for specific project participants who will benefit from the experience as individual fellowship recipients do – through cultural immersion, research, specialized training, exchange of knowledge among peers, and other process-oriented activities.

Eligible Fields
Eligible Fields 

Program Description
Organization grants are awarded primarily to support cultural exchange opportunities for specific project participants who will benefit from the experience through cultural immersion, research, specialized training, exchange of knowledge among peers, and other process-oriented activities. Project participants must be practicing artists, scholars, and/or arts professionals. Production-driven projects are not eligible, including touring, performances, and exhibitions.

ACC Support Services
Support services are intended to enhance a proposed plan of activity, give increased access to artistic communities and cultural resources in the destination country, and deepen the cultural exchange experience. However, proposals in this program should be feasible with or without additional guidance from ACC.

Review & Selection Criteria
As ACC intends to support cultural exchange activities through the Organization and Project Grant, applicants must: 

  • Articulate what kind of cultural exchange the organization plans to create; why the cultural exchange project is important to the organization, the project participants, and the larger community or field; and how the organization plans to sustain the outcome or impact after the project ends.
  • Be a registered nonprofit organization/NGO and provide a government-issued not-for-profit certificate  . 
  • Request funding for specific project participants who meet the criteria described in the general eligibility guidelines on the Fellowships & Grants page.
  • Describe how project participants will benefit from their involvement and the importance of their participation to the larger goals of cultural exchange.

Please note the following restrictions:

  • ACC funding cannot be used for artist fees or production expenses.
  • Applications that do not name individual project participants and include their biographies and work samples will not be considered. The project participants cannot be changed without ACC’s approval.

 

iii. how to apply

Before deciding to apply, please read Overview and the Guidelines for Specific Program to see if you are eligible.

The summaries below describe important application dates and the materials required for each program.

Important Dates

For applicants from mainland China, Hong Kong SAR and Macau SAR, please note of the 2022 application cycle:

 

November 1, 2022

Application opens

December 1, 2022 1 p.m. (HK Time)

Deadline to submit an application

December 1, 2022 1 p.m. (HK Time)

Deadline for recommenders to submit letters of recommendation

February 1, 2023

Deadline for Graduate Scholarship applicants to confirm acceptance to an academic program

June 2023

Award decisions finalized and applicants notified of results

August 1, 2023 - December 31, 2024

Funding period (fellowships/grants must begin within this period)

 

iV. APPLICATION FORMS

Please send your application with relevant supporting documents to applications@asianculturalcouncil.org.hk before December 1, 2022 1 p.m (HK Time). For enquiries, please reach us at +852 28950407 or email us at the same email address. 

1/ Individual Application Form
2/ Organization Application Form 
3/ Request for Confidential Recommendation 
4/ Funding Request