Update: NALAC’s Catalyst for Change Fellowship deadline has been extended to June 23, 2022.
Paul S. Flores, Catalyst for Change, NFA Grantee
The National Association of Latino Arts and Cultures (NALAC), with major support from the Surdna Foundation Thriving Cultures Program and in collaboration with the Southwest Folklife Alliance (SFA), has announced an open call for the 2022 Catalyst for Change (CFC) Fellowship program.
Launched in 2020, the CFC Fellowship aims to mobilize community-based, artist-directed, creative solutions to issues related to racial injustices. The inaugural program supported 11 artists working in a variety of disciplines with projects that included topics such as immigration, healthcare, incarceration, and education.
In a press release announcing the 2022 opportunity, NALAC president and CEO María López de León stated, “The inaugural year offered an opportunity for NALAC to provide substantial support for artists, allowing them to focus their talents and skill on increasing racial justice awareness on structural issues in their communities. We are excited to move forward with the 2022 CFC program, in partnership with SFA, to expand upon the foundations and outcomes of the initial program and to further support artists approaching community issues with radical new insight.”
SFA is a nonprofit organization affiliated with the University of Arizona’s College of Social and Behavioral Sciences. The organization will provide support to the selected fellows through training and coaching related to community-based research.
Leía Maahs, Executive Director of the SFA explained, “The NALAC and SFA partnership is grounded in our organizations’ shared commitment to support communities of color in harnessing cultural knowledge and artistic practice as essential tools for birthing, sustaining, and advancing movements for social justice.”
NALAC, which is based in San Antonio, was founded in 1989 as an advocacy organization empowering the historically underserved Latinx arts sector. For 33 years, NALAC has supported Latinx artists and nonprofit arts and culture organizations through grants, professional development opportunities, and advocacy efforts.
The CFC Fellowship is open to Latinx artists who are at least 18 years of age and residing in the United States or Puerto Rico. A NALAC membership is required. The application is a multi-step process with a Letter of Interest due by June 9, 2022. Selected applicants will then be asked to submit a more comprehensive application. CFC Fellowship participants will receive $50,000 over 18 months to support their project.
To learn more and apply, visit NALAC’s Submittable site.
