The Bronx Museum AIM Fellowship
About
Founded in 1980, the AIM Fellowship (formerly known as the “Artist in Marketplace”) is The Bronx Museum’s flagship incubator and career accelerator program for the most promising artists based in NYC.
The Bronx Museum selects 14 artists for the program annually through a competitive open call application process. AIM Fellows are awarded a nine-month practicum led by a distinguished faculty of experts who cover finance, law, media management, and writing, among other subjects vital to maintaining and growing a successful career as an artist.
AIM Schedule
The AIM Fellowship is an annual program that starts early each calendar year with a spring session, pauses during the summer, and then reconvenes for a fall session. Fellows meet for seminars in person at the Museum one evening/week.
Sessions cover various subjects including: the Art Market, the Artist Statement, the Artist’s Studio, Career Planning, Communication Strategies, the Curator/Artist Relationship, Financial Literacy, Funding Opportunities for Artists, Legal Issues in Art, Studio Visits, Portfolio Reviews, Exhibition Preparation & Time Management, Working with Institutions, Big & Small, Audience Development, Community Art Practice, Artist Archives, Documentation & Presentation, and more.
Application
The application for the AIM Fellowship usually opens in September, with a deadline about six weeks after that. The application is always for the next cycle of the program; for example, applications submitted in fall 2024 were for the 2025 AIM Fellowship.
The Bronx Museum usually receives hundreds of applications, and a panel of experts reviews each one and selects fourteen artists from the pool of candidates for the next AIM Fellowship cycle.
For updates on the AIM application, please subscribe to the Museum’s email newsletter.
Eligibility
- Must be 21 years of age or older.
- Must apply individually—applications from partnerships, collectives, and other groups are not accepted.
- Must be an artist with 2-10 years of actively creating and presenting new and original work in the field of visual arts who has yet to be widely recognized within their field, the media, or the public at large.
- Must be an NYC resident at time of application and throughout the program term.
- Cannot be enrolled in a degree-granting program in any discipline concurrent to the Fellowship.
- Cannot be enrolled in a professional development program concurrent to the Fellowship.
- Cannot be a current employee of The Bronx Museum or an immediate family member or employee of a Bronx Museum board member.
- Cannot be represented by a commercial gallery (either in or outside of the U.S.)
- Due to regulations governing the distribution of stipend, honoraria, and wage payments, enrollment is limited to U.S. citizens or permanent residents of the U.S.
Guidelines
- Applicants must complete the online application by the deadline
- Please read the instructions carefully; only complete applications will be considered.
- Applicants are asked to submit 6 artworks (no more than 3 years old) that best represent their artistic practice.
- Semi-finalists must be available to meet for an in-person group interview with the selection committee at The Bronx Museum.
- Selected artists must be available to attend Fellowship meetings and activities for the duration of the program.
- Please note that the AIM Fellowship is not a studio program and studio space is not provided.