Sitka Fellows

National deadline:  April 22, 2012, 11:59 p.m. Alaska time

Eligibility requirements:

• Applicants must be 30 years of age or less.
• U.S. citizens or have permanent resident status.
• Must have a constructive, collaborative, “in this together” spirit.
• Must commit to staying the entire 7-week period.

Award summary and conditions:  The Sitka Fellows Program brings together the most exciting, promising American talent across all fields and disciplines to take part in an innovative and interdisciplinary residency program based in Sitka, Alaska. The program is looking for visionaries of all stripes: frame-busting, independent thinkers who want to spend seven weeks with smart, enthusiastic young people from radically different backgrounds.

The primary award of the Sitka Fellows Residency is a free seven-week residency at the Sheldon Jackson Campus in Sitka, Alaska.  The residency starts July 16 through to August 31, 2012.  Eight awards will be given to the most promising emerging talent under the age of 30.  Residents will live on the campus which is a national historic landmark, and be provided with studio and research space, meals, and a community environment in which they can interact with each other as well as local Sitkans.  The residency is based on three core ideas:

• Young Americans have few opportunities to remove themselves from the busyness of daily life and be able to focus fully on innovative, creative ideas.
• The program nurtures promising intellectual, creative, and social entrepreneurs with “seed funding” in the form of time, space, and setting.
• The program is based on the premise that bringing together diverse, perceptive minds in one place cultivates a creative energy not easily found elsewhere.

All expenses are paid during the residency but recipients must pay their own transportation costs to and from Sitka.  Applicants who indicate financial need on the application will be contacted for further discussion regarding possible financial assistance.  Recipients must commit to staying for the full residency time period.

Application materials: electronic - application available at sitkafellows.org

The following four items must be submitted as either Word documents or PDF files to apply@sitkafellows.org by 11:59 p.m. Alaska time, April 22, 2012:

• Completed application form, including two references
• Applicant CV
• Personal statement of interest (maximum 500 words)
• Project proposal (maximum 500 words)

Faculty representative:  Keith Raether

Interview:  Yes, applicants will be contacted for interviews and fellows named on a rolling basis from late April through early May.

Contact:  sitkafellows.org