2025 Create Change Fellowship Application

The Create Change Fellowship is a six-month immersive program designed for artists and cultural producers committed to addressing pressing social issues through their creative practice. Focused on the Bed-Stuy community, this fellowship serves as an incubator where selected artists collaborate with local organizations to co-create impactful projects.

Fellows are placed in groups of 3-4 and paired with local community organizations working on priority social issues identified through a thorough needs assessment. These issues may include housing, food or environmental justice, economic empowerment, health equity, and more. Each group co-creates projects that aim to address these issues in meaningful and sustainable ways.

The Create Change Fellowship prioritizes New York City-based artists, ranging from early to established, who are interested in strengthening their practice and skills around community engagement and social impact. Diverse perspectives and backgrounds are encouraged, with a focus on projects that drive significant social change. They should also be at least 21 years old, and not be enrolled in a degree-seeking program. Candidates must be committed to working collaboratively with their cohort members, have familiarity with the cultural history and local issues impacting communities of color, and be available to commit 50 hours to the Fellowship.

The Bed-Stuy AiR program is specifically designed for artists of color who have historically lived or live in Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn. The AiR program is a broad residency opportunity that may be open to artists from across the five boroughs of NYC. It focuses on a range of artistic practices and community engagement projects.. It is a localized program with a strong emphasis on community engagement within the community the artist seeks to serve.

You will need to submit two separate applications, one for the fellowship and one for the residency.

Yes, you are eligible for both programs.

We realize that some artists may not identify as community-based artists or social practitioners, but are curious about making work in this way. We created the Fellowship program to provide a space where artists can build on their approaches to community-based art making while building community impact.

Fellows and  Artists-in-residence will spend roughly 50 hours  participating in workshop sessions and related programming, and should plan to spend additional hours attending professional development offerings, work sessions with their cohort, coaching sessions, and open studios. Artists-in-Residence will also spend a substantial amount of time developing their independent projects.

2025 Fellows Open Call Calendar

Orientation: Feb 8 12p-6p

Create Change Lab: March 4-6

*Please note that there is a possibility of the days being overnight, with The Laundromat Project covering lodging and meals.

Fellows 1:1: March 17-28 *

Fellows Coaching I: April 2* 6p-7:30p

Fellows x Community Partner Check-In I: April 16  6p-7:30p

Fellows Coaching II: May 7* 6p-7:30p

Fellows x Community Partner Check-In II: May 21  6p-7:30p

Peer Coaching: May 23

Fellow Coaching III: June 4* 6p-7:30p

Workshop: The Art of Reparations: June 11  5:45p – 7:45p

Fellow x Community Partner Check-In  III: June 18  6p-7:30p

Fellows Community Activation: Group 1: July 12 12:30p-3:30p

Fellow Community Activation: Group 2: July 26 12:30p-3:30p

Fellow Community Activation: Group 3: Aug 9 12:30p-3:30p

Fellow Community Activation: Group 4: Aug 23 12:30p-3:30p

Mock Presentations: Sept 16* 6p-7:30p

Final Presentations: Sept 17 6:30p-9:00p

CC 2025 Cohort Holiday Party: Dec 19 6:30p-8p

Calendar Notes

• This schedule is subject to change.
• All sessions are scheduled on Eastern-standard time.
• All virtual sessions will be convened via Zoom, unless otherwise instructed.

Create Change is not a typical series of professional development workshops. Some of the topics and themes covered every year include: cultural arts organizing, building community partnerships, deep listening practices and storytelling, understanding public policy,  decolonizing thought, and more. We believe in the tenets of popular education and draw from the immense and diverse knowledge of the cohort participants throughout the program.

This experiential form of learning is central to The LP’s mission and core values, which we imbue in all of our programs. Besides concrete skills and experiential learning opportunities, one of the greatest benefits we offer our artists is a network of like-minded practitioners and supporters.

Artists working in any art form are eligible to apply as long as they are interested in community-based art making. For The LP, art includes visual, media, literary, and performing arts (dance, music, acting, comedy, singing etc.) as well as curation, scholarship, education, healing, community organizing, and other cultural traditions, productions, technology, design, and other creative practices. You do not have to consider yourself an artist to apply.

We recognize that there are many creative practitioners who do not identify themselves as “professional artists” and/or do not earn their living solely from art-making. Successful applicants are able to demonstrate a record of artistic experience; and analytical thinking skills to contribute to the collaborative learning environment.

All workshops will take place in-person  over a 3-day period and public programs in-person. There will also be in-person fellow planning sessions with community partners, while the professional development offerings such as office hours will sometimes be facilitated by way of Zoom or Google Meet.

In the case of virtual/hybrid participation in workshops/sessions, you will need the following:

• Access to reliable and consistent internet connection
• Access to a computer or tablet with camera and a microphone (not a phone if possible)
• A Zoom account set up and familiarity with the features (you can open an account for free here)
• A Google Meet account (you may access it via a gmail account, open a free account here)

Yes, only artists that are currently based in NYC are eligible to apply for the Fellowship and Residency programs.

Due to the high volume of applicants, we only share feedback with candidates who advance to the interview stage of the application process. We will also offer info sessions in each borough of New York City which will be an opportunity to connect with our staff and ask specific questions regarding the application and process

Solo production of art works made for personal practice. Proposals with no involvement, impact, or engagement with additional stakeholders or a broader community.