Call Description

The Daniel K. Inouye National Center for the Preservation of Democracy (Democracy Center) at the Japanese American National Museum (JANM) is thrilled to announce the 4th annual Irene Yamamoto Arts Writers Fellowship. This year’s fellowship will provide $5,000 unrestricted awards to two emerging writers of color who write critically about visual art.

Writers of color have knowledge and experiences that differ from the dominant Eurocentric ones, and their perspectives give art produced by marginalized communities the depth of attention and consideration it deserves. The fellowship seeks to encourage critics of color starting out in the field to continue writing about works from their own cultural and political perspectives, enriching and broadening cultural criticism as a practice and profession. By supporting and highlighting these voices, the fellowship seeks to broaden public discourse and strengthen participation in cultural conversations by diverse communities.

How We Define Arts Writing

This fellowship is for arts writers, defined as journalists, critics, and cultural commentators who analyze, contextualize, and interpret the arts for public audiences. Arts writing includes criticism, reviews, essays, opinion pieces, and other forms of nonfiction writing about art, artists, cultural institutions, and creative movements.

This fellowship does not support creative writing or artistic production. Submissions of poetry, fiction, screenplays, plays, memoir, or other creative literary works are not eligible and will not be reviewed. While these forms are vital to the cultural ecosystem, this program is specifically focused on supporting writers whose primary practice is writing about the arts, rather than creating art through literary forms.

About the National Center for the Preservation of Democracy

The Daniel K. Inouye National Center for the Preservation of Democracy (Democracy Center) at JANM, convenes and educates people of all ages about democracy to transform attitudes, celebrate culture, and promote civic engagement. The Democracy Center is a place for dialogue about race and social justice, where visitors can examine contemporary and historical frameworks, including the Asian American experience. 

2026 Focus: Visual Art

The focus of this year’s fellowship is visual art. In order to ensure full consideration of your application, please make sure your writing samples provide critical, analytical, or interpretive perspectives on visual art. Although visual art takes many forms and is experienced in many different contexts, for the purposes of this award, visual art is defined as a creation that is primarily visual in nature OR that is shown in a museum, gallery, or other space dedicated to visual art. 

For example:

• Reviews of performance, sound art, film, video or other time-based work in a museum or gallery setting will be considered, but a review of a performance, play, concert, or screening in a theater will not.
• Analytical writing about immersive or interactive art spaces and installations will be considered, but discussions of functional architecture and design will not, even if they appear in a museum or gallery setting.
• Criticism of visual art in public spaces (such as murals, sculptures, and monuments) or online (such as NFTs, memes, or websites) is eligible as long as the works discussed are primarily visual in nature.
• Critical views on the visual art market, its figures, or trends are acceptable, as long as they are directly related to the aesthetics, production, or reception of visual art.

Award

Irene Yamamoto Arts Writers Fellowships will be awarded to two (2) emerging writers of color, each of whom receive a $5,000 award to be spent over a six-month period.

The awards are unrestricted. Funds may be used for any purpose that helps the fellows advance their careers, including paying themselves to write.

In addition to the cash award, the fellows are given the opportunity to write a piece of criticism or review for the Democracy Center blog as well as the opportunity to deliver a talk at the Democracy Center at JANM on their work.

A brief, written report in the form of a letter accounting for the use of funds is required at the end of the fellowship period. No receipts or other documentation is required.
 

Review Process

All eligible applications for this competitive award will be reviewed by a panel of professional writers and editors who cover visual art and who will determine the final two recipients.

Application Requirements

Applicants are required to submit through our online CaFE portal. Applicants should be prepared to submit the following: 

• Name, contact information, website, pronouns, race/ethnicity
• Cover letter (Word or PDF)  introducing themselves, their work, why they are applying for the fellowship, and how they would spend the money (1000 words or less)
• Resume or CV (Word or PDF)
• Biography summarizing your background and writing interests (500 words or less)
• Writing samples (Word or PDF):
  • Applicants must submit published nonfiction arts writing samples that demonstrate critical engagement with the arts and are intended for a general readership. Samples should reflect the applicant’s voice as a critic, journalist, or cultural commentator.
  • Samples not meeting the above criteria, such as works of fiction, stage plays or screenplays, poetry, and other works of creative writing will not be considered and may disqualify an application. Works whose final, published form is an interview are also ineligible.
  • All samples must have been previously published, meaning that they were/are available to the public in a form such as a newspaper, magazine, zine, website, blog, newsletter, or public social media post.
  • Each sample should include information about where and when the piece was published.
  • Samples should be works whose final form is text; scripts or transcripts of podcasts, videos, or other spoken or performed works are not eligible.
  • Links to websites where the sample was published are not a substitute for the actual written sample.
  • You may upload between one (1) and three (3) writing samples. Altogether, writing samples should not exceed 3,000 words.
  • Samples should reflect an interest and investment in visual art.
    
     

Timeline:
 

February 6, 2026—Application Portal Opens

February 19, 2026—(1 p.m. PDT)—Virtual Information Session for potential applicants. Click Here to Register.

March 16, 2026—Application Portal Closes (11:59 p.m. PDT)

Week of June 15, 2026—Awardees Notified

Questions?

Please email democracycenter@janm.org with any questions you may have about submitting your application. 

Click Here to Register for the 

2026 Irene Yamamoto Arts Writers Fellowship Informational Session
 

Eligibility Criteria

Applicants must:

• Reside in or be a citizen of the US
• Be at least 18 years of age
• Identify as a member of a community with ancestry in one of the original peoples of Africa, Asia, the Americas, Oceania, or Pacific Islands
• Have less than two years of publication experience, which may include a blog or self-publishing
• Have demonstrated a commitment to writing about visual art

Applicants cannot be an immediate relative of a JANM or Democracy Center employee, or of a funder.  

Previous recipients of an Irene Yamamoto Arts Writers Fellowship are not eligible.