A Japanese American elder holds up his cellphone in the foreground to take a photo of the diverse group of people dancing in a circle. He wears a white shirt and black baseball cap. African drum musicians and their drums fill the middle of the frame.

Fellowship

A Blade of Grass In Fellowship gathers a working group of artists, practitioners, and cultural organizers to explore key facets and processes of socially engaged art.

In Fellowship

In its pilot year, In Fellowship brings together three artist collectives, organizations, and networks to explore the possibilities and challenges of collective work within the context of interconnectedness and shared power. Selected collaboratives are invited into facilitated connection with one another, offered a budget to seek professional services or pursue other expertise, and receive an honorarium of $25,000. Learnings, reflections, and other contributions from the process and participants will be shared in a future issue of ABoG’s editorial platform Landscapes.
A Blade of Grass has been exploring forms of collaboration and shared power between our small staff and artist board. As we experiment with our shape, our team has been in conversation with artists, organizers, and peer initiatives to investigate models for collective work and support for collaboratives.
The 2025 cohort was selected by invitation and is made up of groups we met through this research. These projects were assembled to create fruitful exchange amongst groups at critical junctures in their development. This pilot program will inform an open call for practitioners to apply to participate in the next fellowship cycle.
Farm landscape showing a red barn at the far edge of a lake surrounded by tall grass, below a gray sky with rain clouds.

Meet the 2025 Cohort

A Blade of Grass is honored to be In Fellowship with artist groups Great Leap (Los Angeles, CA), Wild Path Collective (Twin Cities, MN, and Osceola, WI), and What Would an HIV Doula Do? (USA, Mexico, and Canada).

Great Leap's Artistic Team: Dan Kwong, Associate Artistic Director; Nobuko Miyamoto Founder & Legacy Artist in Residence; and Alison De La Cruz, Executive & Artistic Director

Great Leap

A group gathers around a firepit in the woods near a body of water during the day.

Wild Path Collective

A screenshot from zoom showing a gallery of eleven people’s screens. Each holds up a hand-drawn paper spelling out “¿WWHIVDD?” A final screen shows a yellow page with “WWHIVDD? ¿QHUDDVIH?” written in dark marker.

What Would an HIV Doula Do?

Fellowship for Socially Engaged Art

The A Blade of Grass Fellowship for Socially Engaged Art was established in 2014 and concluded with its final cohort in 2020. The program supported eight artists annually with project grants of $20,000. Over seven years, A Blade of Grass partnered with 57 artists and collectives working all over the world, and amassed a library of research, films, and other resources that exemplify the important role artists can play in civic life and as catalysts for social change.

A Burning Church Project

Adaku Utah

Alfredo Salazar-Caro

Aviva Rahmani

Black Quantum Futurism

Brett Cook

Brian Harnetty

Cannupa Hanska Luger

Chinatown Art Brigade

Courtney Bowles & Mark Strandquist

Daresha Kyi

Dread Scott