Emerging Curators Fellowship

Fellowship at the Office of Arts & Culture (OAC), City of Sacramento – located at 915 I Street, Sacramento, CA 95814.

About the role

The Emerging Curators Fellowship is a year-long, funded opportunity for one fellow (or curatorial team) to develop and present two exhibitions at the Robert T. Matsui Gallery inside Sacramento City Hall. Each exhibition will be on view for four months. The fellow will receive a stipend, exhibition funding, and regular mentorship from an OAC-appointed local curator.

Responsibilities

• Develop and mount two consecutive exhibitions (May–August 2027 and September–December 2027).
• Manage a total exhibition budget of $6,000, covering production, shipping, artist fees, contractors, and marketing materials.
• Collaborate with a curatorial mentor who will provide a minimum of 30 hours of guidance and feedback.
• Work with OAC staff to coordinate exhibition-related marketing and logistics.

Requirements

• Must be 18 years or older at the time of application.
• Must live and work within a 50-mile radius of the City of Sacramento.
• Cannot have curated or co-curated more than six exhibitions.
• Cannot be enrolled in a full-time degree program.
• Cannot be working full-time in a curatorial capacity at an arts, cultural, or nonprofit organization, museum, or gallery.
• Cannot be currently employed by the City of Sacramento or have been contracted for administrative services by OAC within the past 12 months (including commission or board members).
• Curatorial teams/collectives may apply, but all members must collaborate on both exhibitions and be credited as a single unit.

Eligibility

The fellowship is open to emerging curators in the Sacramento region with limited experience but strong interest in curatorial practice. This includes artists, art historians, arts organizers or administrators, community organizers, and self-taught practitioners.

Pay

• $6,000 stipend for individual applicants.
• $8,000 stipend for a team/collective.

Timeline

• August 2026: Fellowship application opens.
• September 9, 2026: Application deadline.
• December 2026: Selected fellow notified.
• May–August 2027: First exhibition on view.
• September–December 2027: Second exhibition on view.