This post is to pay it forward! I’m so grateful for the help that I’ve received from others. A few years ago, I didn’t even know artists could apply for a Fulbright Scholar fellowship, and now I have been awarded one to conduct research and create new work in India. I was emboldened to consider it thanks to a fellow artist who told me about her own Fulbright to India. I always thought it was for professors, students, and others associated with academia. NOT SO. Professionals “at-large,” that is, not associated with a college or university, may apply if they are of “recognized professional standing and have substantial professional accomplishments in their field.”

If you are an artist and interested in applying for the U.S. Core Fulbright Scholar program, now is the time to do so for 2014-2015. While the deadline is August 1st, 2013, I would advise you begin right away. It took about five months for me from beginning to end–from thoroughly reading the Fulbright website, understanding their mission, to researching at the library, drafting, writing, revising, revising, revising a good project statement. Your proposal should have quotes, footnotes, and bibliography, like a short research paper. It should be clear and concise. Be sure not to go over the number of pages allowed. Be sure your project is feasible and can be accomplished within the amount of time proposed.

These tips are intended to supplement Fulbright’s project statement guidelines. Please read and follow what’s on their website carefully. Here was my outline, using these subtitles:

• Title and Intro – My first paragraph immediately said what my objective was and addressed these two key aspects:  Why I needed to conduct research in India that could not be done anywhere else, and how it is related to my work. Don’t make reviewers, who are reading hundreds of proposals, look around for what you propose to do! Say it right away.
• Methodology – i.e., research and documentation, creative work and application
• Academic and Professional Context – why I was interested in doing this, how my work is related to the research, fellow artists whose work have influenced mine, etc. Say why there is a worthy professional art context for your proposal.
• Dissemination – My understanding was that some reviewers may not be familiar with how artists disseminate their research, so I was careful to be specific about how artists share ideas and their work through exhibitions, artist talks, lectures, workshops, etc. Do your homework and identify places abroad and in the U.S. where you could or would in fact be showing artwork, be on panel discussion, and so forth.
• Significance of Research to My Discipline, My Development, and Host Country – I described how my research would contribute to contemporary art, what I envisioned my new creative work would be as a result of the fellowship experience, and how it would foster cross-cultural understanding.

Be sure to have helpful readers give you feedback as you work on your drafts.

I would recommend you have your project statement written two months in advance of the deadline so you can send it along to your referees for them to review and have time to write you letters of recommendations. You will also need to find an affiliation in your host country. Even though it is not required in India, it was highly recommended to me by other Fulbrighters. It took me 4-6 weeks to identify an Indian university faculty member with related interests, and secure his letter of invitation. I sent numerous emails, with my proposal attached, to different faculty I identified online. I also reached out to Indian and American friends with any connections or leads. Really appreciated their aid!

For the three letters of recommendation, I followed an artist Fulbright fellow’s advice. I asked the dean of my alma mater who was familiar with my work over the years since I graduated; a curator; and a Fulbright fellow. Even though I was applying as an at-large artist, Fulbright is still a scholarly program and having at least one academic referral strengthens one’s application.

For supplemental materials, which would be examples of your artwork, I recommend you include a list of works submitted, providing all the usual information (title, medium, dimensions, date) with short descriptions if necessary. Again, not all reviewers will be from your art discipline, so write for fellow professionals as well as layperson.

Fulbright also conducts webinars to provide further information and demystify the grant application process. I highly recommend these. There is a question-and-answer period at the end of the presentation. Webinar schedule for 2014-2015 application period can be found here.

I hope these are helpful tips. Good luck on your application!

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The Fulbright Program is the flagship international educational exchange program sponsored by the U.S. government and is designed to “increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries.” With this goal as a starting point, the Fulbright Program has provided almost 310,000 participants—chosen for their academic merit and leadership potential — with the opportunity to study, teach and conduct research, exchange ideas and contribute to finding solutions to shared international concerns. —from Fulbright website