Asian Cultural Council Individual Fellowship program 2025 (Up to $35,000 USD)

The Individual Fellowship program provides support to artists and arts and culture professionals working in ACC’s eligible disciplines, empowering them to take risks, develop their artistic practices through research projects, and take time to immerse themselves in a different culture.

ACC emphasizes that an Individual Fellowship is not a residency, a fund to attend a singular conference, travel grant, or an individual’s personal public relations tour. Rather, ACC expects Individual Fellows to be self-directed and have focused research questions and/or activities that that enable and promote cultural immersion, dialogue, relationship-building, collaboration, and/or exchange of knowledge among peers.

Compared to the New York Fellowship, the Individual Fellowship has more flexibility and freedom regarding location and timing of travel, travel length, and budget.


 

• Table of Content
• About Asian Cultural Council
• Asian Cultural Council Individual Fellowship program
• Aim and Benefits of Asian Cultural Council Individual Fellowship program
• Asian Cultural Council Individual Fellowship program Courses
• Requirements for Asian Cultural Council Individual Fellowship program Qualification
• Application Deadline
• How to Apply

About Asian Cultural Council

The Asian Cultural Council is a nonprofit organization that provides opportunities for international cultural exchange to artists, scholars, and arts professionals between Asia and the United States. ACC advances international dialogue, understanding, and mutual respect to create a more harmonious and peaceful world.

Asian Cultural Council Individual Fellowship program

Aim and Benefits of Asian Cultural Council Individual Fellowship program

ACC may award Individual Fellowship grants up to $35,000 USD. When creating a budget, please include the following information:

• Travel costs, including airfare (economy class only)
• Accommodation
• Daily expenses, including food and local transportation
• Costs and fees relevant to the research project
• Interpretation services, if necessary

Strong applications will provide reference points for budget categories (i.e. quotes or links for intended air travel, interpretation rates estimated by local contacts, etc.) and justification for any relatively significant expenses proposed, as needed (i.e. why X amount for item Y?).

Grant amounts awarded for an Individual Fellowship are subject to adjustments based on ACC’s review of the budget.  Please also note that grant amounts may be adjusted if there are changes to the proposed fellowship.


Support for Individual Fellows
ACC support services are intended to enhance a proposed plan of activity, give increased access to artistic communities and cultural resources in the chosen destination(s), and deepen one’s cultural exchange experience.

Please note that ACC does not have offices and staff throughout Asia; therefore, support such as making specific connections may be limited. Please keep this possibly limited programmatic and logistical support in mind while developing your proposal. Proposals should be feasible, with or without additional guidance from ACC.

Support that Individual Fellows may receive includes:

• Recommending sites to visit or activities in which to participate, especially in Hong Kong SAR, Japan, the Philippines, Taiwan ROC, and the United States.
• Connecting Individual Fellows to ACC’s broader community of current fellows and alumni.
• Administering the J-1 visa sponsorship and health insurance necessary for Individual Fellows who travel to the U.S.

Asian Cultural Council Individual Fellowship program Courses

• Research

Requirements for Asian Cultural Council Individual Fellowship program Qualification

Specific Eligibility
Please note that in the case of a joint application for an Individual Fellowship, all co-applicants must meet the general and Individual Fellowship-specific eligibility requirements.

• Must be over the age of 21 at the start date of an Individual Fellowship.
• Must be able to demonstrate at least five (5) years of experience in one of ACC’s eligible fields (see under General Eligibility).
• Applicants cannot be enrolled in university studies during the time of the fellowship.
• Joint applications that do not provide the required information for all co-applicants will not be considered.
   

Eligible Travel Directions
The Individual Fellowship program supports travel from:

• Asia-to-U.S.
• Intra-Asia
• U.S.-to-Asia (not available in this application cycle)

Individual Fellows have the flexibility to conduct fellowship activities in multiple countries, territories, or regions; however, it is important to consider logistical challenges and/or restrictions related to traveling to multiple destinations.

Grantees are responsible for securing visas, as needed, to travel to countries, territories, and regions within Asia. This includes collecting and submitting the necessary application materials, scheduling visa appointments, and paying for necessary fees, which may be paid with ACC grant funds if included in the budget.

Travel to the U.S. cannot occur prior to September 1, 2025, due to the time needed to administer J-1 visas.

Application Deadline

How to Apply

Single and Joint Applicants
ACC will consider applications submitted by and designed to support one individual (a “single applicant”) as well as applications designed to support up to three (3) individuals (a “Primary Applicant” who submits the application on behalf of the group and two (2) “Co-Applicants”).  

In either the single or joint application, all eligibility criteria and fellowship requirements apply to all applicants (including co-applicants). In addition to meeting the same eligibility criteria (see below), co-applicants must commit to traveling during the full duration of the proposed fellowship activities (separate trips are not permitted) and must have equal levels of participation (no assistant or secondary roles). Further, ACC will not grant more than $35,000 USD for an Individual Fellowship, regardless of the number of individuals participating in the fellowship activities.

If you are applying alone, please select “Single Applicant” at the application selection screen. If you are applying with co-applicants, please select “Joint Applicants” at the application selection screen. Joint applicants should submit only one shared application.

Strong applications will include:

• A detailed overview of your fellowship activities. ACC does not expect a day-to-day schedule, but we are interested in how you intend to spend your time during an Individual Fellowship, what you hope to gain from this experience, and the impact that you hope these activities will have on you and on others.
• An explanation of the applicant’s interest in ACC's mission and how spending time abroad and exposure to new cultures will enable them to contribute to this mission.
• A clear explanation of the feasibility of your proposal, including the consideration of the accessibility of communities or cultural resources of interest, the logistics of transportation (especially to remote areas), accommodations, and language barriers.
• A reasonable budget that is realistic (based on typical and expected pricing) with regard to the plan of activities, travel costs, interpretation services (if necessary), and the cost of living in the country, territory, or region where the applicant is traveling to. Strong applications will justify expenses with explanations and/or links to cost estimates.
• Possible contacts and connections that will help you with your research and cultural immersion.

To apply for the Individual Fellowship (single applicant), click the link below to register and/or log in to the GoApply application portal. For instructions on how to register in the GoApply portal, click HERE.

APPLY HERE

To apply for the Individual Fellowship (joint applicant), click the link below to register and/or log in to the GoApply application portal. For instructions on how to register in the GoApply portal, click HERE.

APPLY HERE

For more details visit: ACC website.