SOZO Fellowship is a six-month coaching program run by SOZO, an international contemporary arts agency and incubator working out of Oakland, New York and Los Angeles. It helps mid-career independent artists run their creative practice as a sustainable business.
Sessions run entirely on Zoom, so fellows take part from wherever they live. The curriculum follows SOZO’s own framework, Artists and Producers as Entrepreneurs and Changemakers (APEC), and is co-facilitated by specialists from the wellness, finance and startup sectors.
The 2026 cohort ran from June to December 2026. The call opens once a year, and the program is limited to artists who are based in the United States and authorized to be paid for work there.
Benefits & funding
- US$1,500 honorarium for full participation and completion; prorated for missed sessions with prior approval.
- Six months of group coaching: up to two required Zoom sessions per month, about four hours in total.
- Roughly two hours of individual learning per month, plus one-to-one personalized sessions.
- Asynchronous online materials and recordings of the live sessions.
- APEC curriculum covering vision and artist identity, sustainability and wellbeing, entrepreneurial strategies, fundraising, community support, and a closing pitch to a panel of arts professionals.
- A small peer cohort; program partners include the Mellon Foundation and the Center for Cultural Innovation.
Eligibility
- US-based independent artists creating original work.
- US citizens, green card holders, and holders of a work visa that allows SOZO to pay them and issue a 1099 form.
- Mid-career, defined as at least 10 years of professional, paid work in the business of arts.
- Primary income must come from the arts and culture sector; artists whose main income is full-time teaching tied to their own artistic practice are eligible.
- Preference for contemporary, multidisciplinary performing arts, new media and technology; applications from strictly visual artists are not accepted.
- Able to commit focused, consistent time across the six months.
- Two artists who work as a creative partnership may apply jointly; they count as one fellow and share one honorarium.
- No age, gender or degree requirement is stated.
Can you apply?
Here's who can apply
Decoded from the official rules. A free account checks them against your passport, degree and age in seconds.
Residence required
USA
Experience required
≥ 10 yrs
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Application process
- 1Read the eligibility guidelines, the FAQ and the past fellow profiles on the SOZO fellowship page.
- 2Wait for the annual open call; the 2026 window closed on 12 April 2026 and late submissions are not considered.
- 3Submit the application form during the open window, at sozofellowship.com or on the SOZO fellowship page.
- 4Name two references who can speak to the applicant’s work or to its impact in the world at large; they need not be artistic collaborators.
- 5SOZO first checks each application for completeness and eligibility.
- 6A panel of coaches, advisors and creative producers scores the eligible applications and selects the cohort, which then runs from June to December.
Program timeline
Application deadline for the 2026 cohort
Apr 12, 2026
Fellowship begins, on Zoom
June 2026
Fellowship ends
December 2026
Open call and deadline not yet published
2027 cycle