Ox-Bow Summer Fellowship

12 weeks. A private studio. A community that changes everything.

For more than three decades, Ox-Bow’s Summer Fellowship has given artists time, space, and the opportunity to develop their practices within an artist-built environment.

For 12 weeks, you’ll live and work at Ox-Bow alongside artists, faculty, visiting artists, and staff. You’ll have a private studio, room and board, regular studio visits and critiques, and opportunities to exhibit your work. You’ll also become part of the daily life of the school, contributing your time and skills across campus while learning from the artists and people around you.

Founded by artists in 1910, Ox-Bow has always been shaped by the people who make, teach, study, and work here. The Fellowship carries that tradition forward, bringing together artists from different disciplines, backgrounds, locations, and stages of their practice to share time, knowledge, work, and life together.

2027 Program Dates: June 3 - August 28, 2027
Applications Due:
January 3, 2027

 

Beginning in 2027, the Fellowship is expanding to welcome more artists and more pathways into the Ox-Bow experience. The program will grow to 18 fellows and open eligibility beyond traditional academic enrollment to include artists with equivalent professional experience. New opportunities for peer mentorship, professional practice, exhibition, and campus stewardship will deepen an experience rooted in what Ox-Bow has always offered: time and space for artists to make, learn, experiment, and grow alongside one another.

Who Should Apply: The fellowship is open to senior BFA students, MFA students, postgraduates, and artists with equivalent professional experience. Applications are evaluated on the strength of your practice and your readiness for an intensive studio environment. The fellowship is highly competitive and actively encourages applications from artists at all stages and from all backgrounds.

“There are 50 to 100 artists at any given time, and you have a chance to sit and have a meal with them day after day. You get to meet so many people and have the most interesting conversations. Talking about art and seeing how different artists think [is a] beautiful thing outside of the classroom that you could really only experience in an immersive setting like this.”
— Emily Hawkins, 2025 Fellow

WHAT YOU RECEIVE

  • Private studio and room on campus

  • All meals prepared by Ox-Bow's culinary team

  • A stipend

  • 24-hour studio access

  • Regular studio visits and critiques with visiting artists

  • Teaching assistant opportunities

  • Exhibition opportunities — on-campus at the Betsy Gallery, off-campus at Ox-Bow House 

  • Opportunities to create on-campus programs and engage with art collectors, patrons, and the broader Saugatuck/Douglas community during public events on campus

  • Mentorship pairing with another fellow (new 2027)

  • Week-long professional practices intensive (new 2027)

  • Group exhibition at a partner gallery in Chicago or Detroit the following year (through September through May) (new 2027)

 
“It was my first time ever actually being exposed to craft and I just kind of stumbled into the glass studio, and now three years later, glass is like a central part of my practice. … Being here is where [it] all started - being inspired and challenged by the environment, it just shaped my practice as a whole.”
— Ian Solomon, 2023 Fellow, Crafting the Future Outdoor Lead
 

WHAT YOU CONTRIBUTE, Fellowship Work Study

The work fellows do on campus is part of Ox-Bow's live-work model and part of what makes the community function. Working in the kitchen, the studios, the grounds, the archive, or across communications and events is how fellows become embedded in the daily life of a historic artist-run organization, gaining firsthand experience in the labor that keeps it thriving. All fellows contribute 20 hours per week alongside Ox-Bow staff, and receive a $300 weekly stipend. Fellows may indicate their area of interest on their application, and assignments are made before arrival.

Fields of Study Descriptions

 
 
When I came here as a fellow, it was one of the first times I felt like I was really working in a community to care for this place and for each other. That was so inspiring, and I think set the groundwork for the shape of my life.”
— Virginia Torrence, 2012 Fellow, Faculty

Fellowship Cohorts from 2023-2026. Each photo was taking by a Photo & Communications Fellow, Ian Solomon (2023), Dominique Muñoz (2024), Nolan Zunk (2025), and Mak Smith (2026).

“Ox-Bow feels more real than reality, and that’s why it’s magical. My life in Chicago is fast-paced and I feel detached from my mode of living. Ox-Bow has always felt more grounded.
— Winnie Szu, 2026 Fellow 

For questions or more information about the Fellowship program, please reach out to our Programming Team at oxbow@ox-bow.org