About the Alma Thomas Fellowship

Described as a force in the Washington Color School by the Washington Post, Alma Thomas  was a celebrated abstract expressionist painter and art educator. A Fine Arts graduate of Howard University, Ms. Thomas was the first African American woman to have a solo exhibition at the Whitney Museum of American art. In keeping with the inspiration of Ms. Thomas, Studio Gallery will be offering a two-year Alma Thomas fellowship in honor of her significant artistic contributions, accomplishments, influences and teachings. 

The Studio Gallery is the longest running artist-owned gallery in Washington, DC. It features contemporary art in a wide variety of media by emerging and established artists. The gallery was founded in 1956 by artist Jennie Lea Knight, whose work is in the National Gallery of Art, the Corcoran Gallery of Art, the National Museum of Women and the Arts, the Phillips Collection and the Smithsonian Museum of American Art. Studio Gallery is a 501’C’3 non-profit organization that conducts community outreach programs and other charitable activities open to the public, free of charge.

The goal of the Alma Thomas Fellowship is to welcome aspiring artists to a cooperative gallery of professional artists in the greater Washington, DC region. Local emerging artists have the opportunity to: create a cohesive body of work, refine it with a curator, optimize its exhibition design and lighting selections, and maximize its potential for purchase through marketing, promotion, and sales techniques. In addition, by joining an artist-run gallery, they meet and interact with a cross-section of working Washington artists for informal networking and mentoring.

Eligibility and Restrictions

Studio Gallery welcomes applications from promising artists who attended accredited art schools or college art programs who are between the ages of 21-30; live within the Washington, D.C. area; work in two or three dimensions (example: painters, photographers, sculptors, and book makers); maintain a web site; demonstrate an understanding of the aesthetic standards and goals of Studio Gallery; and show that they have the potential to benefit as artists from the fellowship. Work from filmmakers or performance artists cannot properly be displayed at Studio Gallery and cannot, therefore, be accepted.

Award

The Alma Thomas Fellowship Committee determines who is selected for the two-year program. The committee will review applications plus digital images of five to seven artworks; finalists may be asked to bring the originals of five submitted digital images to Studio Gallery for final selection of the Alma Thomas Fellow.

Selection and Application Process

To be considered for a fellowship, send the following items to: director@studiogallerydc.com by July 10, 2023. Please write on the subject line: Alma Thomas Fellowship Application.

Include:

1.     A cover letter describing your interests and plans if selected as a fellow
2.    A resume including education and work experience
3.    A brief artistic biography (maximum of 500 words)
4.    An artist's statement (maximum of 500 words)
5.   Images of your artworks (5-7 images in JPG or PDF format. Include title, media, dimensions and year)

Following submission of a complete application, you will be notified if you are included in the final round by July 15, 2023. 

Finalists will be contacted for interviews to be conducted in late July or early August. Finalists may also be asked to submit their original artwork for review in person by the committee. All information given by applicants is subject to verification by the interviewers. 

Selected applicants will begin their fellowship terms on August 30, 2023.

Benefits

• Within a year, the Alma Thomas Fellow will have a group exhibit with the other chosen Studio Gallery Fellows.

• All-Member Group Exhibitions—Fellow Members may participate in all-member shows. 

• Garden Gallery Exhibitions—Fellow Members will have the opportunity to show, in turn with all other Members, within the Garden Gallery.

• Artwork within the Gallery—Fellow Members may have two 2-dimensional works in the Gallery storeroom for showing to patrons. Fellows may have up to four unframed works protected by clear plastic sleeves in the display bins, and a flat portfolio containing unframed works on paper.

• Gallery Website—Fellow Members are entitled and encouraged to display materials on the Gallery website and to link to their individual website.

• Exhibition Promotion—The Gallery maintains an active email list of patrons, other interested persons and media contacts, and promotes each show utilizing these lists. The Gallery is also active in using social media, maintains a Featured Artist Blog and Online Store, and sends targeted announcements to local media.

Responsibilities

• Spend time at the Gallery learning about and assisting with Gallery operations.

• Gallery sit twice per quarter.

• Attend monthly membership meetings and to join at least one management committee.

• Support fellow Studio Gallery Members by attending shows and events.