How often I found where I should be going only by setting out for somewhere else.
R. Buckminster Fuller
The Duke University Master of Fine Arts in Experimental and Documentary Arts program (MFA|EDA) and the Duke Center for Documentary Studies (CDS) are pleased to announce a Call for Submissions for the 2024 Cassilhaus Travel Fellowship, a funding opportunity for MFA|EDA graduates, generously provided by Cassilhaus.
Created in 2016 with the idea that travel can be transformative in the life of an emerging artist, Cassilhaus partnered with the MFA|EDA and CDS to offer MFA|EDA graduates the opportunity to apply for the Cassilhaus Travel Fellowship, a biennial $10,000 travel grant that supports artistic research and practice and offers a singular opportunity to broaden artistic and cultural experience beyond the traditional educational environment.
“Working so closely with the students in the Duke MFA|EDA program has been an exceptionally rich experience for us. We have each found that extended travel can become a clarifying and illuminating pivot point in the direction of one’s life. We hope that this travel fellowship can help an MFA graduate in their artistic explorations,” says Ellen Cassilly and Frank Konhaus of Cassilhaus, funder of the fellowship. MFA|EDA director Tom Rankin adds, “This support for travel for our MFA graduates provides the kind of transformative support so essential to the making of new work and the evolution of deep artistic vision. Our continued thanks go to Ellen and Frank for their nurturing support and abiding interest in the MFA|EDA.”
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HOW TO APPLY
Submissions for the 2025 Cassilhaus Travel Fellowship will be accepted until November 15, 2024. The recipient of the fellowship will be announced in December 2024.
Applicants are encouraged to propose ambitious projects that would otherwise be impossible for them to undertake financially. Solo travel/study is strongly encouraged but collaborations will also be considered. Proposed participation in an artist residency program, as a component of the journey, is encouraged but not required.
Applicants will be asked to provide the following: a portfolio of relevant photographs and/or video, a 1-page proposal, a 1-page budget, and a 1-page C.V. There is no application fee. Beginning October 2, applicants may upload materials and submit the application fee at SlideRoom. The online system provides step-by-step instructions on how to register and submit your materials. Note: Entries will only be accepted via SlideRoom.
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REQUIRED COMPONENTS
Portfolio (digital). Applicants may submit a combination of images and video, for a maximum of 15 uploaded files. Please label materials with captions, to include title, year, format. SlideRoomcan also accept links to YouTube/Vimeo. Include descriptive information for each image, including materials, dimensions, and duration (if sample).
1-page proposal (pdf). Please provide a brief description (500 words maximum) of your proposed project that includes destinations, anticipated interactions, and objectives. The proposal should include your thoughts on how the project would advance your artistic knowledge and practice, as well as your plans for study and documentation. Discuss your qualifications and/or personal interest in the proposed project.
1-page budget (pdf). Please include costs of travel, lodging, and materials in your budget. Awards may be used to support the recipient and proposed project only (collaborators/assistants may be included if integral to the project). Budgets should not exceed $10,000, unless additional funding has been secured from other sources. (Note: Fellowships used to pay travel expenses are considered taxable income under the laws of the United States. The $10,000 award will be reported on a 1099-Miscellaneous tax form; it is the winner’s responsibility to determine tax liability.)
1-page C.V. (pdf). If your proposal involves foreign travel, please include in your bio or C.V. the places and dates you have traveled in the past five years. If the proposal is a collaboration, please include a bio or C.V. for each participant.
No application fee via SlideRoom, when submitting all of the above.
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ELIGIBILITY
The 2025 Cassilhaus Travel Fellowship is open to Duke University MFA|EDA alumni graduating in 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024. (Rolling eligibility: earlier cohorts were eligible for previous Cassilhaus Travel Fellowships.)
Single artists as well as collaborative teams are eligible.
MFA|EDA alumni employed by Duke University are not eligible.
The recipient of the fellowship will make a presentation of the produced work in the spring of 2026 at Duke University.
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SELECTION AND NOTIFICATION
The submissions for the 2025 Cassilhaus Travel Fellowship will be reviewed by a jury.
Submitters will receive notifications in December 2024.
The financial award will be provided in January 2025.
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HELPFUL LINKS
SlideRoom Application Portal
https://www.transartists.org/en
Duke Mfaeda