The Socrates Annual Fellowship

2026 ARTIST FELLOWS | 2025 ARTIST FELLOWS  |  EXHIBITION HISTORY

For three decades, the Socrates Annual Fellowship has embodied the Park’s founding commitment to artistic experimentation, excellence, and care. The Fellowship remains one of New York City’s most vital platforms for early career artists to create ambitious public works and develop their practices in dialogue with community, environment, and place.

Each year, artists have been selected through an open call to receive financial support, access to Socrates’ outdoor studio facilities, technical guidance, and inclusion in a Park-wide exhibition. Since 2001, 284 artists have participated in the Fellowship—many going on to receive significant public commissions and recognition for their work.

A NEW CHAPTER

In honor of the 30th anniversary of the program and the Park’s 40th anniversary in 2026, Socrates turned to its esteemed alumni network to help guide the next chapter through the Park’s first ever nomination-based process. Initiated in August, Socrates invited over 100 artist alumni to nominate up to two artists each. The Park, ultimately, identified ten artists to join the program over the 2026–2028 cycles.

Selected Fellows will engage deeply with the Park through individualized timelines, choosing their own seasons for research, fabrication, installation, and exhibition between Spring 2026 and Fall 2028. With increased financial resources and individualized support, this expanded model ensures that Fellows can pursue their boldest ideas and engage with the Park in new and meaningful ways, while allowing us to better understand and meet artists’ needs today.

The Fellowship Open Call will resume in the Fall of 2027.

INVESTING IN ARTISTS

Starting in 2026, each Fellow will receive increased financial and institutional support including:

• A $10,000 production grant
• A $4,000 artist honorarium
• Access to technical services, materials, and production support valued between $8,000–$10,000
• An additional fund reserved for individualized support based on each artist’s needs

This comprehensive investment allows Fellows to focus fully on their creative process, experiment boldly, and bring visionary new works to life—continuing Socrates’ legacy as a site for artistic innovation and public engagement.

The Fellowship was formalized in 2000 and has included artists such as  Leilah Babirye (2018), Sable Elyse Smith (2016), Torkwase Dyson (2015), Heidi Lau (2014), David Brooks (2009), Hank Willis Thomas (2006), Orly Genger (2004), and Sanford Biggers (2001).

2026 Artist Fellows

Mrinalini Aggarwal, Cynthia Alberto, Francheska Alcántara, Josué Guarionex, Xayvier Haughton, Vaishnavi Ilankamban, Manami Ishimura, Jeremy John Kaplan, Nicole Mouriño and Andrew Robinson

Learn more HERE>>>

Since its inception, the Fellowship program has supported early career artists who receive financial and onsite fabrication support to realize ambitious public artworks. The program champions artists with a multi-disciplinary approach to public art, including outdoor sculpture, ecological “living” installations, performance, and community-engaged practice.

In honor of the 30th anniversary of the program and the Park’s 40th anniversary in 2026, Socrates turned to its esteemed alumni network to help guide the Fellowship’s next chapter through the Park’s first nomination-based process. Harkening back to Artists Choose Artists, Socrates’ third ever exhibition in 1987, artists who previously exhibited at Socrates nominated other artists for whom they believed the Fellowship would be a momentous opportunity at this stage of their artistic growth.

The 2026-2028 Artist Fellows Mrinalini Aggarwal, Cynthia Alberto, Francheska Alcántara, Josué Guarionex, Xayvier Haughton, Vaishnavi Ilankamban, Manami Ishimura, Jeremy John Kaplan, Nicole Mouriño and Andrew Robinson were selected for the artistic merit of their work and their projects’ potential to respond to the social, ecological, and historical dimensions of the Park.

The Socrates Annual projects will accumulate in the Park over the two year Fellowship cycle. This expanded timeline offers a unique opportunity for sustained artistic development, mentorship, and site-specific activation across the Park as we celebrate our 40th anniversary.  Please check back for exhibition opening dates and details regarding artists activations.

2025 Artist Fellows 

Natalia Nakazawa, Pioneers Go East Collective, Rowan Renee, Catherine Telford-Keogh, Zipporah Camille Thompson

Learn more HERE>>>

The Socrates Annual 2025 is the culmination of Socrates Sculpture Park’s fellowship program, awarded to artists selected through an Open Call. Since 2001, the fellowship program has supported early career artists who receive financial and technical support to realize ambitious public artworks to be included in a park-wide exhibition.

The 2025 Artist Fellows Natalia Nakazawa, Pioneers Go East Collective, Rowan Renee, Catherine Telford-Keogh, and Zipporah Camille Thompson responded to the theme “Up/rooted,” which explores the complexities of uprooting species for long-term sustainability and resilience. The term “uprooted” evokes the tension between dislocation and resilience. “Up” signifies the act of lifting away, while “root” refers to the hidden systems below the ground—anchoring life and absorbing essential nutrients. This duality invites us to reflect on the implications of relocation and adaptation, exploring how when done thoughtfully it can foster new growth and understanding. In what ways can we foster regeneration while acknowledging and mitigating the losses within our ecological and social landscapes? How might we navigate the delicate balance between ecological preservation and community needs to create a more resilient future?

In addition to sculpture and installation, the Socrates Annual Fellowship presents performance and community-driven programming. These multi-disciplinary approaches to the theme creatively engage overlooked areas of the Park, inviting an upward gaze—into the trees, and overhead. How might lifting your eyes to the canopy and sky reveal connections between the unseen, nourishing systems underground and the expansive possibilities above? “As above, so below…”

Fellowship Exhibition History

The Socrates Annual 2024 | The Socrates Annual 2023 |  The Socrates Annual 2022- Sink or Swim: Climate Futures  |  The Socrates Annual 2021: Sanctuary  |  MONUMENTS NOW – Part II, Call and Response: 2020  |  The Socrates Annual 2019  |  The Socrates Annual 2018  |  The Socrates Annual 2017  |  EAF 16, 2016 | EAF 15, 2015  | EAF 14, 2014  | EAF 13, 2013 | EAF 12, 2012  | EAF 11, 2011  | EAF 10, 2010  | EAF 09, 2009  | EAF 09, 2008  | EAF 07, 2007  | EAF 06, 2006  | EAF 05, 2005 | EAF 04, 2004  | EAF 03, 2003  | EAF 02, 2002  |  EAF 01, 2001

Support

Major support for The Socrates Annual Fellowship is provided by the A G Foundation, Charina Foundation, Devra Freelander Artist Fund, Lambent Foundation, Milton and Sally Avery Foundation, and Sidney E. Frank Foundation, with in-kind support provided by Spacetime C.C.

Additional funding is provided in part, by public funds from the NYC Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the New York City Council.

Image credit: Argenis Apolinario