Institute

Applications are open for the 2025 Institute Residential Fellowship Program

The Institute unlocks the potential of Still’s extraordinary gift, enabling artists and thought leaders the freedom to innovate and transform our present and future.

Clyfford Still forged a path that was radically different from his peers. At the height of his success, he elected to represent his own interests instead of relying upon the art market. He held on to over 93% of everything he made and entrusted this corpus to an unnamed American city. The Clyfford Still Museum opened its doors in 2011 after his widow, Patricia Still, selected the City and County of Denver to be the home for the estate. Over the course of the first decade, the Museum offered the public a glimpse at Still’s artistic achievement, housed in an architectural marvel. As it embarks on its second decade, the Clyfford Still Museum asks how else we might draw strength from this gift.

So far, one answer is to begin a new Institute residential fellowship program, which will bring thought leaders and artists to Denver to engage with the Museum and its collections. The program is built on three pillars of study: art; education; and social enterprise.

About The Institute at the Clyfford Still Museum

2025 Institute Residential Fellowship Program

Applications for the 2025 Institute Residential Fellowship Program are now open.

Learn More and Apply

Learn More about the 2025 Institute

Institute Information Sessions

Do you have questions about the 2025 Institute Residential Fellowship? Please attend one of our upcoming information sessions to learn more. We will host two virtual information sessions and one in-person session at the Museum. Please sign up to attend one of the Zoom sessions or use the form below to sign up for the in-person session:

• Virtual Information Session 1: 5 p.m. MST on Tuesday, January 7
• Virtual Information Session 2: 10 a.m. MST on Wednesday, January 8
• In-person Information Session: 4 p.m. on Friday, January 10 at the Clyfford Still Museum (enter your information below and sign up to attend this session)

2024 Institute Residential Fellowship Program

A committee chose five fellows—each representing a different area of study—to participate in the 2024 Institute Residential Fellowship Program from July 21 to August 11, 2024 in Denver. The first fellows selected to participate included Sarah Faux and Kevin Appel in studio art, Dr. Michael A. Barla and Dr. Heather Kaplan in early childhood education, and Emily Grace King in social enterprise.

Learn More about the 2024 Institute

Areas of Focus

Studio Art
The Fellow will pursue studio practice that would benefit from research on and engagement with CSM’s collection and/or archives.

Art History or Criticism
The Fellow will deeply study CSM’s collections and archives to illuminate the historical and philosophical stakes of Still’s art and writings, to bring his work in vibrant conversation with the work of his peers as well as those of subsequent generations, and/or find critical resonance between his work and that of contemporary artists.

Early Childhood Education
The Fellow will develop projects that would benefit from and contribute to the practices in early childhood education pursued by the Learning and Engagement team at CSM. Proposed projects would advance the development of new possibilities at the intersections of art museums, education, and early learning.

Social Enterprise
The Fellow will thoroughly investigate financial frameworks suitable for nonprofits and social enterprises, such as our own, that support the freedom of innovation.

Institute Advisory Board

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