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. As it embarks on its second decade, the Museum asked how else we might draw strength from this gift. One answer was to begin the Institute residential fellowship program, which brings thought leaders and artists to Denver to engage with the Museum and its collections. The program started in 2024 and focuses on three pillars of study: art, education, and social enterprise. The Institute Residential Fellowship represents the Museum’s research arm, encouraging innovation that draws on Clyfford Still’s work and legacy in art, scholarship, and practice.
Applications for the 2027 Clyfford Still Museum Institute Residential Fellowship Program will be open from December 1, 2026–February 1, 2027. A committee will select four Fellows to engage with the Museum and its collections from July 1–31, 2027, in Denver, CO.
The Museum will host several info sessions for individuals interested in learning more about the Institute Fellowship. Registration for these info sessions will open soon.
- Virtual info session at 1 p.m. on December 15, 2026
- In-person info session at 4:30 p.m. on January 12, 2027
- Virtual info session at 10 a.m. on January 15, 2027
Areas of Focus
In 2027, the Museum will offer fellowships in the following categories:
Studio Art
The Fellow will pursue studio practice that would benefit from research on and engagement with the Clyfford Still Museum’s collection and/or archives.
Art History or Criticism
The Fellow will deeply study the Museum’s collections and archives in order to illuminate the historical and philosophical stakes of Still’s art and writings; to bring his work into vibrant conversation with the work of his peers as well as those of subsequent generations; and/or to 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 the Museum. Proposed projects would advance the development of new possibilities at the intersections of art museums, education, and early learning.
The Social Enterprise Fellowship is not accepting applications for the 2027 Fellowship year because the pillar lead is on leave.
Institute Goals
- Fellows: To provide an intellectual and creative sanctuary for exceptional thinkers who benefit from uninterrupted time, space, and access to our resources.
- Clyfford Still Museum: To ensure the Museum becomes a living, evolving space of inquiry and experimentation. Fellows constantly inject fresh perspectives into our curatorial thinking & Clyfford Still’s legacy, breathe life into our programming, help us identify new operational opportunities, and deepen the Museum’s impact on the communities we serve.
- Denver Community & Global Public: To bring world-class intellectual and artistic inquiry in direct conversation with our local community, ensuring that the discoveries made here extend beyond the Museum’s walls and contribute to a broader public good.
- Museums: To function as an active research and development lab for the cultural sector–generating insights in research, curricular development, evaluation, and sustainable economic practice that offer scalable models for museums worldwide seeking to strengthen their civic and educational value.
Past Institute Fellows
Since its inception in 2024, the Clyfford Still Museum has hosted Fellows from diverse fields through its annual Institute Residential Fellowship Program, engaging with the Museum and its collections. Learn more about the past Institute Fellows and their projects.
About The Institute at the Clyfford Still Museum
Institute Advisory Board
Art
- Harry Cooper, Bunny Mellon Curator of Modern Art, National Gallery of Art
- Bridget Cooks, Professor of African American Studies and Art History, UC Irvine
- Odili Odita, Artist and Professor of Painting at the Tyler School of Art and Art History, Temple University
Education
- Cristina Gillanders, Associate Professor of Early Childhood Education, School of Education and Human Development, University of Colorado, Denver
- Sharon Shaffer, Founding Director, Smithsonian Early Enrichment Center, Routledge series editor, Global Perspectives on Children in Museums
Enterprise
- Aaron Duke, Product Leader & Advisor
- Claude Grunitzky, CEO and Managing Partner, Equity Alliance
- Dan Wang, Lambert Family Professor of Social Enterprise and Sociology at Columbia Business School and Co-Director of the Tamer Institute for Social Enterprise and Climate Change
The Institute is generously supported by:
Susannah Drake & Monty Cleworth
Curt R. Freed, M.D.
Columbia Business School, Bernstein Center for Leadership and Ethics
