Currently 3 active fellowships open to applicants in Asia, across AI, arts, film, journalism, research, tech and cross-disciplinary practice. Hand-curated and updated weekly. Almost every entry is funded; a few notable unpaid open calls and festival submissions are included as clearly flagged exceptions. Browse the list below, or use the interactive desk for filtering and shortlisting.
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The Asian Cultural Council's New York Fellowship puts a cross-disciplinary cohort of artists, scholars and arts professionals from Asia in the United States for six months to live with a new cultural landscape: attending performances, exhibitions, workshops and discussions, and building relationships with peers and with ACC's alumni network. It is deliberately an extended pause from daily work with NO obligation to produce or present anything. Applicants must be citizens or legal permanent residents of an ACC-eligible country, territory or region: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brunei, Cambodia, China (Mainland), East Timor, Hong Kong SAR, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Laos, Macau SAR, Malaysia, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, the U.S. and Vietnam. ELIGIBLE DISCIPLINES (16): architecture (design, history and theory), archaeology, art history, arts administration, arts criticism, conservation, crafts, curation, dance, ethnomusicology, film, literature, museum studies, music, theater and visual art; video art and photography apply under visual art. Additional requirements: at least 21 years old by the start of the fellowship, at least five years of professional experience in an eligible discipline, no paid work, university coursework or teaching (online included) during the fellowship, and enough confident English to handle daily life independently, as the J-1 visa requires. Previous New York Fellows cannot reapply, and anyone who has held an ACC grant in the last two calendar years is ineligible. VISA: fellows must enter the U.S. on an ACC-sponsored J-1 visa with no exceptions, which bars paid work of any kind during the fellowship, including work for a non-U.S. employer and participation in ticketed events even unpaid. WHAT ACC WILL NOT FUND: this is strictly cultural-exchange and immersion funding, not production money. Filming a documentary, researching a planned book or film, mounting an exhibition, running a concert series, promotional or PR travel, equipment purchases and full-time residency programmes are all ineligible, as is funding used only to travel to a single event. TIMELINE: the portal opens 1 October 2026 at 9:59am ET, applications close 10 November 2026 at 9:59am ET, and letters of recommendation are due 16 November 2026 at 9:59am ET. Review runs November 2026 to April 2027, notifications go out mid-May 2027, and all funded activity must take place between 1 August 2027 and 31 December 2028. Apply through the GoApply portal; ACC does not accept email applications. Applicants may apply to only one ACC programme per cycle. No application fee.
The Asian Cultural Council's Individual Fellowship funds artists, scholars and arts professionals from Asia and the U.S. to spend one to six months somewhere new or less familiar, pursuing self-designed research and cultural immersion: meeting practitioners, visiting studios, museums, galleries, theatres and libraries, joining workshops and symposia, and doing archival research. ACC is explicit that this is not a production residency, not a conference travel grant and not a PR tour. APPLYING JOINTLY: two or three people who share research goals can apply together as equal partners (one primary applicant, up to two co-applicants, no assistant roles); the USD 35,000 cap covers the whole team. Applicants must be citizens or legal permanent residents of an ACC-eligible country, territory or region: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brunei, Cambodia, China (Mainland), East Timor, Hong Kong SAR, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Laos, Macau SAR, Malaysia, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, the U.S. and Vietnam. ELIGIBLE DISCIPLINES (16): architecture (design, history and theory), archaeology, art history, arts administration, arts criticism, conservation, crafts, curation, dance, ethnomusicology, film, literature, museum studies, music, theater and visual art; video art and photography apply under visual art. Additional requirements: at least 21 years old by the start, at least five years of professional experience in an eligible discipline, no university coursework or teaching during the fellowship, and confident English if travelling to the U.S. on a J-1 visa. Anyone who has held an ACC grant in the last two calendar years is ineligible. DESTINATIONS: any eligible country except the one you currently live in; a place you have lived in for over a year or hold citizenship in needs a strong rationale. U.S. fellowships need at least 30 consecutive days and cannot start before 1 October 2027 because of J-1 processing; fellowships in Asia need 30 cumulative days, splittable into trips of at least 14 consecutive days with no more than 14 days between them. ACC sponsors the J-1 for U.S. travel; for Asia you arrange your own visas, and the fees can go in the budget. WHAT ACC WILL NOT FUND: this is strictly cultural-exchange and immersion funding, not production money. Filming a documentary, researching a planned book or film, mounting an exhibition, running a concert series, promotional or PR travel, equipment purchases and full-time residency programmes are all ineligible, as is funding used only to travel to a single event. TIMELINE: the portal opens 1 October 2026 at 9:59am ET, applications close 10 November 2026 at 9:59am ET, and letters of recommendation are due 16 November 2026 at 9:59am ET. Review runs November 2026 to April 2027, notifications go out mid-May 2027, and all funded activity must take place between 1 August 2027 and 31 December 2028. Apply through the GoApply portal; ACC does not accept email applications. Applicants may apply to only one ACC programme per cycle. No application fee.
ACC's Graduate Fellowship covers travel and living costs for a small number of graduate students from Asia who come to the U.S. because comparable arts and culture programmes are unavailable or underrepresented at home. The five-year professional experience requirement that applies to ACC's other programmes is WAIVED here. Applicants must be citizens or legal permanent residents of an ACC-eligible country, territory or region: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brunei, Cambodia, China (Mainland), East Timor, Hong Kong SAR, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Laos, Macau SAR, Malaysia, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, the U.S. and Vietnam. ELIGIBLE DISCIPLINES (16): architecture (design, history and theory), archaeology, art history, arts administration, arts criticism, conservation, crafts, curation, dance, ethnomusicology, film, literature, museum studies, music, theater and visual art; video art and photography apply under visual art. Additional requirements: be pursuing a graduate degree in one of the 16 eligible disciplines; be enrolled full-time and in residence at a U.S. graduate programme, or hold proof of admission by 1 April 2027; be in the coursework phase, not the research or thesis phase; and complete at least two consecutive semesters of full-time coursework within the grant period. Part-time, summer-only, online and non-degree programmes are not eligible. ACC does not sponsor student visas, so the F-1 or equivalent is between you and your university. Renewal for a second year depends on ACC's review of your academic record and proof of continued enrolment. TIMELINE: the portal opens 1 October 2026 at 9:59am ET, applications close 10 November 2026 at 9:59am ET, and letters of recommendation are due 16 November 2026 at 9:59am ET. Review runs November 2026 to April 2027, notifications go out mid-May 2027, and all funded activity must take place between 1 August 2027 and 31 December 2028. Apply through the GoApply portal; ACC does not accept email applications. Applicants may apply to only one ACC programme per cycle. No application fee.