John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Competition 2017

About the Foundation

United States Senator Simon Guggenheim and his wife established the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation in 1925 as a memorial to a son who died April 26, 1922. The Foundation offers Fellowships to further the development of scholars and artists by assisting them to engage in research in any field of knowledge and creation in any of the arts, under the freest possible conditions and irrespective of race, color, or creed. The Foundation receives between 3,500 and 4,000 applications each year. Although no one who applies is guaranteed success in the competition, there is no prescreening: all applications are reviewed. Approximately 200 Fellowships are awarded each year.

Application Resources

The application is composed of eight sections:

Personal information
Addresses
References
Positions
Languages
Organizations
Education
Supporting documents

Applicants can return to any part of their application to make changes, if necessary. When all the information has been provided, the applicant must submit the application by selecting the “Final Submit” button no later than the September 19 deadline.

The application must be for a single project. Applications that attempt to span too many disparate disciplines, or that include too many objectives, are less competitive than those that propose a balanced, focused goal.

References

Applicants may submit the names and addresses of no more than four references; courtesy and practicality suggest applicants should request permission from these individuals before listing them as references. Letters of recommendation will be solicited from references via email. Appropriate references are individuals who are familiar with the applicant’s professional work.

Supporting documents

Applicants must submit three supplementary statements in PDF format:

A brief narrative account of your career, describing your previous accomplishments. Please do not substitute a resume. This account should mention prizes, honors, and significant grants or fellowships that you have held or now hold, showing the grantor and the inclusive dates of each award.
A list of work:
1. Publications, if you are a scholar, scientist, or writer. Give exact titles, names of publishers, and dates and places of publication. Playwrights should also include a list of productions. If you are a scholar or scientist, you may provide hyperlinks to your listed publications.
2. Exhibitions, if you are an artist. Include a chronological list of shows, citing dates and places, and a list of collections in which your work is represented. Forthcoming shows should also be mentioned. Work exhibited on websites and blogs alone does not constitute a sufficient record of accomplishment for our competition.
3. Performances, if you are a choreographer. Include locations and dates.
4. Compositions, if you are a composer. Include a chronological list of your compositions, citing titles and dates; a list of your published compositions, citing the names of publishers and the dates of publication; and a list of recordings. First public performances should also be listed, giving names of performers and dates.
5. Films or Videotapes, if you are a film or video maker. Include a chronological list of your works, citing titles and dates of completion, and dates and places of major public showings of each.
A statement of plans for the period for which the Fellowship is requested. Applicants in science or scholarship should provide a detailed, but concise, plan of research, not exceeding three pages in length. Applicants in the arts should submit a brief statement of plans in general terms, not exceeding three pages in length.

Financial considerations do not play a part in our evaluations, and applicants should not include a budget in the statement of plans. When candidates are selected as Fellows, they are then asked to submit budget information for their projects.

In making our inquiries on your behalf, we send each person you name as reference only a copy of your statement of plans; therefore, the statement of plans you submit must be self-contained.

Submission of examples of work

After your application is received, you will receive an email confirmation. You may also receive a separate email with further instructions about when to submit examples of your work. Please do not send work examples until you receive these further instructions.

How to Apply

The John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation decided to suspend its Latin American and Caribbean competition for the year 2017 while we examine the workings and efficacy of the program. The U.S. and Canadian competition is unaffected by this suspension.

The application for the 2017 United States and Canada competition is now available.

Further details regarding the application process can be found in Application Resources, Submission Materials and the Guide to the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Online Application.

Important Notes

Persons who have already received a Guggenheim Fellowship are not eligible to apply for another.
Guggenheim Fellowships are not available for the creation of residencies, curriculum development, or any type of educational program, nor are they available to support the development of websites or blogs.
Our awards are intended for individuals only; they are not available to organizations, institutions, or groups.
Guggenheim Fellowships are not open to students (undergraduate, graduate, or postgraduate).

For more information please click on the "Further official information" below.

John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Competition 2017

Deadline:

September 19, 2016

Disciplines:

Creative Arts, Films, Musical Composition, Photography