Registration open through June 15, 2026 at 6pm PT
From:
Continuous Project
Ears Open
& The Artist’s Office
Guggenheim Application Cohort
June 18 - November 19, 2026
Thursdays, 10-11:15am PT
Online, via zoom
Cohort fee:
$600 for new Cohort participants
$450 for returning Cohort participants
(nonrefundable)
While the Guggenheim Fellowship is nearly universally coveted, the application is often put off till the last minute. The same reasons folks put it off are great reasons to get started early. The Guggenheim Application Cohort offers a structured schedule and community platform to keep you accountable through the entire set of application milestones.
Our schedule alternates between instructional meetings and workshop breakout sessions from June through the application opening date in August, the application closing date in September, and Work Example submission in the fall, typically October or November. Rather than private grant writing services, this cohort provides guidance on the Guggenheim Fellowship application process, tips and examples from Guggenheim fellows, and a structured, supportive container for you to write and submit your application in community with others. Private services may be arranged separately with the cohort leaders for additional fees.
Schedule:
The instruction meetings correspond to the primary application components, alternating with workshop breakout sessions to pace you through the application process:
Thursdays, 10-11:15am PT
June 18 Welcome: Orientation, Introductions & Application Overview
June 25 Instruction: Application Overview, continued + References & List of Work
July 2 Workshop Breakout Session: review draft References & List of Work
July 9 Instruction: Career Narrative
July 16 Workshop Breakout Session: review draft Career Narrative
July 23 Instruction: Work Examples & Descriptions
July 30 Instruction: Statement of Plans
~~~No meeting August 6~~~
August 13 Workshop Breakout Session: review draft Statement of Plans
~~~No meeting August 20~~~
August 27 Q&A: Application Portal Overview (*this is the only meeting that will be recorded)
October 22 Workshop Breakout Session: review draft Work Examples
November 19 Commencement: Reflection & celebration
Why apply to the Guggenheim?
The Guggenheim Fellowship is among the most prestigious open call grants, receiving 3,500 applications in 2025. Our approach emphasizes the process over the outcome, setting a tone for applying year after year.
Benefits of applying to the Guggenheim Fellowship include:
+ Requesting references helps you maintain important relationships.
+ Writing about your career develops your vocabulary for your art and your work as an artist in public, generating valuable context for your work.
+ Describing a future project can be useful for getting the project off the ground, with or without a Guggenheim.
+ Applications are peer-reviewed, developing visibility for your work among viewers who may not see it otherwise.
+ And to state the obvious but important fact: You will not win a Guggenheim if you don’t apply for a Guggenheim
Who is this cohort for?
+ Midcareer and advanced professionals
+ Artists working in painting, sculpture, the graphic arts, installation, new media, photography, fine arts, performance artists, choreographers, filmmakers
+ First time Guggenheim applicants
+ Experienced Guggenheim applicants who’ve not yet won a Guggenheim
+ Applicants who want the accountability of a structured cohort
+ Applicants seeking consistent guidance and support through the application process
+ Applicants open to sharing the application experience in community with others
Still don’t know if you should apply? Use this checklist to help guide you through what you should consider:
For questions about the cohort, please email Virginia at virginia@theartistsoffice.net
About the Cohort Leaders:
Virginia, Elana, and Corrina have extensive experience working in the art world and have collectively helped over 1,000 artists and art workers navigate their careers, including with guidance on the Guggenheim Fellowship application.
Virginia Broersma is an artist whose engagement with the art community involves curating, writing, collaborative projects, public art, and organizing support for artists along with her studio practice. She founded The Artist’s Office in 2018 to support artists with the “office work” of being an artist. Broersma has received several grants for her studio work and helped other artists apply for and receive grants, public art projects, shows, and residencies.
Elana Mann
Elana Mann is an artist, activist, and grant writer. Throughout her career, Mann has advocated for artists and has raised over a million dollars to uplift artistic voices. She is the Founder of Ears Open, which offers fundraising, grant writing and development services to support both artists and arts organizations. Mann’s art and activism centers the act of listening, an approach that she also applies to the individuals and organizations she works with.
Corrina Peipon is an artist, curator, writer, and educator. She founded Continuous Project in 2018 to transform how society perceives, acknowledges, and compensates cultural labor by empowering art workers through private and group consulting; education and lateral knowledge-sharing; and thought leadership.