The Asia Foundation, in partnership with the Asian Art Museum, offers the 2026 Margaret F. Williams Memorial Fellowship in Asian Art.

This prestigious fellowship supports a unique exchange between emerging curatorial voices from Asia and the United States. Designed to foster community-centered curatorial practices, this program offers a fully funded, three-month residency at the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco. If you are ready to reimagine how exhibitions connect communities and deepen your professional expertise, this is your opportunity.

The 2026 program will prioritize candidates whose background and practice are grounded in community-centered approaches to cultural work. This year’s fellowship will examine how community building can function as a curatorial, artistic, and institutional practice— rooted in lived experience, sustained relationships, and shared forms of knowledge production.

Drawing from their own professional and cultural backgrounds, the fellows will explore models of community-centered practice that operate at multiple scales: within the Museum’s surrounding neighborhoods, across regional and transnational contexts, and through online and networked platforms. In parallel, the fellows will revisit selected exhibitions from the Museum’s history to consider how these projects might be reimagined or reactivated to foster deeper connection, relevance, and dialogue with contemporary communities.

Community-centered practice is understood broadly and may include participatory and socially engaged projects, archival and research-based work, performance, digital and online initiatives (including AI-enabled tools), educational and convening formats, and other forms that extend beyond traditional gallery presentation. Emphasis is placed on approaches that prioritize trust, reciprocity, accessibility, and long-term engagement
rather than singular outcomes.

The outcomes of the fellowship may include written reflections, public programs or convenings, experimental online platforms, and a set of proposals or frameworks that offer the Museum new ways to think about how exhibitions—past and future—can serve as connective infrastructures across communities, geographies, and networks.

About the Asian Art Museum: Located in the heart of San Francisco, the Asian Art Museum is the world’s leading museum dedicated to connecting global audiences with Asian and Asian American art and culture. Experience the rich diversity of the 48 countries of the Asian continent and the worldwide Asian diaspora through our collection of more than 20,000 artworks. From major archaeological discoveries to innovative work by contemporary artists, the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco celebrates the important contributions of Asian and Asian American artists to art’s history — and to its future.

About The Asia Foundation: The Asia Foundation is a nonprofit international nonprofit organization working to solve the toughest social and economic challenges in Asia and the Pacific. Informed by more than 70 years of experience and deep local knowledge, we work with partners across more than 20 countries to improve lives and expand opportunities.

 Key Details & Summary

• Opportunity: Margaret F. Williams Memorial Fellowship in Asian Art
• Organizers: The Asia Foundation & Asian Art Museum
• Theme: Community-Centered Curatorial Practice
• Location: Asian Art Museum, San Francisco, USA
• Residency Dates: June 1 – August 31, 2026
• Target Audience: Emerging contemporary art curators (One from Asia, one from the US)
• Application Deadline: March 24, 2026

Fellowship Benefits

The selected fellows will receive a comprehensive support package:

• A 3-month residency at the Asian Art Museum’s Contemporary Art Department.
• Round-trip travel to and from San Francisco.
• Housing and per diem are covered for the duration of the residency.
•  A $7,500 stipend for a self-designed study tour (research/visits across cities) to be completed after the residency.
• Mentorship: Guidance from Abby Chen, Senior Associate Curator and Head of Contemporary Art.

2026 Theme: Community-Centered Practice

The 2026 program prioritizes candidates whose work is grounded in community-centered approaches. Fellows will explore:

• How community building functions as an artistic and institutional practice.
• Reimagining past exhibitions to foster deeper relevance and connection today.
• Creating proposals for exhibitions that serve as connective infrastructures across geographies.

Eligibility Criteria

The program seeks to build the capacity of the next generation of curators and takes an expansive approach to the concept of “curator”. The fellowship encourages fresh outlooks, approaches, and perspectives, and welcomes applicants from within or outside the institutional museum context.

•  applicants from within or outside of the institutional museum context and take an expansive approach to the concept of “curator.”
• Candidates should show capacity for connecting creative ideas, people, and artworks. Applicants with experience outside of brick-and-mortar exhibitions, alongside those with experience in an institutional context, are welcome.
• Ideal candidates will demonstrate leadership capacity, initiative, self-directedness,
• strong communication skills, and the ability to collaborate with diverse stakeholders.
• Fully conversant in English.
• Able to commit to a three-month residency at the Asian Art Museum, San Francisco in the summer of 2026.
• From the United States, Asia, or the Pacific Islands.

How to Apply

Applications must be submitted online during the application window.

1. Prepare: Review the program brief for detailed requirements.
2. Apply: Submit your application online
3. Deadline: All applications must be received by March 24, 2026.
4. Selection: Finalists will be announced by mid-April.

🔗 Application Link & Official Details

Apply Now – Asia Foundation Portal

For more information, please visit the Asia Foundation website 

Contact for Inquiries artsfellowships@asiafoundation.org