The Eliza Moore Fellowship for Artistic Excellence is awarded annually to one outstanding, early-career artist who is developing new works that address plants, gardens, or landscapes in the broad sense.  This award is open to visual artists, literary artists, dancers, and musicians. The award includes a $10,000 individual grant and requires a 2 – 5 week stay at Oak Spring. While at OSGF, the Fellow will be able to meet with staff, explore our 700-acre landscape and our efforts in sustainable land management, and visit our rare book library that holds over 19,000 objects, including many examples of botanical art.

OSGF intends to award the Fellowship to an exceptional artist whose works show remarkable promise to contribute to a deeper understanding of the natural world, and humankind’s place in it.  The Fellow will be scheduled to visit when there are other Interdisciplinary Residents or Fellows on-site. This scheduling will allow the Fellow to join in communal meals, and optional activities and field trips with other artists, ecologists, researchers, or scholars working on projects related to OSGF’s mission. Beyond time devoted to their projects, a Fellow’s typical day at Oak Spring might include a walk to enjoy the landscape or birds; an appointment to visit the Oak Spring Library; and/or a morning spent volunteering at the BCCF or in the formal garden.  These optional activities provide Fellows time to learn from, and interact with our staff.  None of these activities are required, and we understand that some Fellows might want to spend most of their time in their writing or working independently. We support and enable Fellows to use their time as they best see fit.

Eligible applicants must be early-career artists not enrolled in an undergraduate degree program in 2024. We will consider individuals with a proven track-record of professionalism, but who are yet under-recognized, as early-career. Eligible early-career applicants will have some recognition in the form of exhibitions, commissions, performances, grant awards, residencies, Fellowships and/or publications.

Individuals who have participated in an extensive number of solo exhibitions, or who have published a significant number of books will be considered established or late career, and are not eligible for the Eliza Moore Fellowship. We encourage those who are not eligible for this Fellowship to apply to the Interdisciplinary Residency.