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The Daniel K. Inouye National Center for the Preservation of Democracy (Democracy Center) at the Japanese American National Museum (JANM) announces the second annual Irene Yamamoto Arts Writers Fellowship (Yamamoto Fellowship) with a focus on theater, dance, and performance art.

The fellowship encourages emerging arts writers of color to write about works from their own cultural and political perspectives, enriching and broadening cultural criticism as a practice and profession.

The Yamamoto Fellowship will focus on a different artistic discipline each year. Theater, dance, and performance art were selected for 2024 because these art forms are still struggling in the wake of setbacks from the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Yamamoto Fellowship will award two $5,000 unrestricted awards to two emerging arts writers of color who write critically about theater, dance, and/or performance art. Each writer will receive a $5,000 award to be spent over six months. Submissions will be open from Feb. 1 to March 18 and selections will be made in June.

This fellowship gives theater, dance, and/or performance art writers the power to fight erasure of contributions and accomplishments by people of color in America, said James E. Herr, director of the Democracy Center. It also gives them the opportunity to shape how art created by their own communities is represented today and throughout American art history. By highlighting their voices, this fellowship strengthens ties within diverse communities and expands public discourse around art.

This award serves as a vote of confidence for emerging writers, a way to say keep going! despite the challenges they face, said Sharon Mizota, who funded the fellowship through a gift to honor her late aunt. I received a similar award as a young art critic and it helped me to take myself more seriously as a writer and encouraged me to take bigger risks and grow. It also convinced me that there is an audience for arts writing that recognizes and supports social justice. I hope this fellowship rewards a writers potential as much or even more so than their previous accomplishments.

Eligible applicants must:

Reside in or be a citizen of the U.S.

Be at least 18 years of age

Identify as a member of a community with ancestry in one of the original peoples of Africa, Asia, the Americas, Oceania, or Pacific Islands

Have less than two years of publication experience, which may include a blog or self-publishing

Have demonstrated a commitment to writing about theater, dance, or performance art

All eligible applications will be reviewed by a panel of professional writers and editors who cover the performing arts. More information will be available at http://janm.org/democracy.

The Irene Yamamoto Arts Writers Fellowship is made possible through a gift from Sharon Mizota to honor Irene Yamamoto. This project is also supported by Critical Minded, an initiative to invest in cultural critics of color cofounded by The Nathan Cummings Foundation and the Ford Foundation.

Irene Yamamoto (1937-2020) was a lifelong lover of the arts. Born in Los Angeles, she was incarcerated with her family during World War II in Gila River, Ariz. Upon returning to Los Angeles, she attended UCLA and had a long career as a production artist for several design and advertising agencies. In her free time, she loved to draw, learn new languages, visit museums, and travel.

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Democracy Center Announces 2nd Annual Irene Yamamoto Arts Writers - The Rafu Shimpo