Applications for the 2025/26 Fellowship cohort open on March 3, 2025! For more information about the fellowship experience, who we’re looking for and the application process, please see our FAQ.
The Civic Media Fellowship, based at the USC Annenberg Innovation Lab with amazing support from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, empowers artists, creators, storytellers, innovators, organizers, strategists and others working at the intersections of media, technology and culture to further hone their practice through eight months of exploration and collaboration with a dynamic, diverse, and amazing cohort of Fellows. These leaders and the resources we develop collectively to empower them also help to strengthen and expand the field of civic media—the use of today’s technologies to create and harness media that connects with communities, inspires action, builds civic capacity and helps sustain social change efforts.
We welcome interest from people using diverse forms of media and technology with participatory practices to advance social progress in ways that defy easy categorization, recombining areas including the arts, curation, journalism, history, video, music, food, textiles, writing, technology and much more. We prioritize perspectives, voices, and issues which have been historically under-represented and marginalized. Fellows invest in learning with and from each other, as they explore new modes and venues for expression…which means they are eager to reflect on their practice, open to new ways of working, and have the space to engage other people and work, whether intentional or serendipitous.
The program recognizes that the tremendous innovation, commitment and progress among civic media practitioners thrives in spite of minimal support and a rocky career path. Whether broadly visible or deeply engaged with a specific community, they live on the cutting edge, pushing boundaries with novel and meaningful work, challenging organizations and funders to catch up. We commit to supporting them to realize their potential now and over time, in community with others, while building out the field.
Our Founding Cohort of residential and remote Fellows joined in early 2019 and were followed by cohorts in 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023. Together, they form a community of intrepid explorers that enjoys a unique opportunity to think and do—collaboratively undertaking creative and meaningful projects fueled by discovery, learning, and doing alongside students, peers, and mentors. Our next cohort begins in September 2025.
The fellowship experience is as varied as the Fellows themselves. Rather than being focused on a project or deliverable, the Fellowship emphasizes collaborative exploration and engaged participation in addition to individual journey. Weekly group calls focused on sharing practices and perspectives, learning and connecting are complemented by smaller pairings focused on encouragement and accountability, and ad-hoc in-person gatherings.
Perhaps the easiest way to learn about the fellowship is by meeting a few of our (now) senior fellows. You can read about the journey of activist and designer Daniel Alejandro Leon-Davis, or watch radical archivist Arianne Edmonds talk about the legacy of her family newspaper, The Liberator. Read how essayist and teacher Megan Stielstra helps others share their stories while also telling her own, or see actor, comic, and writer D’Lo talk about creating space for new voices on the stage and screen.
Read more about the Fellowship experience and get answers to common questions here.
As the fellowship evolves, we remain committed to transparency and shared learnings, and our book project, We Are Civic Media comes out in August 2025. There’s much more to come, so please check back and make sure to join our mailing list.