The ESAP Fellowship supports and empowers early stage visual arts curators, educators and administrators working in United States arts spaces and institutions. Through building a long-lasting peer support system, and providing navigational tools and opportunities to create expanded professional networks and communities, the Foundation creates equitable visual arts career pathways and ultimately aims to strengthen and diversify the internal ecosystems of United States art institutions.
Our programs provide access to networks, professional development workshops, international research travel, mentorship, relational and soft skills coaching, and financial support for navigating systemic inequities. Each year, a different jury of esteemed arts professionals nominates candidates based on an agreed upon set of criteria, and we invite six of those individuals to participate in the fellowship cohort. At this time, the Foundation cannot accept unsolicited nominations.
Our guest program director, an arts professional who has already successfully navigated the challenges facing the respective cohort, designs the annual program details with a focus on the relational skills that specific cohort requires for career growth.
During the ten-month fellowship, the Foundation provides five empowerment prongs:
The Foundation collaborates with VERGE, a recruiting and human resources agency that focuses on the global majority, to provide the fifth empowerment prong. This prong includes access to additional mentorship opportunities, coaching, and career growth support.
Sofía Hernández Chong Cuy
The third cohort of the A&L Berg Foundation Early Stage Arts Professionals (ESAP) Fellowship marks the Foundation’s third year of sustained, high-touch programming dedicated to expanding narratives within the visual arts ecosystem of the United States.
Comprising seven early-career arts professionals, the cohort reflects a range of perspectives and approaches to the visual arts field. Their work spans multiple modes of practice, contributing to an evolving understanding of how the field is shaped and experienced.
As part of the fellowship, the cohort participates in an international research trip to the 61st International Art Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia, Minor Keys. The program also includes relational skills workshops in New York, one-on-one mentorship with established arts professionals, and an unrestricted financial grant supporting each fellow’s ongoing work.
ESAP FELLOWS COHORT THREE
Sofía Hernández Chong Cuy, curator and educator, Guest Program Director for the ESAP Fellowship, Cohort Three
Julián Zugazagoitia, Director & CEO of The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City
Olga Viso, The Selig Family Chief Curator and Director of Curatorial Affairs at the Phoenix Art Museum
Jovanna Venegas, Associate Curator of Contemporary Art at the SculptureCenter
Jill Dawsey, Senior Curator at the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego
Diya Vij, Commissioner of the Department of Cultural Affairs
Diane Lima
We are pleased to introduce the second cohort of the A&L Berg Foundation Early Stage Arts Professionals (ESAP) Fellowship.This cohort marks the Foundation’s second official year of high-touch programming dedicated to expanding narratives within the visual arts systems of the United States.
These six fellows are visionary early-career professionals working at the intersection of curation and education. They bring fresh perspectives to the field and are reimagining the future of public programming in the visual arts.
ESAP cohort two will travel to the 36th Bienal de São Paulo exhibition in September, 2025 for the fellowship’s international research trip component. During the past several months, the fellows have participated in relational skills workshops in Los Angeles, 1:1 mentorship with more experienced arts professionals, and have received an unrestricted financial grant. The Foundation has continued to partner with the firm Verge to provide each ESAP fellow individualized strategic development resources. As our community flourishes, we are bringing our current cohort together with alumni and other friends of the Foundation for educational seminars and intimate social gatherings.
ESAP FELLOWS COHORT TWO
Rocío Aranda-Alvarado, Senior Program Officer, Creativity and Free Expression, Ford Foundation
Rashida Bumbray, curator and choreographer
Naima Keith, Senior Vice President, Education and Public Programs, Deputy Director, Regional Partnerships, LACMA
Diane Lima, curator and scholar, Guest Program Director for the ESAP Fellowship, Cohort Two
César García-Alvarez
The Foundation’s inaugural fellowship cohort consisted of six curators.
During the ten-month program, the fellowship provided five empowerment prongs: mentorship with a senior curator, a series of workshops with professionals focusing on relational skills, an unrestricted financial grant to help meet the cost of living, a robust international research trip, and ongoing support for professional growth through a partnership with VERGE, the recruiting and human resources agency.
The inaugural cohort traveled together to the 60th Venice Biennale vernissage, curated by Adriano Pedroso, in April 2024. In Venice, fellows attended events, tours, and gatherings where the Foundation opened doors to countless potential relationships and opportunities throughout the global arts ecosystem. As part of the Foundation’s partnership with the Biennale, each ESAP Fellow wrote wall and catalogue text for two Biennale featured artists.
VERGE is committed to expanding the ideas, talent, and skill sets shaping art institutions. VERGE matches exceptional talent with exceptional arts organizations—supporting both sides of the equation. The agency maintains career-long relationships with talent to ensure professional success, while providing art galleries, museums and art foundations with the full-service recruitment and human resources support needed for change.
Carla Acevedo-Yates, Marilyn and Larry Fields Curator at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago
César García-Alvarez, Executive & Artistic Director of The Mistake Room, Los Angeles, Guest Program Director for the ESAP Fellowship, Cohort 1
Carmen Hermo, Associate Curator, Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art at the Brooklyn Museum
María Elena Ortiz, Curator, Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth
