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.
Diane Lima
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. This cohort's fellows are six visionary early-career professionals working at the intersections of curating 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.
A&L Berg Foundation 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
