The Robert Rauschenberg Foundation, in partnership with Art in America, has launched a pilot writing fellowship to support arts and culture writing in regions of the country that are often underrepresented in the media. The goal of the fellowship program is to foster new discourse about arts and culture that reflects the diversity of the nation, and increase awareness of culturally rich enclaves often not identified as art centers.

For the inaugural group of fellows, five writers of diverse backgrounds were selected based on their demonstrated commitment to their cities and dedication to writing:

• Bill Arning has been the director of the Contemporary Art Museum Houston since 2009 
• Victoria Camblin is the editor and artistic director of the magazine Art Papers, which is based in Atlanta 
• Lynn Crawford is a fiction writer and art critic based in Detroit, whose most recent novel is Shankus & Kitto (2016)
• Kevin Killian lives in San Francisco and is a poet, author, editor and playwright of primarily LGBT literature 
• Cameron Shaw is the executive director and founding editor of Pelican Bomb, a website dedicated to sustaining the visual arts in New Orleans 

These writers, whose disciplines range from poetry to short fiction, will produce one long-form piece focused on arts and culture in their respective city for publication in Art in America this year.

Read the first essay, written by Kevin Killian, now available in the March 2016 issue of Art in America. 

Read Bill Arning's essay in the May 2016 issue of Art in America.

Read Cameron Shaw's essay in the October issue of Art in America

Read Victoria Camblin's essay in the December 2016 issue of Art in America