The apexart Fellowship

"The apexart Fellowship: An Experiment in Vertical Cultural Integration" explores the methodology, practice, and effects of apexart's unique Fellowship model. The apexart Fellowship is an alternative educational program that invites creative individuals to leave their familiar surroundings for a month-long stay in a foreign country. The program provides new sources of inspiration through exposure to new cultures, interests, and experiences. Unlike an artist residency program, the apexart Fellowship provides a rich, 30-day schedule of non-art activities, all while requiring Fellows to refrain from producing creative works. This book brings together contributions by past Fellows, art funders, a psychotherapist, as well as reflections on the Fellowship program by apexart Founder and Executive Director Steven Rand. The entries share personal accounts of participating in the Fellowship, as well as thoughts on the merits of apexart's unconventional program where participants do not make artwork, but are rather vertically integrated into a culture by doing what locals do rather than what a traveling artist or tourist would do.