Our Fellowships support the development and presentation of outstanding art and research projects by international, emerging artists, writers, scholars, and activists. With each Biennial Focus, a new VLC Fellowship Cohort is appointed for two years.

The New School’s Jane Lombard Prize for Art and Social Justice is awarded by the Vera List Center for Art and Politics to an artist or a group of artists in recognition of a particular project’s long-term impact, boldness, and artistic excellence. International in scope, it constitutes a unique meeting of scholars and students, the general public, and globally significant artists. The prize initiative unfolds over a two-year period and provides a multi-layered platform for artists as agents of social and political change. Key features of the prize initiative include the Jane Lombard Prize as well as the Jane Lombard Fellowships, bestowed on the prize finalists. 

The Jane Lombard Prize for Art and Social Justice, formerly the Vera List Center Prize for Art and Politics, was renamed for the 2018–2020 cycle in gratitude to Jane Lombard, whose generous donations to the Vera List Center make possible the continuation of the aforementioned efforts and initiatives, It is also made possible by Founding Supporters of the prize, James Keith Brown and Eric Diefenbach, Elizabeth R. Hilpman and Byron Tucker, Jane Lombard, Joshua Mack, and The New School.

The inaugural prize was presented in 2012 to Theaster Gates for Dorchester Projects; the second in 2014 to Abounaddara for Emergency Cinema, their weekly films documenting contemporary life in Syria; the third in 2016 to Brazilian artist Maria Thereza Alves for her twenty-year project Seeds of Change, and the fourth to Pan-African collective Chimurenga for their Pan-African Space Station. The fifth recipient was Avni Sethi for Conflictorium, an interactive museum in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India.

proppaNOW is the recipient of the 2022–2024 Jane Lombard Prize for Art and Social Justice for OCCURRENT AFFAIR. Conceived as a collaborative activist gesture, the project addresses current socio-political, economic and environmental issues, while celebrating the strength, resilience and continuity of Aboriginal culture.

Read the announcement, including jury statement, and more about proppaNOW here. Along with the prize recipient, the finalists for the prize are named Jane Lombard Fellows, initiated during the 2018–2020 biennial prize cycle. 

2022–2024 Jane Lombard Fellows:
Another Roadmap Africa Cluster (Kampala, Nyanza, Lubumbashi, Kinshasa, Maseru, Johannesburg, Lagos, and Cairo)
Colectivo Cherani for Cherani Cultural Center (Cherán, Michoacán, Mexico);
KUNCI Study Forum & Collective for School of Improper Education (Yogyakarta, Indonesia);
Khalil Rabah for Palestinian Museum of Natural Sciences and Humankind (Ramallah, Palestine)

2020–2022 Jane Lombard Fellows:
Jorge González for Escuela de Oficios (Puerto Rico) 
NayanTara Gurung Kakshapati for Nepal Picture Library (Lalitpur, Nepal)
Emeka Okereke for Invisible Borders (Lagos, Nigeria, and elsewhere)
Underground Resistance for Submerge Project (Detroit, U.S.)

2018–2020 Jane Lombard Fellows:
Emily Jacir, Annemarie Jacir, and Yusuf Nasri Jacir for Dar Yusuf Nasri Jacir for Art and Research (Bethlehem, Palestine)
Liz Johnson Artur for The Black Balloon Archive (London, England)
Tiffany Chung for The Vietnam Exodus Project
Naine Terena de Jesus for Oráculo Comunicação (Brazil)
Jasmeen Patheja for Blank Noise (Bangalore, India)