ming fay research fellowship 2027
The Inaugural Ming Fay Research Fellowship supports the production of original, archives-based scholarship on Ming Fay (1943–2025), whose multidisciplinary practice bridged sculpture, drawing, installation, ecology, and transnational cultural histories.
Born in Shanghai and raised in Hong Kong, Fay settled in New York in the early 1970s and became part of the downtown art milieu. He co-founded the Epoxy Art Group (1982–92), an Asian American artist collective that fostered alternative exhibition platforms and critical dialogue. While interest in Ming Fay’s work has grown through exhibitions at institutions in recent years, scholarship on his practice remains limited. This fellowship supports research conducted within the Ming Fay Papers held at the Special Collections of New York University, related holdings at Asia Art Archive, and materials housed at the Ming Fay Studio / Estate to support the development of work that contributes to the study of Ming Fay’s practice and its broader historical, cultural, and artistic contexts.
Proposals may address, but are not limited to: ecology and environmental thought; transnational identity and migration; Asian diasporic histories; material experimentation and sculptural practice; intersections of art, science, and spirituality; nature as mythology and cultural symbolism in art; Downtown New York art networks and artist collectives; and public art and site-specific installations.
Grants will be made at one of two levels described below. Research must be conducted between January 4–December 10, 2027.
Fellowship Tracks
Senior Research Fellowship
Supports sustained archival research across all New York City-based partner institutions. Fellows are expected to produce a work of original scholarship that advances critical discourse on Ming Fay’s practice.
Final projects should be developed to a stage suitable for publication, academic dissemination, exhibition development, or inclusion in a larger scholarly project, and may include an article for submission to a peer-reviewed journal (approximately 6,000–10,000 words), book or dissertation chapter, critical essay for publication in a museum, academic, or arts publication, or substantial research toward an exhibition.
Exploratory Research Fellowship
Supports short-term archival research across all New York City-based partner institutions.
Fellows are expected to produce a research project demonstrating sustained engagement with the archival materials and contributing new perspectives on Ming Fay’s work and related fields of inquiry. Projects are not limited to, but may include a research paper, article, report, dissertation chapter, documentary film, essay, or exhibition proposal.
Deliverables and Reporting
All fellows are expected to produce original research grounded in archival materials and must submit (via email to apa.institute@nyu.edu) the following deliverables by January 31, 2028:
Final research project appropriate to the fellowship track as outlined above
Brief report (2–3 pages) summarizing research activities, archival engagement, and outcomes