The Notre Dame Arts Initiative has selected its inaugural cohort of Student Arts Fellows. The 2025-26 Student Arts Fellows include sixteen undergraduate and graduate students representing twelve different programs of study within the College of Arts and Letters, the College of Science, and the Mendoza School of Business.
The program cultivates a community of arts thinkers and makers, supports emerging arts leaders, and seeds creative projects grounded in research. Fellows have special opportunities to engage with world-class artists and scholars, receive mentorship from Arts Initiative staff, and gain hands-on experience working in the arts.
Creative Practice
Eight students, including some who are not pursuing arts degrees, have been awarded Creative Practice fellowships to support an independent arts practice project that results in a public exhibition or performance. This year’s projects stretch across media including poetry and spoken word, digital projection, sculpture, installation, fiber and textiles, calligraphy and graphic design, photography, and painting.
2025-26 Creative Practice Fellows: Sara Abdolmotallebi, Jada Alexandra Bautista, Shayanta Chowdhury, Heidi Dargle, Daniel Fajardo Gomez, Helen Quah, Yiru (Erica) Xia, Miharu Yano
Arts Management
Arts Management fellowships introduce a cohort of four students to the field of arts leadership through a variety of special projects, such as facilitating visiting artist engagement, assisting curatorial projects, marketing and communications, hosting campus and community arts events, storytelling, and reporting. The Arts Management fellowship kicked off at the beginning of October by supporting a student workshop with visiting artist Tania Bruguera.
2025-26 Arts Management Fellows: Grace Blando, Antonio Dominguez De Obaldia, Kite Elsin, Heaven Nartey
Arts Writing
Four students have been awarded Arts Writing fellowships that introduce students to the valuable role that writing plays in a supportive arts ecosystem. Arts Writing fellows attend campus arts events, such as exhibitions, performances, and readings, in order to write reviews, interviews, and short pieces of arts criticism for print and digital publications. Fellows also learn about the role of writing in exhibition design, programs for performances, and other peripheral arts texts.
2025-26 Arts Writing Fellows: Ignatius Caro, Spencer French, Samantha Peralta, Gina Song
Originally published by at strategicframework.nd.edu on November 06, 2025.