2024 Artlab Editorial Fellowship

Within the realm of art, writers act as the vital, informed witness, hyper-attuned to shifts both seismic and small, diligently assessing how the local ripples out into the universal and vice versa. As our world continues to become more interconnected, vast, and contradictory, a keen eye and voice is all the more valuable in understanding the complexities of contemporary life. For the second year of the Artlab Editorial Fellowship, Olamiju Fajemisin and Kira Xonorika were selected as the two Fellows. Their forward-thinking insights and intimate ties to their communities and geographic regions offer a critical lens through which to view art as a bellwether for change.

The 2024 Artlab Editorial Fellowship provided each writer $10,000 USD to produce three pieces of web-based writing content for publication on Artlab Editorial. With guidance from this year’s Fellowship Advisors, Charlotte Kent and Andrew Russeth, along with Artlab Editor, Shannon Lee, Fellows will produce a vibrant body of new art writing and strengthen global connections between writers, readers, and artists.

Inspired by Artlab’s spirit of connectivity, artist Cynthia Alfonso created Vimbio, a digital commission created specifically for the 2024 Artlab Editorial Fellowship Open Call. Named after a type of willow tree found in Alfonso’s native Galicia, Spain, the work draws parallels between the use of vimbio as a traditional weaving material with the Fellowship’s mission to bring together and strengthen artistic communities around the world. Since the Open Call, Alfonso has continually evolved this idea alongside the progression of the Fellowship cycle, transforming and building upon the colors and forms of the original artwork.