January 30th, 2026 — As Civitella prepares for the 2026 Fellowship season, we are proud to introduce this year’s four cohorts of Fellows. The class includes Civitella’s first Fellow from Fiji as well as eleven Director’s Guests. Executive Director Heather Ewing, speaking of this year’s artists, selected through a rigorous, independent jury process, said:
This year’s Fellows embody the spirit of Civitella—a place that is fertile ground for the diversity of creative practices, nationalities, and life experiences represented by these artists. We eagerly await their arrival at the Castle and the opportunity to support and witness the creative transformations that so often happen in community, over time.
WRITING
Fatimah Asghar, USA
Lina Attalah, Egypt
Christopher Beha, USA, Kirby-Mewshaw Fellow
Joseph Campana, USA
Victoria Chang, USA
Renato Cisneros, Peru
Mathias Enard, France
Kali Nicole Gross, USA, PEN America Fellow
Isabella Hammad, UK
Arinze Ifeakandu, Nigeria
Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi, Uganda/UK
Daniel Moysaenko, USA, Academy of American Poets Fellow
Intan Paramaditha, Indonesia
Mary Rokonadravu, Fiji
Mihret Sibhat, USA, Rona Jaffe Foundation Fellow
Brandon Taylor, USA
Yukiko Tominaga, Japan
MUSIC
Ghazi Al-Mulaifi, Kuwait/USA
Nursalim Yadi Anugerah, Indonesia
Rhona Clarke, Ireland
Jessie Cox, Switzerland/Trinidad and Tobago
Nava Dunkelman, USA
Hanna Hartman, Sweden
Susie Ibarra, USA
Tebogo Monnakgotla, Sweden
Herold Osmond Owoseb, Namibia
Njabulo Phungula, South Africa
Youmna Saba, Lebanon
Diana Syrse, Mexico/Germany
Biliana Voutchkova, Germany/Bulgaria
VISUAL ARTS
Rushdi Anwar, Kurdistan/Iraq/Australia
Lisa Corinne Davis, USA
Option Dzikamai Nyahunzvi, Zimbabwe, Tyburn Foundation Fellow
Beya Gille Gacha, France/Cameroon
Andrew Pierre Hart, UK
Khadija Jayi, Morocco, Tyburn Foundation Fellow
Athena LaTocha, USA
Carolyn Lazard, USA/France
Thiago Martins de Melo, Brazil
Nástio Mosquito, Angola/Portugal
Dawit L. Petros, Eritrea/Canada
Wantanee Siripattananuntakul, Thailand
Amelia Umuhire, Rwanda
Ryan Villamael, Philippines
DIRECTOR’S GUESTS
David Baker, Writing, USA
Anne Bogart, Theater, USA
Ariel Eckblad, Writing, USA
Asia Freeman, Visual Arts, USA
Will Heinrich, Art Criticism, USA
Lyudmyla Khersonska, Writing, Ukraine
Borys Khersonsky, Writing, Ukraine
Ange Mlinko, Writing, USA
Polly Russell, Writing, UK
Shahzia Sikander, Visual Arts, USA
Clint Smith, Writing, USA
Michael Walsh, Visual Arts, USA
Levent Yilmaz, Writing, Turkey
Lyudmyla Khersonska and Borys Khersonsky, the esteemed Ukrainian poets whom Civitella first welcomed as Director’s Guests in March 2022 following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, remain with us in 2026, continuing their work in residence and participating in each session, even as they hope for the possibility of a return to Odesa.
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