Paris Art Fellowships

For over five decades, the Power Institute has enabled artists, curators and researchers to live and work in Paris, offering time, space and a vibrant intellectual community to develop their ideas and creative practices.

In 2026, generous support from Angela and Nicholas Curtis AM expanded this long-standing program, increasing the number of fellowships awarded each year, and the level of financial support provided to each fellow.

The program includes two types of fellowships to support work in Paris: one for artists and one for researchers. Fellows are selected by an expert committee chaired by the Director of the Power Institute.

_self

Learn more and apply

h2

Visit the Power Institute website for full details

cmp-call-to-action--ochre

The Nicholas and Angela Curtis Cité Internationale des Arts Fellowships

The Nicholas and Angela Curtis Cité Internationale des Arts Fellowships support artists to live and work at the Cité Internationale des Arts in Paris for three months.

These fellowships support:

Rent-free access to our dedicated living/working studio at the Cité;
A $13,000AUD grant to cover travel and living costs; and
Access to the Cité’s facilities and global community of artists, and the broader art infrastructure of Paris.

We offer four Curtis Artist Fellowships each year.

ispopup: false Read the full selection criteria and apply ispopup:

The Virginia Spate Research Fellowship

The Virginia Spate Research Fellowships support researchers of art and visual culture to carry out a 3-month research trip to Paris.

These fellowships support:

$20,000AUD in financial support for travel and living expenses;;
Support in finding accommodation for the duration of the trip; and
Access to Paris’s world‑class archives, collections and research networks.

We offer two Virginia Spate Research Fellowships each year.

ispopup: false Read the full selection criteria and apply ispopup:

Virginia Spate (1937-2022) was one of Australia’s most influential art historians. After studies at the University of Melbourne, Cambridge University and Bryn Mawr College she was appointed Power Professor of Fine Art and Director of the Power Institute in 1978.

Her research shaped the study of Australian art - including the work of Tom Roberts and John Olsen - and made major contributions to the fields of French Impressionism and early modernism.

Virginia’s achievements were recognised with a Centenary Medal (2001), the Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres (2004) and her appointment as a Companion of the Order of Australia (2018). Her legacy lives on through the Virginia Spate Reading Room, in the Power Institute’s Schaeffer Fine Art Library at the University of Sydney.