The Center Fellowship (formerly Right of Return)
An annual fellowship for formerly incarcerated artists, founded by formerly incarcerated artists, funding projects that document and challenge the criminal legal system. Money comes with a retreat, mentorship and a peer network.
- Indicative award
- $20k (total award)Page states $10,000 in unrestricted funds plus $10,000 in project development funds per fellow, annually.
- Timing
- Annual cycleNo specific published date recorded. This funder publishes a cycle rather than a date, and this database does not invent one.Described as an annual cycle; the programs page gives no deadline date and directs questions to outreach@thecenter.art. The programme moved from Right of Return USA under the Center for Art & Advocacy umbrella.
- Who can apply
- Practitioner, Community organisation
- Eligibility
- Open to formerly incarcerated creatives across disciplines; the applicant is the individual artist, not an institution. Applications go through the organisation's Submittable portal. Academic affiliation is neither required nor a route in — a social work researcher would participate as a project collaborator.
- SSWR clusters
- Topics
- arts and advocacy · narrative change · mass incarceration · documentation
- Apply at
- https://centerforartandadvocacy.org/programs
- This entry
- Curated by the working group. Written 2026-08-07. The funder link has not yet been machine-checked.
Amounts and dates on this page are indicative and are maintained by people rather than scraped. Funders change ceilings, windows and eligibility without notice; confirm all details at the source above before applying.
Also on the Crime and Criminal Justice shelf
- Research grants and the Graduate Research FellowshipNational Institute of JusticeAmount not published · Annual cycle · Mar, Apr, May
- Grants and research partnershipsThe Annie E. Casey FoundationAmount not published · By invitation
- Evidence-based policy fundingArnold Ventures$250k–$5M · Rolling / open
- Grants and open callsOpen Society FoundationsAmount not published · Periodic calls
- Grants to address the overdose crisisFoundation for Opioid Response Efforts$100k–$500k · Periodic calls
- Federal and state evaluation contracts (SAM.gov)U.S. federal and state agencies$50k–$5M · Rolling / open