Curatorial Research Fellows 2026

Mississippi River Basin

Jan 1, 2026 – Aug 31, 2026

ICI’s Curatorial Research Fellowship program reflects our commitment to the advancement of new knowledge and practices. This year’s Fellowships support curators who focus on curatorial/artistic practices and alternative histories of the Mississippi River Basin region, an area encompassing nearly 40% of the United States which is broadly defined by its connections (geographic and cultural) to the Mississippi River.

Conceived to foster independent research, our Curatorial Research Fellowships offer a framework tailored to each curator’s field of critical inquiry. The program supports curators’ research, travel, and the development of their professional networks, promoting experimentation, collaboration, and international engagement in the field. Fellows receive mentorship specific to their research interests, as well as financial support, and have access to ICI’s international networks of collaborators and programs to create opportunities for continued learning.

The 2026 Mississippi River Basin Curatorial Research Fellowships are made possible by The Hearthland Foundation, with additional support from the ICI Board of Trustees.

This year, we are delighted to work with and support the practices of two curators whose timely and innovative projects are pushing the curatorial field forward:

Pia Singh is an independent curator from Bombay, India, living and working in Chicago. As an independent curator and art critic engaged in research across the Mississippi River Basin, she will continue contributing to and articulating how local arts and cultural production is foundational to a renewed understanding of regionalism, climate change, and justice in present-day America. While her academic research focuses on community-engaged practices at the intersection of contemporary art and design thinking, Singh’s primary pursuit lies in reconfiguring pedagogical hierarchies within and outside of which artists create systemic change.

Cheyenne Wyzzard-Jones is an interdisciplinary researcher, curator, writer, and educator. During the Fellowship period they will continue the production of Backwater Truths, an ensemble exhibition of eight artists that travels along the Mississippi River, using its path as a framework for sharing its histories, lived realities, and intertwined experiences. "Ensemble" is a distinct curatorial methodology, developed by Wyzzard-Jones, that redefines how exhibition communities are formed by examining traditional hierarchical divisions between artists, curator, and audience. Backwater Truths evokes the term “backwater” in conversation with themes of reimagining and remembrance. If backwater has historically signified stagnation, neglect, or lesser value, especially when applied to Black and Indigenous geographies, then Backwater Truths insists otherwise.