Deadline: May 1, 2023
Toward Equity in Publishing is a new initiative designed to remediate the inequitable conditions that precede and impede publication in the field of American art history. This professional development program is being launched by the peer-reviewed journal American Art, which is co-published by the Smithsonian American Art Museum and University of Chicago Press. It is supported by a $64,000 grant from the Dedalus Foundation.
Through editorial mentorship and workshops, the program will demystify scholarly publication processes and help scholars revise manuscripts for submission and publication. There is no obligation for the participants to publish with American Art, nor for the journal to publish their work.

Liza Lou, Kitchen (detail), 1991–96. Glass beads, wood, wire, plaster, and artist’s used appliances, 96 × 132 × 168 in. Collection of the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York © Liza Lou. Courtesy the artist and Lehmann Maupin, New York, Hong Kong, Seoul, and London. Photo: Tom Powell
Eligibility Criteria
This program is open to applications from unpublished graduate students, untenured faculty, junior museum staff, and independent scholars who are producing research on American art history and related visual culture topics. Priority will be given to applicants whose experiences will broaden diversity in the field, including those with a personal history of overcoming adversity, first-generation college or graduate-school attendees, and those who have not received institutional funding (fellowships, grants, scholarships, or paid leave) in the past two years. Applicants need not meet all of these criteria to be eligible.
How to Apply
Email the following materials to AmericanArtJournal@si.edu:
- an unpublished manuscript of 7,000–10,000 words (including notes), with an abstract, images, and captions styled according to these guidelines.
- a letter of interest describing career goals and publishing agenda
- a CV that includes history of institutional financial support
Please include your last name along with “Application for Toward Equity” in the subject line (e.g., “Martin Application for Toward Equity”).
The deadline for the next cycle of applications is May 1, 2023.
See the frequently asked applicant questions here
For More Information
For more on the Toward Equity in Publishing program, see “Smithsonian American Art MuseumAnnounces New Equity and Diversity Initiative Through the American Art Journal.”
To submit a manuscript for publication by American Art, please follow these guidelines. To ask questions, write to AmericanArtJournal@si.edu.
Editorial Board
heather ahtone, First Americans Museum
Kirsten Pai Buick, University of New Mexico
Mary Coffey, Dartmouth College
Anne Collins Goodyear, Bowdoin College Museum of Art
David J. Getsy, University of Virginia
Michael Hatt, University of Warwick
Chon A. Noriega, University of California, Los Angeles
Jolene Rickard, Cornell University
Cherise Smith, University of Texas at Austin
Shawn Michelle Smith, School of the Art Institute of Chicago