Each year, United States Artists organizes ten discipline-specific panels to review applications from nominated artists across the country and its territories. Panelists are carefully selected for their field expertise, geographic representation, and openness to work that expands their discipline. Over the course of several weeks, they complete an online review of all submissions and then convene to deliberate using three primary criteria: vision, impact, and timing.

During these discussions, themes often emerge. This year, there was an emphasis on work that felt risky and boundary-pushing. The panelists were also drawn to work that was deeply embedded in a specific community or place, and strove for a diversity of practice.

The 2026 USA Fellowship Panelists are:

Architecture & Design

Chat Travieso
Germane Barnes
Jia Yi Gu

Craft

Andres Payan Estrada
Beth Lipman
Jen Padgett

Dance

Abby Zbikowski
Charles Rice-Gonzalez
Kirven Douthit-Boyd

Film

Clint Bowie
Elijah McKinnon
Keisha Rae Witherspoon

Media

Jon Satrom
Nora N. Khan
Suzanne Kite

Music

Alex E. Chávez
Eugene Lew
Vijay Iyer

Theater & Performance

Edgar Miramontes
Meena Natarajan
Nataki Garrett

Traditional Arts

Jill Ahlberg Yohe
Juan Souki
Thomas Grant Richardson

Visual Art

Fanna Gebreyesus
Matthew Fluharty
Sue Bell Yank

Writing

Dawn Lundy Martin
Jafreen Uddin
Tom Marquet