Fellowship

Award Details

As recipient of the Backslash Fellowship, the artist is awarded:

• Appointment. The artist receives a one-year Visiting Artist appointment at Cornell Tech, beginning in September at the start of academic year. Note that this fellowship recognizes the artist themself and is an individual appointment at Cornell, not a contractual agreement with the artist’s studio.
• Honorarium. The artist receives a $20,000 stipend in recognition of their commitment to pursue a new collaborative work engaging contemporary technology.
• Travel support. The artist receives up to $20,000 support to visit Cornell Tech in New York City, and is anticipated to spend no less than a month on campus over the course of the year. The artist can book a room at the Graduate Hotel on Cornell Tech’s campus or make other arrangements.
• Project materials. Backslash provides up to $10,000 support for project materials.
• Studio space. The artist receives studio space on campus for the academic year.
• Faculty home. The artist collaborates with a primary faculty member and their research group, based on the technology area of the artist’s proposed work (see Technology Areas below). When the artist is on campus, they can participate in group meetings, lunches, seminars, etc.
• Student support. Backslash provides up to $10,000 support for PhD and Masters students who are committed to working with the artist on the project. In addition to collaborating with the primary faculty member and their research group, students from across campus are invited to contribute to the project, given the software development and other needs of the work, and based on student applications.

Technology Areas

Cornell Tech faculty are passionate about making an impact, both on campus and in the world beyond. They have a vision for the power of technology and are motivated by the opportunity to conduct innovative research and co-create with leading academics, entrepreneurs, industry experts, students, and artists!

Each year, different faculty from varying technology areas volunteer to work with the Backlsash Fellow. Collaborations in these inspiring areas can result in exceptional work that is not possible through the use of generally available software or software developers the artist could contract on their own.

Previous years' possible technology areas have included:

• Public Interaction with Autonomous Systems
• Computational/Digital Fabrication
• Virtual and Augmented Reality
• Ethics and Privacy
• Robotics and Human-Robot Interaction
• AI, Sensors, and Health

Artist Responsibilities

• Collaborate with the primary faculty member and students. Meet with the team when on campus, and communicate with the team when off campus, to further develop the artist’s proposal, make plans, coordinate schedules, engage students, research and experiment, prototype technologies, and create the work. Backslash staff can help coordinate these activities, including a kickoff meeting to share best practices for art & technology collaborations.
• Show the work. Translating research to impact is central to Cornell Tech’s ethos. A goal of this collaboration is to make a significant work the artist is excited to show, that makes a difference to their practice, and that is a contribution to the field. Backslash will help to show the work on Cornell Tech’s campus. In addition, the artist should arrange to show the work through their own channels, e.g., at an upcoming show, in response to a biennial invitation, etc. It may also be possible for Backslash to help arrange or coordinate opportunities.
• Engage with the campus. Over the course of the academic year, the artist is expected to participate in academic programs as reasonable and generally contribute to the art & culture of Cornell Tech’s campus. For example, the artist should give at least one talk on campus to present the results of the collaboration, could guest speak in a course or seminar series, could organize an artist panel on an emerging area of art, etc. Backslash staff can help facilitate these opportunities.
• Assist with documentation and communication. The artist will collaborate with Backslash staff to document the work for the Backslash website and pursue other channels to share and discuss the work.
• Be backslash. This fellowship should represent something new, nonlinear, unconventional, unexpected, adventurous, intense, questionable – for the artist’s practice, for the field – any or all these are symptoms of being backslash.