change lab research fellowship

At a time when civic life is strained by polarization, disconnection, and declining trust, artists across the country are quietly building the infrastructure that democracy depends on. Through public art, they are helping people understand local government, connect across difference, and participate in shaping the places in which they live.

Forecast’s Change Lab is seeking its fourth Research Fellow to explore how public art contributes to civic engagement and democratic participation, defined as:

• Building civic knowledge and capacity: how people understand civic life and how they can participate in it
• Strengthening social cohesion: building new connections and relationships between different types of people
• Creating more responsive institutions: reshaping how our democracy works

We’re looking for a Fellow to research and articulate how artists are renewing civic life by using public art to foster connection, knowledge, and change, especially for historically excluded communities. The resulting report will contribute to a national public art policy platform, rooted in justice, human dignity, and democratic vitality.

The Fellowship entails

• Focused Research: The Fellowship will be centered on the critical topic of civic engagement and its intersection with public art.
• National Policy Platform: Research from the Fellowship will include recommendations on how to address civic engagement in public art policy. The Fellow’s research findings will contribute to the development of a national public art policy platform that prioritizes justice, health, and human dignity for historically marginalized communities.
• Model of Change: The final report created during the Fellowship will become a model for shaping the future of public art programs and policies, with a focus on equity and sustainability.

What You’ll Do as a Fellow

Over a 6-month period (200 hours total), the selected Fellow will:

• Conduct in-depth research into the intersections of public art, civic life, and democracy-building
• Investigate how artists are building civic infrastructure such as tools, spaces, relationships, and systems that help people participate more fully in public life
• Develop a public-facing report that shares research findings, insights, and recommendations for public art policies and programs across the country
• Influence the development of a national public art policy platform that addresses the needs of marginalized communities

Why Civic Engagement + Public Art

Democracy isn’t just about voting or legislation. It’s about how we live together, show up, listen, connect, and participate in shaping our communities. Yet too often, civic life is experienced as inaccessible, divisive, or irrelevant. Public artists are helping shift that by turning civic processes into spaces of dialogue, belonging, and shared creativity.

Through murals that demystify city budgets, performances that spark neighborhood conversation, or art installations that invite people to imagine new futures, artists are making democracy tangible, inclusive, and alive.

Still, despite this work’s significance, it remains underrecognized and underfunded in most public systems. This Fellowship aims to change that by documenting the contributions of artists to civic engagement, and providing models, language, and tools to embed this work into policy and practice.

Duration: 6 months / 200 hours (remote)

Research proposals may address questions such as:

• How are artists using public art to build civic literacy, civic trust, or civic participation?
• In what ways does public art create spaces for dialogue, shared experience, or community-led governance?
• How can local governments and cultural institutions better support artists working to strengthen civic life?
• What public art policies could foster deeper, more inclusive participation in public decision-making?