Soros Arts Fellowship Impact Report

In world grappling with rising authoritarianism, inequality, and environmental crises, artists stand as catalysts for social change. The Soros Arts Fellowship, launched by the Open Society Foundations in 2018, supports innovative mid-career artists and cultural producers advancing social change around the world. The fellowship provides artists with the resources to develop a large-scale project on their own terms, and in their own local contexts. 

This report showcases the impact of the fellowship on individual artists, their creative practices, and the communities they engage with. Through socially engaged art—characterized by collaboration, community engagement, and issue-focused narratives—these artists worked with communities to challenge dominant narratives and incite change. This report underscores the urgent need to invest in artists as agents of change and highlights the important role of art in envisioning and building more equitable and just societies. 

Watch the video featuring Soros Arts Fellows speaking on the power of socially engaged art.