ISLAA Publication Grant

The Institute for Studies on Latin American Art (ISLAA) announces the inaugural ISLAA Publication Grant, a new annual program dedicated to bringing ambitious scholarship on Latin American art into print. For the 2026 cycle, ISLAA will make available a total of USD 150,000 in grant funding, with awards of up to USD 25,000 per project. These grants will support publications at a crucial final stage of development.

The program builds on ISLAA’s longstanding commitment to the production and circulation of new knowledge about Latin American art. Through its research initiatives, archives, exhibitions, and publications, ISLAA has worked to create sustained connections among scholars, artists, curators, museums, universities, publishers, and cultural institutions. The ISLAA Publication Grant extends this work by supporting projects that can make a lasting contribution to the field.

The grant supports significant original scholarship on modern and contemporary art from Latin America and its diasporas, including scholarly books, monographs, exhibition catalogues, and publications resulting from original archival research. ISLAA is especially interested in projects that offer new historical, archival, methodological, or theoretical perspectives and expand the subjects, geographies, and voices represented within the study of Latin American art.

Scholarly exhibition catalogues are a particular focus of the program. Exhibition catalogues often provide the first sustained scholarly treatment of an artist, movement, archive, or body of work and can remain essential resources long after an exhibition closes. ISLAA welcomes catalogues that present substantial new research on Latin American artists, exhibitions, movements, archives, and subjects, and that are conceived as enduring contributions to scholarship rather than as records of an exhibition alone.

The grant also recognizes that publication is inseparable from circulation. Successful projects should combine scholarly and editorial rigor with a thoughtful plan for reaching their intended audiences. ISLAA encourages publications that can move across academic, museum, and public contexts; engage readers in Latin America and internationally; and consider print distribution, digital access, language, and accessibility as integral parts of their impact.

Applications are invited from scholars, curators, independent researchers, museums, universities, archives, research centers, nonprofit publishers, and other nonprofit cultural or academic institutions worldwide. Projects must be at a very advanced stage and have a confirmed publisher or eligible institutional partner. The program supports publication, not preliminary research or the initial development of a manuscript.

The independent external jury comprises Lauren Cornell (Artistic Director of the Hessel Museum, Center for Curatorial Studies, Bard College), Gabriel Pérez-Barreiro (Artistic Director of the Museo Universidad de Navarra), and artist Luis Camnitzer. Agustín Díez Fischer will serve as ISLAA’s non-voting observer. The jury will consider the scholarly and editorial strength of each project, its originality and contribution to the field, its readiness for publication, and the quality of its publication and distribution strategy.

Applications are open August 20–September 10, 2026. Proposals may be submitted in English, Spanish, or Portuguese. The deadline is September 10 at 11:59pm Eastern Time.

Visit islaa.org for the complete eligibility requirements, application guidelines, and terms and conditions.