The SJA Fellowship
Young creators working at the intersection of technology and the liberal arts
SJA Fellows at the annual gathering sharing stories and advice. Photo by Erin Lubin.
Steve believed that if you give great tools to talented people, they will use them to make wonderful things. But tools are more than the devices in our hands: they’re the skills we develop, the lessons we learn, and the connections we cultivate.
That’s the mission of the SJA Fellowship: to support promising young people in their creative, professional, and personal development. Through this yearlong, nonresidential program, SJA Fellows receive a stipend to pursue their ideas, a nationwide community of peers, individualized mentorship, and exposure to bold creative practitioners working across disciplines.
Adira Griffin
Atlanta, GAAdira is a designer and artist leveraging the connective and communicative power of technology.
Alexander Htet Kyaw
Boston, MAAlexander is an engineer and designer researching new ways for humans, machines, and materials to collaborate using robotics, augmented reality, and artificial intelligence.
Brandon Bunt
Westminster, COBrandon is a mechanical engineer and an educator drawing on lessons from nature to imagine self-sustaining communities.
Huw Messie
Freeville, NYHuw is a computational designer combining embroidery and code to develop a unique style of animation.
Isaiah Collier
Chicago, ILIsaiah is a multi-instrumentalist, composer, and activist using music to honor and interrogate the past while shaping the future of sound.
John Henley
Pittsburgh, PAJohn is an industrial designer and woodworker making objects that enhance our connections to the people and spaces around us.
Karyn Nakamura
New York, NYKaryn is an artist and visual forensics researcher exploring how emerging technologies influence media and communication.
Luke Shannon
New York, NYLuke is an algorithmic artist using code to explore the intricacies of identity on the internet.
Queenie Wu
New York, NYQueenie is a creative technologist using cartography to examine the ways we connect with our shared surroundings.
Selena Martinez
Chicago, ILSelena is a paleobiologist merging diverse perspectives to deepen our understanding of evolutionary history and the natural sciences.
“This experience has deeply inspired and challenged me. My view of myself has changed radically, in ways that I'm very happy to see.”
— 2023 SJA Fellow
The SJA Fellowship is a one-year, nonresidential program for young creators who are working at the intersection of technology and the liberal arts. Each fellow receives a stipend, an individualized mentor, and additional resources that support their creative trajectory.
The fellowship provides participants with a unique year of learning, connection, and growth. Fellows develop their ideas independently and attend regular events, both virtual and in-person, in order to contribute to our emerging fellowship community.
Our fellowship supports U.S. residents between the ages of 21 and 26. Select candidates are invited to apply after being nominated by a network of institutions, community organizations, and individuals. We choose fellows who demonstrate wide-ranging curiosity, a sense of possibility, and the determination to leave the world better than they found it.