OMA Empowering Museum Voices Fellowship
The mission of the Ohio Museums Association (OMA) is to connect, educate, empower, and advocate for the Ohio museum community. In pursuit of this mission, we acknowledge that numerous individuals within the museum
sector, as well as those aspiring to embark on a career in museums, may not have equal access to essential professional development resources and career opportunities
As a way to address this disparity, OMA is piloting a Fellowship Cohort, to start in January 2024.
Click here to submit a 2024 OMA Empowering Museum Voices Fellowship Application Packet.
(Please note: You must have/create an account and be signed in to complete the application process.)
How many Fellowships are available? This fellowship will connect OMA with up to 10 applicants from backgrounds historically underrepresented in the museum field.
Who is eligible to apply for a Fellowship? Those eligible for the program include students studying in a museum-related field (this is a broad spectrum – if you have questions about if your field of study qualifies, please contact OMA), current museum professionals, or those that are wanting to explore a career in museums.
Applicants should have backgrounds that are underrepresented in the museum field due to historic exclusion. This can include, but is not limited to, the BIPOC community, people with disabilities, Appalachian and rural communities, lower income communities, LGBTQ+ communities, and justice-impacted citizens.
All applicants must either live, work, or study in the state of Ohio.
What benefits will the chosen Fellows receive? The fellows will receive one year of OMA webinars (11+), individual OMA membership for the fellowship year plus three additional consecutive years, and OMA conference registration for both the fellowship year and the following year. Travel and lodging will also be included for the 2024 conference.
As part of the program, Fellows will also receive a $720 stipend (4 hours of work at $15 an hour each month for 12 months) for their time reviewing programming and planning future programs.
What is the purpose of the Fellowship? The purpose of the fellowship is not only for the Fellows to have access to OMA professional development resources, but also to provide the Fellowship cohort a platform for sharing valuable feedback and input. This collaborative effort aims to enhance OMA’s ability to better serve the diverse needs of their communities. The Fellows will also be able to network with their cohort members, and make connections to museum professionals across Ohio.
What will be expected of Fellows during the cohort year?
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After the fellowship selection process, OMA will hold a fellowship orientation virtual meeting. This orientation will lay out the schedule of events for the year, and review the benefits and responsibilities for the cohort participants.
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As part of the fellowship, the cohort will attend OMA’s monthly webinars. These webinars are typically held on a Monday from 10am-11am, though the specific dates will vary each month. If a fellow is unable to attend the webinar live, a recorded version of the session will be sent for their review.
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Following each webinar, fellows will participate in a virtual monthly debrief/review session, scheduled one-two weeks after the webinar, at a time that works best for the majority of the cohort. These sessions are designed to give the cohort a platform to share their perspectives on the respective month’s webinar topic, speaker, and overall event. The Fellows will also be encouraged to express insights on how the programming could have been more impactful and relevant to their individual needs.
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At the OMA 2024 annual conference (April 13-15 in Sandusky), the cohort will attend all conference functions – including the Saturday tours, any Saturday evening programming, Sunday workshops and opening reception, Sunday tours and awards dinner, Monday breakfast meeting of the membership, three concurrent sessions, and the OMA keynote luncheon.
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During the fourth concurrent session times, the cohort will meet with members of the OMA board cohort committee for a debrief/listening session for what they experienced at that year’s conference.
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This listening session will also act as a preliminary brainstorming session for ideas the Fellows would like to see implemented for future conferences, and for session topics, speakers, or keynote speakers they would like to suggest for the next conference year.
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Starting at the May monthly debrief/listening session, the cohort will also use that time to start planning session topics and speakers for three of the remaining webinars in the fellowship year, most likely falling in the months between August – December.
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At the end of the programming year, the cohort will complete an individual, anonymous program evaluation.
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After their fellowship, the cohort will present a session at the next year’s OMA annual conference, (so, those in the 2024 fellowship will present a session at the 2025 OMA Annual Conference) detailing their experience during the program – what they learned about the field, their insights, and their recommendations for Ohio museums to be more inclusive and accessible to historically underrepresented museum professionals.
Additional Details:
In the case that a cohort member needs to leave the fellowship program within the first three months of the program (January-March), those individuals will receive the stipend compensation for the month(s) they participated in the program, prorated to include any days outside of a full month of participation. The remainder of the stipend will be forfeit, as will their free webinar and conference registrations for the remainder fellowship year and the conference presentation year. Those that need to leave the program early will retain their OMA membership for that program year, and will also still be able to register for any OMA programming they would like to attend – including all webinars and the annual conference – just like other OMA members.
In the case that a cohort position opens in the first three months of the program (January-March), the next highest evaluated candidate from the pool of applicants will be eligible to fill the open seat. They will receive OMA individual membership and be registered for all upcoming webinars and the OMA conference at that time. They will also receive their monthly stipend, prorated to include any days outside of a full month of participation.
In the case that a cohort member needs to leave the fellowship program after the first three months of the program (April-December), those individuals will receive the stipend compensation for the month(s) they participated in the program, prorated to include any days outside of a full month of participation. The remainder of the stipend will be forfeit, as will their free webinar and conference registrations for the remainder fellowship year and the conference presentation year. Those that need to leave the program early will retain their OMA membership for that program year, and will also still be able to register for any OMA programming they would like to attend – including all webinars and the annual conference – just like other OMA members.
Due to the cohort programming that is planned for the OMA conference, and the planning work on future programs that the cohort will undertake as part of the OMA conference, no new cohort members will be added to fill any vacant seats after March 31 of the program year.
How do I apply for a Fellowship? To apply, please complete the online Fellowship Application. This application will ask for some basic contact information, as well as require the applicants to upload three documents in either PDF or word form:
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The applicant’s current resume
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One (1) letter of recommendation. This can be from a professional colleague, a mentor, a teacher, or a community leader that can speak to the applicant’s enthusiasm for the work of the fellowship program
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A written answer (no more than 1000 words) addressing the following questions:
- What excites you about the opportunity to be a member of this year's fellowship?
- What perspectives are you hoping to bring to this OMA fellowship that might be undervalued or unknown to the broader museum field?
- If you have your desired impact on the museum field, how will the field be different in 10 years? In 20?
- What lessons (if any) from other fields or industries do you believe the museum field should implement to be successful for the next century?
- What is your ideal role/duty in a museum? Where do you want to have an impact?
What is the deadline for applications? Applications will be accepted until 11:59 pm, December 31.
Who will be reviewing/selecting the Fellows? The Community Selection Committee will be responsible for reviewing and selecting those for the 2024 fellowship. This committee is a diverse group of museum leaders and museum thought leaders with backgrounds and experiences similar to the applicants we are hoping to connect with during the fellowship program.
What is the timeline for notification of the selected Fellows? Selected fellows will be notified no later than January 17, 2024, with the Fellowship orientation to be held on Thursday, January 18.
Who do I contact if I have questions? Please contact Johnna McEntee, OMA Executive Director, at [email protected] or 614.361.5613 if you have any questions about the fellowship or the application process.
Click here to submit a 2024 OMA Empowering Museum Voices Fellowship Application Packet.
(Please note: You must have/create an account and be signed in to complete the application process.)
The Ohio Museums Association’s Empowering Museum Voices Fellowship is made possible
in part by state tax dollars allocated by the Ohio Legislature to the Ohio Arts
Council (OAC). The OAC is a state agency that funds and supports quality arts
experiences to strengthen Ohio communities culturally,
educationally, and economically.