Volkswagen Offers Scholarship: VW Fellowship Granted at New York's MoMA PS1

As part of its role as MoMA’s Lead Corporate Partner of Education, Volkswagen Group of America is again offering students interested in art the chance to gain knowledge and experience at one of the world’s most renowned art institutions. Three young trainees awarded participation in the VW Fellows Scholarship Programme will take up work in New York.

VW Fellows will be employed in various departments on the premises of MoMA PS1 in the borough of Queens and at the museum in Manhattan. They will assist in conducting fundamental research and writing, event and exhibition production, archival documentation, and executive task management. In addition, the fellows will take on an integral role in the development of MoMA PS1’s landmark 40th anniversary exhibition scheduled to open June 19th with the support of VW. Other focal points of the fellowship include continually developing the museum’s digital presence through the sharing of a live programming archive and the organisation of live events in The Museum of Modern Art and MoMA PS1.

Selected from a pool of more than one hundred applicants, the fellows will be fully integrated into the renowned museum. In selecting participants a wide net was cast seeking candidates with demonstrated work in museum studies and contemporary art. This singular initiative created to foster talent follows in the steps of the scholarship programme inaugurated in 2012, when the first five VW Fellows were chosen out of a great deal of applicants to gain an inside view of  MoMA and MoMA PS1. Based on these in-depth experiences and their excellent performance, former VW Fellows have gone on to contribute their gained skills to the international arts and cultural scene. While working at venues such as The Metropolitan Museum of Art and Bard College, among others, they’ve develop new formats of art-focused education and the presentation.

"There is a time-honoured principle which also applies to culture and the arts: you learn especially well from especially good ideas. Within the art world, MoMA stands for those ideas and that is why we are very pleased to be able to open MoMA’s doors to young and talented people. Here, they benefit from an outstanding opportunity to generate innovative ideas and new perspectives thanks to the VW Fellows Scholarship Programme", says Benita von Maltzahn, Head of Cultural Engagement within Volkswagen Corporate Communications.

In addition to the VW Fellows Scholarship Programme, Volkswagen Group of America underlines its commitment as Lead Corporate Partner of MoMA’s education programme by supporting several initiatives which have been specifically developed to attract teenagers and students. One recent initiative, "A Tale of Three Cities," involved a collaborative effort led by MoMA's Teen Program which brought together groups of students from London, Chicago and New York to create a new online art course, made for teens by teens. This effort resulted in a four-week online course launched in December 2015 that has since reached students around the globe, from over 70 countries, allowing them to visit international artists in their studios, learn about underground art spaces and emerging art scenes, and to explore the politics, communities, and everyday challenges that shape the contemporary art world today.

On April 15, 2016, MoMA celebrated the opening of In the Making, the culmination of a ten-week workshop that brought New York-based teenagers together with working artists to explore contemporary art and ideas. This exhibition celebrates the first inter-generational class, which united participants from MoMA's Teen Programs and Prime Time initiative to learn and create together.  

MoMA’s education programmes for teenagers and students as well as the VW Fellows Scholarship Programme are essential elements in the partnership established between MoMA, MoMA PS1 and Volkswagen Group of America in 2011. Since then, the Group has enabled the realisation of various art and cultural offerings, including exhibitions, concerts and panel discussions. Among the key objectives of the partnership is the support of the expansion of the international content of online courses as well as educational initiatives within MoMA and MoMA PS1, allowing people of different ages, locations and backgrounds to engage with the arts.