Funding Opportunities
NEST Studio for ArtsÌýcurrently funds Graduate Summer Fellowships and Community Grants. Throughout the year, we also sponsor and curate a variety of projects and exhibits across campus, in ¶¶Òõ´«Ã½ÔÚÏß and the state of Colorado. If you would like to know more, please contact us and feel free to propose collaborations.
Please visit this page for updates on deadlines for the Graduate Summer Fellowships (usually in Spring) and Community Grants (usually in Fall).
Check out our Fellows page for previously funded projects.
Current Opportunities
NEST Graduate Student Summer Fellowships, in Partnership with SPIKE
We are currently seeking applications for Summer 2026 Fellows!
NEST (Nature, Environment, Science & Technology) Studio for the Arts is partnering with the newly formed SPIKE Center for Sustainability Education to share a call for summer fellows to work on collaborative projects bridging the arts and sciences, with a focus of several fellowships on sustainability.
Since 2017, NEST has supported over 80 graduate students, facilitating art-science exhibitions across the state, featuring new research that has manifested in film, sculpture, music, painting, video, virtual reality, and all manner of live performance, including poetry, theater, and dance. Projects have been presented at scientific conferences, in science journals, and yielded quantitative data in multiple dissertations. ÌýIn 2026, NEST joins forces with SPIKE to engage more students and to think creatively about sustainability in cross-disciplinary work at CU ¶¶Òõ´«Ã½ÔÚÏß.
CU ¶¶Òõ´«Ã½ÔÚÏß is home to some of the top arts, earth, and space science graduate programs in the country, as well as being a leader in sustainability. The NEST and SPIKE Graduate Student Summer Fellowships are intended to explore the interrelation, generative overlaps, and productive differences between arts-based and science-based disciplines.
General Requirements
The central requirements for these graduate fellowships are (1) creating cross-disciplinary pairs—or small teams—of graduate collaborators to (2) welcome and mentor an undergraduate student who will work on a media project alongside the team, (3) result in a broadly-defined media project for public exhibition on campus, and (4) where the implementation of the sustainability practice explored should be considered in the final product. Example projects may include: public installations, performances, time-based or moving-image based works, sonic or audio compositions, or any other arts forms that would be within practice-based research. Undergraduate mentees can be identified by the applicants, or - after acceptance - with the assistance of NEST/ SPIKE.
Each graduate team will be supported with up to $10,000 total. Each undergraduate fellow will receive an additional $1,000 stipend from NEST.ÌýThis fellowship is generally intended for pairs of CU ¶¶Òõ´«Ã½ÔÚÏß graduate students creating original research and/or creative work projects in collaboration—with one fellow in the arts and humanities, and one in the sciences; both broadly defined. However, if you are interested in having additional collaborators, we ask you to contact NEST before applying. We expect grantees will submit an exhibition-ready or publication-ready project on or by the end of Fall 2026—some flexibility is possible.
Proposal Requirements
Proposals should be a maximum of two pages and include: names and departments of collaborators, a project overview, a summary of research questions and intended project outcomes, and an implementation plan. An initial budget is also requested and may be submitted as an extra page. Proposals will be evaluated based on the overall vision of the project, the depth of disciplinary methods engaged, and the feasibility for this project to be completed by or in Fall 2026. Be sure to also address how you envision a public-facing component for the final work—e.g., workshop, performance, exhibition, special event, panel, screening, poster presentation, etc. Finally, make sure you take into account current campus, county, state, and federal safety guidelines.
Eligibility
Students must be currently enrolled as full or part-time graduate students at CU ¶¶Òõ´«Ã½ÔÚÏß. Doctoral students and Master’s students are all encouraged to apply. Questions should be directed toÌýnest@colorado.edu.
Deadline
Deadline for proposals is March 23rd, 2026. Send proposals toÌýnest@colorado.edu with the subject line: Summer Graduate Fellowship Application.
Ìý
NEST-MRS Arts and Science Residency – Call for ArtistsÌýÌý
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NEST (Nature, Environment, Science and Technology) Studio for the Arts and the Mountain Research Station (MRS) are excited to announce the NEST-MRS Arts and Science Residency, and we are seeking artists interested in spending 2 weeks at the MRS for an immersive art and science experience.ÌýÌý
Over the years, both NEST and the MRS have worked towards cross campus collaboration and interdisciplinarity at CU ¶¶Òõ´«Ã½ÔÚÏß, with a focus on the environment. For the first time, both groups will work together to bring a group of eco-oriented artists to MRS to observe and capture our changing climate, and to witness, document, and share the transformation of the landscape at 2900 m (9500 feet) above sea level in the Front Range of the Colorado Rockies. Collaboration and conversation will center on sustainability, with special regard to the region’s snowpack and shifts in water ecology.ÌýÌý
For over 100 years, the MRS has brought together scientists, students, and the general public for research and educational opportunities in a variety of fields such as plant and animal ecology, biogeochemistry, hydrology, geomorphology, and atmospheric science. The research station is among the premier sites for alpine environmental science in the world, tracing climate shifts. NEST has supported over 80 graduate students, and many community members, facilitating art-science exhibitions across the state. NEST’s partnerships have resulted in new research that has manifested in film, sculpture, music, painting, video, virtual reality, and all manner of live performance, including poetry, theater, and dance.ÌýÌýÌý
Artists in residency will remain at the MRS for a period of 2 weeks (June 5th - June 21 st). Artists will have the opportunity to attend the MRS summer seminar series and to shadow scientists conducting their ongoing research at the MRS.ÌýÌýÌý
June is a particularly relevant month at the MRS. As a threshold month, June is when winter finally lets go and everything starts moving. Snowmelt spreads across the meadows and down the trails and alpine creeks, soils open up, and the growing season begins almost immediately. Spring migration is still underway, so mornings are full of bird activity layered over the sound of water and wind in the subalpine forest. Wildflowers track the retreating snow, appearing quickly and unevenly, and reminding you how tightly life here is tied to timing. The general vibe is focused but buoyant: long days, cold nights, coffee before sunrise, and the shared sense that field work season has arrived – and there is a lot to pay attention to. Artists will have an opportunity to be in sync with MRS’ moving seasons and with the campus at large.ÌýÌýÌý
EligibilityÌý
All currently enrolled CU ¶¶Òõ´«Ã½ÔÚÏß graduate students immersed in arts and sciences are encouraged to apply, either for solo individual projects or as small teams. If faculty are interested in applying, please contact us directly. The call is open to all forms of creative research (music, dance, performance, studio arts, filmmaking, photography, virtual reality, writing, or any other modalities) by graduate students from any discipline. If applicants are concurrently applying for the NEST Summer Fellowships as part of a team, please indicate that in your proposal, and teams may also apply for Summer Fellows research to be conducted at the MRS. Questions should be directed to nest@colorado.edu.Ìý
General RequirementsÌý
The central requirements for the residency are (1) the ability to stay all or the majority of the 17 days residency at MRS (2) fund your personal travel to and from MRS, (3) result in an arts and science piece that Ìýcould potentially be exhibited at MRS and travel to public exhibitions with NEST.Ìý
Each artist will receive a $500 stipend for materials, and will have room and meals covered for the entirety of the residency. ÌýPlease check the MRS’ lodging options of cabins (/mrs/staying-mrs/lodging).ÌýÌý
Proposal RequirementsÌý
Proposals should be a maximum of two pages and include: name(s), project overview, a summary of research questions and intended project outcomes, one example of previous work, and a link to artists’ portfolio (if applicable). ÌýProposals will be evaluated based on the overall vision of the project, feasibility of the project and timeline and alignment with the MRS’ and NEST’s mission.Ìý
DeadlineÌý
Deadline for proposals is April 10th, 2026. Send proposals to nest@colorado.edu with the subject line: NEST-MRS Arts and Science Residency.ÌýÌýÌýÌý