Contemplative Fellowships For Artists
The Hemera Foundation has partnered with Zen Mountain Monastery to provide financial support for artists to attend retreats at the Monastery at reduced or no cost. The Tending Space Fellowship Program for Artists was developed with the view that art has the capacity to infuse the experience of everyday life with awareness. The aim of the program is to nurture the creative practice of seeing things as they are, to cultivate that awareness, and to live and create from this insight. To accomplish this, we provide financial support for artists to experience the immersive, contemplative environment of a meditation retreat. Qualified applicants will be full-time artists—visual, performing artists, writers, and multi-disciplinary artists—whose professions directly relate to their art-making practice.
Artists who have never attended a residential meditation retreat longer than a weekend will be provided with 100% funding for the retreat of their choice. Artists who have attended at least one meditation retreat longer than a weekend will be offered 50% funding, with need-based support available beyond that. The program is open to domestic and international applicants, as well as groups of artists.
For Health Care Professionals (CFHP)
The Hemera Foundation has partnered with Zen Mountain Monastery to provide financial support for health care professionals to attend retreats at the Monastery.Hemera’s Contemplative Fellowships for Health Care Professionals support health care professionals’ growth through contemplative practice in a retreat setting, allowing individuals the opportunity to cultivate mindfulness, compassion, personal well-being, and professional efficacy, and, in turn, embody and apply these qualities to promote positive health care environments.If you currently work full-time as a health care professional, or work directly with clients or overseeing other health care professionals, you are eligible for a fellowship. Applicants who have previous retreat experience will receive 50% baseline funding, with need-based support available beyond the baseline.
For Educators
The Hemera Foundation has partnered with Zen Mountain Monastery to provide financial support for Pre-K–12 educators and current M.Ed. students to attend retreats at the Monastery at reduced or no cost.
Hemera’s Contemplative Fellowships for Educators support educators’ growth through contemplative practice in a retreat setting, allowing individuals the opportunity to cultivate mindfulness, compassion, personal well-being, and professional efficacy, and, in turn, embody and apply these qualities to promote positive school cultures.
If you currently work full-time for a Pre-K–12 educational institution, or are enrolled in a Master’s degree program in education, and have never attended a residential retreat longer than a weekend, you are eligible for a fellowship. Applicants who have previous retreat experience will receive 50% baseline funding, with need-based support available beyond the baseline.
To Apply
Click here to apply for a fellowship (applicants will need to pay a $5 application fee that goes directly to SlideRoom). Once you have been approved for a fellowship, you can register for a retreat by calling the Monastery office at (845) 688-2228. All of our retreats are open to Hemera fellows. Our monthly meditation intensives are designed for those with an established meditation practice, and first time participants will be asked to do a phone interview with one of our senior monastics. We will award Hemera’s Contemplative Fellowships on a first-come, first-served basis.
Please see our retreat schedule, and read about what it is like to do a retreat at the Monastery.
The Hemera Foundation, a private foundation established in 2007, works in the fields of early childhood development, contemplative practice, and the arts. Hemera develops and invests in strategic initiatives that lead to sustainable systemic cultural change.
Part of the long-term vision of the Hemera Contemplative Fellowships for Educators Program is to build a community of fellows, both online and in person. By accepting Hemera Fellowship funding, you agree to allow your contact information to be shared with the Hemera Foundation and to fill out a survey about your retreat experience and the impact it has on your work.
