Art and Design Reflect and Shape Society

Call for Nominations

Balter Fellowship

We are honoring and connecting creatives whose work helps people see and think differently.

Please join us. Nominations are accepted on a rolling basis.

Watch this space – fellows will be announced soon!

Our upcoming Campaign

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About our Organization

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Air grass unto that set given hath is is Isn’t evening was was made. Don’t over saying of behold yielding created green second tree.

We are honoring creatives who help people see and think differently.

Purpose

To ‘balter’ means to dance, without any particular grace or skill, but usually with enjoyment. This fellowship is designed to honor diverse creators and help them learn from each other, explore new business models, forge novel collaborations, or just enjoy trying.

For Fellows

Goals of the Balter Fellows community The program provides an online community where fellows can anonymously or visibly engage each other in co-working, critique, collaboration, and discussion. A priority discussion theme for 2021-22 will be emerging business models in the arts.

What is the expected commitment of fellows? Fellows agree to show up for other creatives in the community. This means joining the online group, showing up to a couple of all-fellows virtual events, and being open to discussion and collaboration with other fellows. The time commitment for most fellows is a few hours a month.

Is this a formal affiliation? Does it come with funding? This program has the sole purpose of honoring outstanding creatives and connecting them virtually around shared interests. All fellows remain based in their own practice and/or place of employment. There is no funding, no expectation to work on a specific project, and no formal or employee relationship implied with the university.

For Nominators

Please help us find and celebrate the people who help us all see and think differently. To qualify, nominated creators and their projects should meet all of the following criteria:

World class: The creators and/or their projects are recognized as world-class
Inspiring: The product or experience pushes the boundary of how design and the arts can shape a more vibrant and collaborative future society.
Diverse: The creators embody values of diversity in one or more ways: gender, race, culture, region, socioeconomic level, and their creative practice. We are open to nominations that are ‘outside’ the norms of their practice.

We also accept nominations of people who may not be creators themselves, but have a track record of supporting diverse creatives and meaningfully including the communities represented in their work.

Nominate a person or team whose exceptional work helps people see and think differently.

Nominations are accepted on a rolling basis, but only processed annually.

. . .

The Design Lab’s mission is to make Harvard University a world leader in product design theory, research, and practice. We help creators develop more desirable and diverse products and services based on research. Our definition of ‘Desirable Designs’ are those that:

Reduce stress and/or add delight to people’s lives.
Are as inclusive as possible.
Are developed based on quality design and UX research.
Feel organic.
Account for complex attitudes and behaviors, recognizing that someone who, for example, cares about the environment can have contradictory behaviors by recycling (+), eating a lot of meat (-), and flying frequently (-).