Frequently Asked Questions
Who can apply to the Helix Fellowship?
The Helix Fellowship is open to artists who are working at the professional level and students and scholars (who are enrolled or employed during the 2024–2025 academic year) at a recognized institution. Applicants may work in any medium, discipline, or field.
Helix is open to participants of all backgrounds and any age interested in exploring the beauty and alchemy of diverse individuals and communities coming together to live and create.
We strongly encourage applicants from oppressed and marginalized backgrounds to apply — including queer people, trans and gender nonconforming people, people of color, and people with diverse immigrant backgrounds and statuses.
Who leads the Helix Fellowship?
The Helix Fellowship is facilitated by leading scholars, activists, and artists working in history, literature, politics, languages, and culture. Helix alumni from previous cohorts also join the program as resident assistants and to facilitate workshops. Our deep connections in the regions we travel bring fellows into contact with contemporary thinkers, cultural activists, and change-makers.
How much does the Helix Fellowship cost?
All program costs are subsidized for all fellows. We strongly encourage prospective participants to apply, regardless of financial status. Helix is a pay-what-you-can program that offers generous subsidies and fundraising support as needed. No applicant is turned away for lack of funds. Read more about financial assistance here.
How long is the Helix Fellowship?
The Helix Fellowship unfolds over two calendar years and lasts 12 months in total.
We gather for an initial week-long intensive residential program in Southern California in summer 2024, followed by regular online workshops during fall, winter, and spring. In 2025 we embark on the Fellowship’s signature summer travel experience to Central and Eastern Europe, which begins in Southern California and spans the full month of July.
There are multiple opportunities throughout the Fellowship to mutually re-assess continued participation based on interests, goals, and overall fit. If fellows find particular aspects of the program not in line with their own practice, are reluctant to participate in the program as designed, or hinder other fellows’ full engagement with the Fellowship, a fellow’s tenure may end earlier.
Do I need to know Yiddish? Am I expected to learn Yiddish for the Fellowship?
Absolutely not. Fellows need not have any background in Yiddish. However, those with knowledge of Yiddish and other local languages will able to use relevant primary sources during the Fellowship.
Our programming deals with cultural work produced in Yiddish and other regional languages, depending on the interests and backgrounds of each unique cohort. However, Helix is an arts and culture residency, not a language learning immersion.
If you are specifically interested in learning the Yiddish language, there are a number of summer programs and courses you can take before or after the Helix Fellowship. We can help you determine which program best fits your goals.
Does the Helix Fellowship include any religious group activities?
The Fellowship attracts a diverse group of people with a wide range of origins and beliefs: Jewish and non-Jewish, as well as what may be considered religious or not.
Our activities often bring us physically and intellectually to historical religious centers and sites, but the Fellowship does not impose religious doctrine of any kind, or ask any participant to engage in any religious activity (including group recitation of liturgy, gender segregation, or wearing certain types of dress).
Fellows must be available for programming every day during the program’s residential and touring components, including some evening events, activities, and possible travel.
Can I get university credit if I am a student?
This is up to your own university. While this is certainly an intensive academic program, we are not a credit-granting institution. We encourage participants to find out whether the program can be counted for credit at their colleges and universities.
What are the Covid safety requirements?
All accepted fellows are required to be fully vaccinated — including boosters, if they are available to you — and to provide proof of a negative test prior to arrival for in-person programing. Accepted fellows will receive detailed, up-to-date information on Covid-safe protocols for the residential and travel components of the Helix Fellowship.
Where can I ask a less frequently asked question?
Please write to us with any other questions you might have!