Wave Pool Incubator (WPI)
Timeline
October 1: Open call published
October 20: Information webinar @ 4PM - REGISTER HERE
Wednesdays 4-6PM: Office hours for consultations at Swell Art Cafe
November 1: Stage 1 deadline
November 13: Finalists invited to Stage 2
Week of November 23: in-person interviews
Week of December 7: all applicants notified
January 4, 2027 - July 2: Fellowship period
The Wave Pool Incubator is a six-month fellowship supporting Cincinnati-area artists at the early stages of establishing ambitious, long-term, community-centered initiatives. Fellows receive a $4,000 stipend, $1,500 project budget, and mentorship to plan the work, test approaches, build relationships, fundraise, and develop their initiatives toward sustainability.
WPI Fellows @ The Well
Wave Pool began as an artist-led experiment in an abandoned storefront, testing how contemporary art could serve a neighborhood. That experiment helped transform Camp Washington into one of Cincinnati's most creative districts. We know what early, attentive support makes possible, and how much harder things are without it.
The Wave Pool Incubator supports artists at the most formative and precarious stage of ambitious, long-term initiatives, when ideas need room to take shape, relationships need time to build, and paths toward institutional or philanthropic partnerships are just starting.
Artists based in Cincinnati metro apply with a concept. The six-month fellowship provides a stipend, a project budget, access to facilities, professional mentorship, and discounted fiscal sponsorship. Fellows use the time to build community relationships, brainstorm and test approaches in a supportive environment, and develop their projects toward sustainability through grants, partnerships, business models, or institutional collaborations.
Artists based anywhere in the Cincinnati metro or Northern Kentucky are welcome to apply, but special consideration will be given to initiatives taking place in Camp Washington or its immediate vicinity.
What We're Looking For
We seek Cincinnati-metro artists with ambitious concepts for artist-led initiatives. Strong candidates will propose projects that:
Embed artistic creativity into the public realm through innovative approaches.
Center on relationships, collaboration, and long-term impact.
Require sustained investment in trust-building and iterative development
Could lead to new artist-led institutions, businesses, co-ops, communities of practice, or other sustained structures.
Benefit from cross-sector partnerships. Examples include artists collaborating with health or social services organizations, local government, universities, businesses, or other non-arts structures.
We have a very broad understanding of "art" and "artists," and are open to a wide range of cultural practices and disciplines, as long as they have the potential to grow beyond a project into something lasting.
The inaugural cohort began in April 2026 with three fellows.
Erika NJ Allen is establishing Clay Church, a community ceramics studio in Camp Washington offering intermediate-to-advanced instruction and creating a pathway from beginner to professional practice.
Matt Whitby is establishing an artist-maker studio cooperative in a Lower Price Hill warehouse, where members share space, tools, resources, and skills.
Bethany Pelle is establishing Kyndred Clay, a community ceramics studio in Newport's East Row historic district, with adaptive apprenticeships creating professional pathways for low-income, neurodivergent, and chronically ill makers.
Cultural Journalism Fellowship at Soapbox Cincinnati
One fellowship in this cohort is dedicated to cultural journalism, in partnership with Soapbox Cincinnati. The fellow will establish a lasting cultural journalism initiative: a freelance practice, a new outlet, a new program at Soapbox, or another long-term structure that contributes to innovative journalistic coverage of culture in Cincinnati.
The journalism fellow receives the standard fellowship support except the project budget. Soapbox provides journalism mentorship. The fellow publishes six stories of 400–800 words on Soapbox during the fellowship, is paid for each at Soapbox's standard rates in addition to the stipend, and receives a byline and author profile. Soapbox introduces the fellow to its readers, distributes each story through its channels, and includes the fellow in its editorial advisory and community listening sessions.
You do not need to be a trained journalist to apply, but you need to love writing and be naturally curious, and have an idea for a journalistic initiative that can potentially sustain itself past the fellowship.
The journalism fellowship will be awarded only if the applicant pool contains a suitable candidate; otherwise the spot is filled through the regular fellowship selection.
$4,000 stipend
$1,500 project budget
Access to Wave Pool facilities (ceramics, woodworking, project space)
Mentorship from Wave Pool staff on fundraising, collaboration development, professional development, strategic planning, budgeting
Peer support from cohort members
Discounted fiscal sponsorship fee (4%, reduced from standard 8%) for grants and donations received for the project during the fellowship and for three years after
What Fellows Receive
What We Expect from Fellows
Fellows should use the six months to develop their projects toward sustainability. This means building relationships with potential partners, experimenting, refining the project concept, and identifying pathways to future support such as grants, donors, institutional collaborations, or other forms of support.
The fellowship does not require fellows to leave employment, relocate, or otherwise disrupt their lives. However, fellows should be prepared to invest meaningfully and consistently in their projects throughout the six months.
We ask fellows to:
Participate in biweekly cohort meetings
Present their work publicly after the fellowship, in a format appropriate to the project
Document their process and progress
Complete a final report summarizing process, outcomes, and next steps
The fellowship is self-directed. Fellows should be able to work independently and take the lead in developing their projects.
Open to artists based in the Cincinnati region
Housing is not provided; fellows must be able to commute to Wave Pool for the duration of the program
Individuals and collectives may apply (stipend and budget remain fixed regardless of group size)
No restrictions on career stage or discipline, although priority will be given to artists already working across disciplines and with experience in facilitating complex projects in a public realm
Past Wave Pool fellows and residents are welcome to apply
Eligibility
Application Process
Finalists will be invited to submit:
CV or resume
Expanded project vision
What motivates you for this work?
Why are you the right person to do it?
Who are your potential collaborators (people, institutions)?
How do you envision this project evolving over the next year? 2 years? 5 years? 10 years?
Stage 1: initial application (see questions at the end of this document)
Stage 2: full application (by invitation)
Stage 3: in-person interview
Contact for questions: Boris Oicherman, Wave Pool Executive and Artistic Director: boris@wavepoolgallery.org