13 Jan 2015

Call for Artists: SPACES Creative Place-making Residency in Philadelphia

One part arts practice, one part social activism, SPACES is a rare opportunity to explore art-making, relationship building, and emergent strategies within the context of a community-based artist residency.

RESIDENCY AWARD

• One, $15,000 stipend per artist or artist collective.
• Free housing and studio space.
• Access to The Village's arts facilities, including program buildings, art parks and urban farm.
• Assistance gaining access/use of building and/or lots in The Village Heart or adjacent Germantown-Lehigh commercial corridor.
• Creative and resource-based support from The Village's network of artists, community activists, organizers, and enthusiasts.
• Integration with The Village — access to our formalized youth arts, culture, and environmental programs.
Curated, publicized and facilitated speaking engagements, exhibitions, or workshops at Philadelphia-based arts, culture and educational venues.

Cycle 2 SPACES Visiting Artists will live at The Village of Arts and Humanities for 6 months, rent-free, in a creatively renovated row home. They will lead a core team of community members (Neighborhood Artists) to co-design and execute a transformative artistic project that addresses issues of social equity in our community. Artists will receive a $15,000 honorarium for 6 months, adjusted to reflect any increase in length of stay.


CALL FOR ARTISTS

This is a call for artists, not a call for projects. If you are selected as a finalist, you will be invited to continue to a second round in which you will be asked to suggest a specific project.

At this stage of the application process, we are seeking insight into your experiences, your process, and a rough sense of how you would approach the challenges our community has set out for us in Cycle 2.

We are specifically interested in your ability to collaborate with others to clearly transmit an artistic vision, while distributing authorship and transferring skills in innovative ways. We are looking for artists with a track record of artistic excellence and an ability to creatively collect and respond to data, and who have proven their dedication to enacting social change.

If you join SPACES, you'll embark upon a process of intensive collaboration and learning. You'll invent and refine tactics in an environment scarce in stability and material resources and rich in creativity, love, and desire for opportunity. In addition to an artist, you'll be a facilitator, an entrepreneur, a mentor, and a neighbor.

If this sounds like the challenge for you, then we hope you'll answer our call.


QUALIFYING ARTISTS

To successfully apply for SPACES, you must have the capacity to make The Village your full-time residence for 6-9 months, and to make SPACES your primary occupation.

Not only does executing a SPACES project take a good deal of time, but becoming a trusted neighbor requires your consistent presence. Successful applicants will have the desire and capacity to fully immerse themselves in neighborhood life.

For this reason, we ask that you:
Are not enrolled in classes during the time period of the residency
Do not have a full-time job in addition to the residency
Live full-time in the artist residency

Of course, we understand that for many artists it is important to be able to maintain ongoing projects and collaborations, and we will offer support when needed to help you balance your commitments. We're proud of our artists' engagements around the US and the world! However, you should be able to make SPACES your first priority for the 6-9 months you are on campus.

Artists working in any media may apply.

Both individual artists and artist collectives may apply. (Please note that the honorarium is the same for both collectives and individuals.)

Artists must be ages 21+.

Artists must be based in the United States.


2015 APPLICATION TIMELINE

1-6 Call for Artists released
1-20 Live Q&A with Aviva Kapust, Executive Director
2-2 Deadline for Statement of Intent (11:59 pm, EST)
3-2 Finalist notification; Round 2 Application sent out
3-2 – 3-27 Tours for Round 2 Applicants
4-1 Deadline for Round 2 Applications
4-13 – 4-26 Finalist interviews
5-1 Notification of grantees
6-1 – 6-12 Orientation
6-15 Artist Inauguration
6-15 – 12-15 SPACES Cycle 2