Artist Residency

by Art We There Yet?
ART WE THERE YET
TRAVELING ARTIST RESIDENCY

Currently accepting proposals for artists interested in doing an residency while the bus is traveling through the USA and Canada.  If you are interested in a residency in a different country, please read through “When To Apply” below.

INTRODUCTION

The Art We There Yet Artist Residency is a free program incorporated into the Art We There Yet project. It provides an opportunity for artists to explore and create art inspired by the diversity of the Americas.  This is a unique artist residency open to adventurous and flexible artists who are interested in jumping on the bus with us for 1-4 weeks during our route across North, Central, and South America.

ELIGIBILITY
  • Must be a working artist in any medium
  • Must have experience traveling outside your home country at least one time (we are trying to avoid major complications and issues due to culture shock)
  • Must be very flexible and willing to work with our method of travel (see below)
  • Must have a passport with validity up to 6 months past the end of the residency
  • Must purchase international medical insurance for the duration of the residency
  • Must be able to adjust to a tiny working space (remember that we are living and working in 198 sq ft of space)
  • Must be willing to purchase airfare on short notice, or no more than 1-2 months in advance of residency
  • Must be willing to sign a release and waiver of liability, assumption of risk, and indemnity agreement
IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT ITINERARY AND AMENITIES

Before you consider the residency, we need to make sure you understand how our itinerary is structured.  We are stopping and going depending on resources, artistic opportunities, repairs, political instability, and all other unexpected situations that arise.  Resources are tight, so if we have sudden repairs, we may need to stay in one place for a long time until we can garner enough funds to cover the expense. We might run out of diesel funds and need to do a series of concerts in a region before we can move forward.  A mural opportunity may arise, leading to an extra month within a community. In essence, we do not know which town, state, or country we will be in on any given month.

For these reasons, it is very important that any artist-in-resident be very flexible.  One reason this is a free residency program is because we cannot set firm dates/locations for a residency months in advance.  The only thing we can promise is that our doors, our home, and our hearts are open to any artist who is willing to fly in to meet us, wherever we happen to be at that time. So visiting artists must be willing to book a flight within 1-2 months of flying to meet us, wherever we happen to be at that time.  

We must also make sure you understand the amenities we will provide.  We have a kitchen, a composting toilet, A/C, and a comfy bed for you.  And we will do our very best to make sure everything is working perfectly when you’re with us.  But life does happen, so you should to be prepared the possibility of cold showers if necessary, grilling out if the oven range breaks, rolling the windows down if the A/C breaks and we are miles from a repair shop, etc.  The essence we are trying to convey is that you are jumping in an adventure, and you must be adaptable to unforeseen events. 

PROJECT PROPOSALS
  • Proposals should be between 1-2 pages and include specific details of the project you would like to undertake. Please indicate how long you would like to join us for (between 1-4 weeks).
  • Proposed project must involve pulling inspiration from the country in which you would like to do your residency. We want you to completely immerse yourself in the setting and create art that is a direct response to your experience in that country.
  • When writing your proposal, please be mindful of space.  We will be traveling with us on a mid-size school bus, which is our transportation, shared living space, and work space. You will have two large drawers for your clothes/personal items/art supplies or gear.  You will have access to the large studio desk or the dinette table for project work, depending on how much space you need (see this video).  
  • Please submit project proposals to [email protected]
WHEN TO APPLY – currently accepting proposals for residencies in the USA and Canada
  • We are accepting proposals on a country-by-country or regional basis.  For example, we will announce that we are accepting proposals for Mexico when we are approaching the end of our time in the USA and know we will be entering Mexico soon.  
  • Currently accepting proposals for residencies when the bus is traveling through the USA and Canada.  If you are interested in a residency in a different country, please keep checking this page.  Our estimates below will give you some sense of when we may be nearing the country or region you are interested in doing a residency in.  
IMPORTANT INFORMATION ON CURRENT ITINERARY ESTIMATES

We are currently in:  Colorado
Current Plan:  We are currently in Boulder, CO.  Our current plan is to drive north from Boulder through Yellowstone to then make our way to the US-Canada border.  We will cross as soon as it opens.  Right now it is set to open June 21, but this could change.  After that, we are making our way straight to Alaska.  We will come back down, crossing across Canada to then dip into Wisconsin, down to Chicago, over to Detroit, up into Canada again to make our way to New Brunswick, down into Maine, down the east coast to NYC, then across the country to California where we will go down the west coast passing through Mammoth Lakes, the Bay Area, and Los Angeles.  We hope to cross into Mexico by the end of 2020.  Please keep in mind this is the very tentative plan, and this could change depending on COVID-19 restrictions, opportunities that arise, funding, unexpected repairs, etc.

FURTHER LOGISTICS
What we will provide:
  • Access to our humble studio space (you will have space to edit photos and videos, make small paintings, or work with Cora’s recording gear)
  • Musical instruments (keyboard, guitar, ukelele, tenor sax, clarinet)
  • Some photography and lighting equipment
  • A comfortable bed
  • Access to the kitchen
  • Friendly company
What you must cover:
  • The cost of your airfare, food, health insurance, and visa fees (if any)
  • The art materials that you need to create your work (paints, canvases, etc). 
SUMMARY

We are very excited to welcome fellow artists on the bus!  We hope that the residency provides inspiration and sparks the creation of amazing work.  We are so very excited to see your proposal and to have you on the bus!  If you have any questions please don’t hesitate to contact us and we will be very happy to answer your questions.  See you on the road!

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