Recipients will
be given $2,000 for stipend and materials. The residencies
will culminate in a public forum on April 21, 2005 presented
in conjunction with the Center for Bioenvironmental Research
at Tulane and Xavier Universities (www.cbr.tulane.edu).
Both river residents will present their new work and join
a panel of environmental scientists in considering the interrelationship
of the culture and science of the river.
Humans have always depended on rivers for
fresh water as a necessity of life as well as for the
sustenance of plants and animals that are vital to human
existence. Rivers also have provided transportation, folklore,
recreation and culture for humans from earliest times
to the present. The Mississippi River holds a special
place in the culture of people and history. Like the Nile,
the Mississippi harbors the stories of many people from
diverse countries, yet continues to be the literal lifeblood
of a nation. The River is a pulsating entity whose rhythm,
power and stories inform a region. This magnificent body
of water has inspired authors, musicians, artists, historians,
and playwrights for a century. Today, however, the Mississippi
River, like many others, is in need, challenged by pollution
and containment. We honor this endangered treasure and
its inhabitants through the establishment of a program
of River Residencies. River Residencies provide sustained
quality work time in contact with the Mississippi; time
in which one can experience and study the river using
it as a catalyst to create art that contributes to our
awareness of the river, its needs and its gifts to all
life.
A multidisciplinary jury will judge proposals
on the following criteria:
- The creative use of ASITW resources including
its natural environment, serenity and proximity to the
river.
- Evidence of rigorousness of thinking
- Harmony of purpose with the ASITW mission
to protect the bottomland hardwood forest and to create
within it a retreat where artists can draw inspiration
from the natural environment.
- The creativeness and integrity of the
proposal.
- Breadth of inquiry crossing the arts
and other disciplines such as science and humanities.
- Evidence of previous investigation of
rivers and the environment.
Supported in part by a grant from
the Louisiana State Arts Council through the Louisiana Division
of the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts.
