Apply for Sediment: What Comes With Us Residencies
PROPOSALS NOW OPEN
Sediment carries the memory of displacement, flowing from places known and unknown across rivers, oceans, and civilizations. Much like the sediment that formed the land we walk upon, the extraordinary culture of New Orleans – perhaps more aptly named Bulbancha, a word in Choctaw and related languages meaning place of many tongues – has also been formed by the generations of people who have flowed through this place whether by choice or by force.
Simultaneously, communities have long been eroded by legacies of extraction and conquest, and this violent displacement continues today. Accelerating climate emergencies, institutionalized violence, and other forms of forced migration are all escalating the urgency to find safer ground.
Movement is essential to life, but sometimes a person, community, or species is compelled to leave their home. This raises complex questions: what do you take with you and what gets left behind? How do you carry generational wisdom, strength, and joy? Or if you risk staying, what tools, alchemy, and power do you need?
Inspired by the constant motion of sediment and its power to both build and crumble, we seek proposals that illuminate the monumental decisions involved in historical and contemporary migration stories, human and non-human alike.
Image credit: Artwork by Daniel McCormick & Mary O’Brien, photo by Monique Verdin
APPLICATIONS NOW OPEN!
Check back to register for a webinar for Sediment: What Comes With Us.
Direct questions to Cammie Hill-Prewitt at info@astudiointhewoods.org.
PLEASE REVIEW OUR FAQ BEFORE YOU BEGIN YOUR APPLICATION
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DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSIONS
Proposals are due February 22, 2027 and residencies will be awarded by May 7, 2027.
DATES
Residencies are six weeks and will take place between August 2027 and December 2028. Flexibility in your dates is appreciated as we try to accommodate everyone’s schedules. You may come over six consecutive weeks or come twice for three-week sessions.
ARTIST ELIGIBILITY
Local, national, and international visual, musician/composing, performance, literary, new media, and interdisciplinary artists are eligible to apply. Both established and emerging artists may apply, but a dedicated practice and demonstrated commitment to public engagement are expected. Artists of color are encouraged to apply and we are particularly interested in receiving applications from Indigenous artists. Students enrolled in degree-seeking programs are not eligible. Collaborative teams of up to two artists can be in residence. Please see our FAQ for more information on how to apply as a collaborative team.
SELECTION PROCESS
A multidisciplinary jury composed of artists, arts professionals, and environmental activists will review applications in two rounds. The first round will happen asynchronously, and jurors will review and rank all applications. Top contenders will be moved to a second round that happens live. We offer to share anonymized jury feedback to all applicants. The jury will judge proposals on the following criteria:
- The creativity and integrity of the proposal
- How the proposal expresses and expounds on the theme of Sediment: What Comes With Us
- Demonstrated ability to collaborate with colleagues and wider audiences
- Projects that are deeply respectful of the communities and individuals with whom they interact
SUPPORT
Recipients will be provided $4000 as a stipend and $2000 towards materials**. We support each residency with a photography session and an interview with a videographer. We additionally fund optional field trips such as boat rides and eco/history tours. Depending on the needs of the project, we may be able to assist artists in accessing Tulane University faculty consultants or research collections. We provide full room and board including food, utilities for living, and studio space to selected residents. Residents are expected to cover personal living expenses, additional materials and supplies, and any other expenses relating to the cost of producing work incurred while in the program. Travel and shipping expenses to and from A Studio in the Woods for the residency are also the responsibility of the artist. Please see our FAQ for more information about the studio and living experience.
**Sediment Residencies are six weeks and include a total of $6000 in artist and supply stipends. All of our residencies awards are based on our stipend scale of approximately $1000 per week. This is in addition to other residency supports such as grocery reimbursements, documentation, and field trips.
SUBMISSION GUIDELINES
Please review the following guidelines closely and direct any questions to Cammie Hill-Prewitt at info@astudiointhewoods.org.
- Complete the application form below.
- Submit the following on Dropbox:
- Proposal of work – no more than 2 pages in length. Topics to consider include the following, but you are not required to answer each point:
- Start the proposal with a 1-2 sentence synopsis of the proposed project.
- How your project addresses and/or what is your personal relationship to the theme of Sediment: What Comes With Us.
- What you envision as your ultimate creation/contribution and how you might introduce & present it.
- Individuals, groups and/or resources in New Orleans and beyond whom you would like to engage and how.
- How will you define “success” for this project and how will you measure it? What are your short-term and long-term goals? We recognize that 6 weeks may be only the beginning of a long-term project.
- Give an example of a past project(s) that demonstrates your ability to execute this one. If engaging directly with communities, give examples of how you built trust and/or created reciprocity.
- If applying as a collaborative team, please comment on your history working together and how this collaboration is integral to the project you are proposing.
- Please do not use generative AI to craft your proposal. A Studio in the Woods will not use AI to review applications and jurors will be instructed to read for the criteria listed above, not grammar and syntax.
- Please note that A Studio in the Woods does not have capacity to maintain artists’ projects post residency
- Resume – A current resume that includes important or significant publications, awards, or reviews.
- Work Samples – 10 images, 10 pages or 10 minutes of audio/video, see further details below.
- Image list/description (optional)
- Application fee is $30. If this is a hardship, please contact info@astudiointhewoods.org for additional information.
Proposal, resume, and work samples should be submitted via Dropbox. Please submit all materials as individual documents in a Dropbox folder. (Note: some people have had trouble accessing the free Dropbox level, it is called basic and can be found here: https://www.dropbox.com/basic ) “Share” your folder with info@astudiointhewoods.org and include link to Dropbox folder in the online application form. Click here for instructions on how to share your folder. Title all files and folders with your name (last name first), the item, and no extraneous spaces or punctuation. For example: LastnameFirstnameApp.doc, LastnameFirstnameResume.doc, LastnameFirstnameWorksample1.jpg. Please format all as PDF, JPG, DOC, or PPT files. Due to their large size, please send audio/video samples as links if possible or contact info@astudiointhewoods.org for other submission options.
WORK SAMPLES – 10 images, 10 pages or 10 minutes of audio/video – if submitting a combination, please submit no more than 10 units (unit = 1 image/page/minute) of content. Image List/Sample Description optional.
- Visual Artists:
- 10 images representative of your most recent work
- Image list with title, date, size, media and brief description
- Musicians / Composers:
- 2 sample recordings of your work not to exceed 5 minutes each (excerpts accepted, please identify the selection to be considered)
- Scores that accompany the recordings
- Performing Artists:
- 2 video clips of your performances not to exceed 5 minutes each (excerpts accepted, please identify the selection to be considered)
- Script or short description describing your selections
- Literary Artists:
- 10 page writing sample (excerpts accepted, please identify the selection to be considered)
- New Media and Interdisciplinary Artists:
- Please review other categories to determine what materials to submit
If submitting a combination, please submit no more than 10 units (unit = 1 image/page/minute) of content.
