The Philadelphia Residency
The Philadelphia Residency (Residency) is a three-month career-building and creation module established by Twelve Gates Arts (12G) to provide early-career artists with the physical and communal space, resources, and industry knowledge to plant roots and flourish in Philadelphia. This residency is designed for artists identifying as South Asian, South West Asian North African, (SA/SWANA), Black, Indigenous, Person of Color (BIPOC), and/or part of the Global South or Global Majority. 12G encourages artists identifying as women and/or queer to apply. In its second year, the residency offers a robust season of participatory exposure programming that not only empowers residents to seek out the skill sets and knowledge they desire, but also provides direct access to Philadelphia’s makers, writers, creators, and producers. Ultimately, the Residency is an opportunity to create, culminating in a final group exhibition.
The Residency will accommodate a cohort of diverse visual creatives, offer three months of uninterrupted time, space, and resources, and a curriculum of skill-building and career-focused workshops that connect residents to the local arts ecosystem. Through its partnerships with institutions, local museums and galleries, universities, community organizations, and established makers, artists, writers, educators, critics, and curators, the Residency offers residents myriad throughways to build a sustainable individual practice in Philadelphia. The curriculum is designed to 1) create intimate introductions to established artists and directors of major presenting arts institutions; 2) provide resident-informed skill-building workshops; and 3) equip its graduates to navigate our city’s rich and resourced arts scene, such that their practice can thrive beyond the Residency.
Mission Statement
The Philadelphia Residency engages early-career artists in the city’s arts ecosystem and nurtures an artistic practice that is collaborative, dynamic, and rooted in Philadelphia.
Residency Curriculum
The Residency Curriculum consists of monthly site visits, workshops, studio visits, and studio time:
● During site visits, residents will tour 12G’s partner institutions and meet with their director or curator for an open discussion about practicing and presenting in Philadelphia, as well as any site-specific work opportunities. Previous partnering organizations include the Philadelphia Museum of Art and The Print Center.
● Workshops are day- or weeklong opportunities to learn new mediums or techniques, i.e. an open studio week at a printing studio where residents can use their facilities individually or with an instructor or use their facilities. The workshops will be coordinated before the start date of the residency based on the cohort’s interests noted during the application process.
● Studio visits (virtual or in-person) create one-on-one mentorship and collaboration opportunities.
○ Artist studio visits invite established, mid-career artists to visit the residents’ studio and view their work. These visits can be used as the resident desires: whether a critique or discussion.
○ Residents will meet with 12G’s Lead Curator, Atif Sheikh three times, at the beginning, midway, and near-end points of the residency in a similar capacity. ○ Guest Curators will visit monthly during the second half of the residency. ○ Studio Visits with a cohort of curators from Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) graduate students, who will organize the Residency Final Exhibition, are required and will take place in August 2024.
● Free studio time: Ample time to research, create, and collaborate is crucial to the residents’ experience, and will be prioritized.
○ 12G believes that studio space is essential for developing an artist’s practice. Artists will have access to a private studio, in a communal space with other residents for three months.
● Final Exhibition: The final exhibition will be held in November 2024.
○ 12G and RISD will assist artists with art transportation and installation.
○ The 2024 final exhibition will be curated in collaboration with a cohort of RISD graduate students. These curators will also contribute writing on each artist’s works to a final exhibition publication.
Residency Accommodations
$5,000 stipend for living and production expenses
Three months of shared studio space
Exhibition-related support: art handling, publication essays support, photo documentation of work
Important Application Dates
Application Due: April 7th 2024, 11:59pm EST
Notification Date: April 30th 2024
Residency Contracts Due: May 12th 2024
Residency Period: June 1st - August 31st 2024
Final Exhibition: November 2024
APPLICATION SUBMISSION: All materials must be emailed to Programs Manager, Sarah Trad at sarah.trad@twelvegatesarts.org with the subject line “Residency 2024 Submission.” No hard copy submissions accepted.
Eligibility
Artists must identify as Black, Indigenous, Person of Color (BIPOC), South Asian or South West Asian North African (SA/SWANA/SA) or part of the Global South and/or these regions’ diasporas. Artists who identify as LGBTQ+ and women are encouraged to apply.
Artists must reside in Philadelphia.
Artists must be willing to maintain a private studio in a shared cohort space during the time of the residency.
Application Guidelines
1. CV
a. Include your Name, Pronouns, Email, Cell Phone Number and Address b. Submit as a .pdf up to 3 pages
2. Three Letters of Recommendation from their creative community, i.e. colleague, peer, faculty member, collaborator, curator, etc.
a. Each as individual .pdfs
3. Personal Statement
a. Up to 1500 words max or 4 minutes of audio
b. This is not an artwork nor an artist’s statement, but an opportunity for us to get to know your practice as critically described by you. We intentionally keep this prompt spacious and flexible, we want to hear your perspective however you see fit.
c. Please include how many years you have maintained a studio practice. d. Please discuss areas of your practice where you would like to improve and any skillsets or facilities you would be interested in learning more about if you had the resources.
4. Work Samples - Include 8-10 examples of work
a. These can be submitted as web URLs listed in a .pdf (please make sure these links are active if sharing a page from your website or Vimeo) OR
b. Files can be submitted as .jpegs, .mp4s, .movs, .mp3s
c. Media clips can be no longer than 3 min