Arts & Disability: Residency Programs
We’ve gathered a list of residency programs that are disability-led and/or support and create opportunities for artists and art professionals with disabilities.
It’s not only a lack of access within programs, facilities, policies or funds, but also a lack of communication and transparency about accessibility that can create barriers for Disabled artists who are looking for and interested in participating in a residency program. To start to make finding inclusive and accessible residency programs a bit easier, Artist Communities Alliance provides a residency directory on their site that allows artists to search programs by accessibility status.
In this list, we’ve highlighted a selection of residencies that offer access, as well as provide dedicated programming and residency funds to artists and art professionals with disabilities.
The Warehouse Residency
This new disability-led residency and commissioning program by Art House, a contemporary performance center in Melbourne, is open to Victorian-based D/deaf, Disabled, neurodiverse and chronically ill artists, curators and collectives. The Warehouse Residency offers two opportunities a year for a period of five years. Awarded artists receive $25,000 for artist fees and materials, plus a $4,000 access budget for a three-month residency, and an opportunity to present their work publicly. The three-month residency includes studio space at North Melbourne Town Hall, as well as equipment, mentorship, and additional consultation to explore integrating accessibility within the commissioned project as part of the creative process.
Arts House EOI Information Session
Art Fair 14C
Founded in 2018 and based in Jersey City, New Jersey, Art Fair 14C is an art fair and juried show that also offers an annual residency for an artist with a disability. The 6-month program runs from January through June, during which time artists are provided with a studio located at Art150 studio spaces, plus a stipend of up to $1,000 for materials. Residents are also given the opportunity to exhibit their work at both Art150 and Art Fair 14C. In addition, Art Fair 14C provides mentorship and consultations, and artists also receive peer support from artists with disabilities. It’s important to note that housing and transportation are not provided by the program -- it’s a studio residency only. That means it is perhaps better suited to artists you live locally or have access to housing nearby.
Seoul Art Space Jamsil
The first creative studio for Disabled visual artists in Korea, Seoul Art Space Jamsil runs an annual Resident Artist Support Program, wherein 12 artists are awarded with studio space and receive artistic development support in the form of workshops and critiques. Seoul Art Space Jamsil opened in 2007 and its programming consists of special exhibitions, to which residents also have access, as well as additional projects and initiatives that support the creative development and activities of Disabled artists in Seoul, as well as foster collaboration and co-creation.
Disability. Dance. Artistry. Residency
The Disability. Dance. Artistry. Residency Program was established in 2019 by Dance/NYC in partnership with Gibney, a performing arts center in NYC. The program aims to expand opportunities for dancers with disabilities, and to increase accessibility and equity in the dance and residency communities more broadly. The program is open to US-based Disabled dance artists and integrated dance companies that are led by people with disabilities. Residents receive an honorarium of $5,000, plus a $1,000 stipend for accessibility needs. Residencies may be undertaken in-person or online; however, travel stipends are not available to those who participate on site in New York City. Whether participating in person or digitally, residents also have access to a 10-class card at Gibney, rehearsal time, a mentorship, and receive an additional stipend ($250) to organize a public event.
Tangled Art + Disability Artist-in-Residence Program
Based in Toronto, Tangled Art + Disability is a charitable organization that works to increase opportunities and access in the cultural sector for artists with disabilities. In 2012, the organization launched Canada’s first artist-in-residence program for Disabled artists. The current residency hosted by Tangled Art + Disability, titled Frictions of Futurity in Transplant Medicine, will run two iterations, culminating in a symposium in summer 2023. Disabled, crip, d/Deaf, Mad, Sick, and chronically ill artists are invited to submit proposals for new commissioned projects. Two artists will be selected for six-month residencies, during which they will create work that explores and challenges themes related to transplantation and futurity. Residents receive a $12,000 stipend, plus $2,000 for material costs, and will have the opportunity to exhibit their work at a public event, as well as through Tangled Art’s gallery and website.
Accessible Arts and Bundanon Trust Artist-In-Residence Program
Now in its fourth iteration, the Accessible Arts and Bundanon Trust Artist-in-Residence Program offers a creative and career development opportunity for five artists with disabilities from NSW and ACT each year. Based in a rural setting, the six-night residency at Bundanon Trust estate -- the largest program of its kind in Australia -- provides artists with accessible accommodation, including a studio space, plus a stipend to cover per diems. Accessible Arts is a disability and arts organization in New South Wales that has been working since 1986 to expand opportunities and career development for artists with disabilities and/or who are d/Deaf through a range of activities, including mentorships, residencies, workshops, advocacy, networking events and more.
Future Curators Programme
Disability-led visual arts non-profit organization DASH works to create opportunities for Disabled art professionals and to develop Disability Arts practice. As part of that mission, the organization initiated the Future Curators Programme, through which DASH partners with institutions in England to offer 12-month residency programs for Disabled curators. Curators receive support and training within the institution, as well as mentoring, and they also develop a curatorial project during the residency. Financial support is provided in the form of a curator’s fee and production budget. So far, DASH has worked with Middlesbrough Institute of Modern art (MIMA), Midlands Art Centre (MAC), and Wysing Arts Centre to develop and host residencies for Disabled curators.
Artist and Studio-Apartment Residency Exchanges between Québec and International Cities
For its program of residency exchanges, Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec offers financial support to artists with disabilities who are interested in participating. This financial support aims to cover artists’ access needs during the residency, and is provided in addition to the residency grant offered for living expenses, travel, project costs, etc. The Conseil collaborates with partner institutions to organize residencies in Linz, Austria, Tétouan in Morocco, Seoul, South Korea, Charleroi in Belgium and Bogotá, Colombia, among others. Through the exchange program, artists from each location undertake a residency at the respective partner site, where they receive accommodation, funding, and networking opportunities, among other support and presentation activities during their stay in the host city.
Vital Capacities
Vital Capacities is an accessible online residency that was developed during the first Covid lockdown by videoclub in collaboration with digital inclusion specialist Sarah Pickthall. The aim of the digital residency is to be accessible to artists and audiences alike, weaving various modes of access into the platform, for example, implementing transcripts, alt text, audio descriptions, and the option to change color and contrast, among others. Vital Capacities runs open calls for the residency program, or, alternatively, artists can be nominated and sponsored by other organizations. During the month-long residency, artists share their research, process, and work in the form of blog posts in their “studio” space. The artists’ work is then included in an online exhibition at the end of the residency. Throughout the process, residents also participate in group meetings and receive advice and feedback, as well as training. Together with Vital Capacities, the artists explore how access can be creatively incorporated into their works.
There are a number of platforms and organizations around the world working to advance inclusivity, representation and accessibility in the arts and cultural sectors through advocacy, commissions, grants, festivals and more. International initiatives include The Ikouii Creative, Disability Arts International, and Black Disabled Creatives, for example, with national and regional initiatives such as UNMUTE in South Africa, Berlinklusion in Berlin, Disability Arts Cymru in Wales, just to name a few. You can also find more in our article Initiatives for Disabled Artists You Should Know.
For residencies seeking to make their programs and facilities more accessible: following an accessibility field scan, in which they surveyed both international residency programs and Disabled artists, the Artist Communities Alliance has compiled a quick start guide with accessibility recommendations for residencies.
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