artist residency

Residency Overview

Program Goals

• To provide the space, training, resources, and nurturing environment for artists to deepen and expand their artistic practice, and for them to provide inspiration and a path for others to follow.

• To provide artists the opportunity to create independent work, enhancing their economic opportunities and furthering CAFAC’s commitment to help artists earn a living.  

• To increase representation of diverse artists in the art forms that CAFAC supports.

• To respect traditional processes and techniques while encouraging innovative exploration and creative problem solving.

Residency Structure

Studio Residencies at CAFAC are four months long. Residencies coincide with our education program schedule to allow residents to take a class if they choose.

All residencies will have a culminating project. The project could be an exhibit in our gallery, delivery of a workshop, installation of a public artwork, or another goal the artist wishes to achieve.

Candidate Qualifications

The intent of a focused, supported time at CAFAC is to move you forward in your artistic practice and career. CAFAC’s residency doesn’t have minimum qualifications or absolute requirements for you to apply, but we think you’ll be a successful resident if:

• You don’t necessarily have a fire arts background, but you do have sculptural experience, or a 2D background that provides a good foundation to expand into the art forms CAFAC specializes in.

• You’re at a point in your artistic career where you have time to focus on your professional development for a period of four months.

• You identify as Black, Brown, Indigenous, or POC, as a woman or as transgender/gender-expansive/non-binary, because those identities are under-represented in the industrial art forms CAFAC supports.

CAFAC’s residencies are open to anyone who resides in the United States and can provide a tax identification number for filing purposes. CAFAC does not currently have the capacity to provide housing to residents or support in finding lodging; the artist’s presence in the Twin Cities for the duration of the residency period is a requirement.

How to apply

The residency application will ask for:

Basic information:

• Your name & contact info

• Birthdate

• Gender, racial/ethnic, and other identities

  • There is an optional section for grant reporting that will not be shared with reviewers, along with an optional short answer for demographic and identity information that you would like shared with reviewers.

Project information:

• Selection of primary (and optional secondary) technique you intend to explore

• The project or work you intend to take on

• Description of the skills and/or knowledge you’re hoping to build

• How you’ll share the outcome of your residency experience

Artist information:

• Self-identification as early- or mid-career artist based on provided criteria

• Artist Statement

• 6-10 images of your work, with an accompanying image list

• Resume / CV

Review process

A panel of three professionals (artists, curators, arts administrators) will review your application and images independently. Then, they will come together for an in-person review and deliberation to select the residents.

QUESTIONS? Get in touch!

Send an email to info@cafac.org or
call 612-294-0400.