Residency at the Museum
Residency at the Museum
2024-2025 Submissions Open: February 1, 2024
Deadline to Apply: February 29, 2024
Winners Announced: March 2024
Number of winners: 3
Apply here: Residency at the Museum Application
Founded in 2023, Residence at the Museum (RATM) is an artist residency program administered by the Imperial Calcasieu Museum of Lake Charles, Louisiana. We’re a program that fosters a creative incubator space for artists where they are afforded time, space, and monetary resources to develop their artistic endeavors over the course of a nine-month residency. Our residents will have opportunities to engage with arts professionals, partner organizations, and other supporters of the arts in the community. These residencies are project-based and engagement-driven, so prospective applicants should be aware that they will occasionally be forward-facing to the public.
Artists selected for this program are at all stages of their careers and work in media including drawing, painting, printmaking, photography, sculpture, film, video, new media, mixed media, book arts, and graphic design.
RATM fosters creativity through opportunities for residents to examine their own artistic practices in close proximity to other creatives. Impromptu studio visits, discussions, critique sessions, and an overarching approach with cooperation at the forefront serve to imbue our spaces with a creative energy and enthusiasm infectious to the community at large.
Located in the heart of downtown Lake Charles, RATM finds itself nestled in an area primed for creatives to take advantage of the space. Our studios are within walking distance of food, entertainment, and other cultural resources, and will serve as a fulcrum of Lake Charles’ artistic cultural development.
9 Month Residencies:
1 April 2024 – 31 December 2024
$600/month stipend
$500 up front payment to help offset the cost of supplies etc.
If you have any questions, please email residencies@lcicm.org
Qualifications
Applicants must 1) Identify as a visual artist and showcase a portfolio of work commensurate with a serious commitment to an artistic practice, and 2)live in the Lake Charles area as your primary residence. Applicants must be able to pass a background check before being admitted into the program.
Applicants must be 21 years or older.
Application Process
Applicants will be required to submit a minimum of 10 images of recently completed works. Pieces that belong to a unified body of work are preferable but not required. If beginning a fresh body of work, be sure to offer a robust plan of action explaining your approach and include images (planning phase sketches, maquettes, references, etc) to further explain your ideas.
Selection Process
Artists are selected to attend the residency by the RATM Selection Committee. The committee reviews all applications submitted to the program. Initial selection is based on the merit of the artist’s portfolio, proposal, and other application questions. After the initial selection is complete, qualifying artists will be invited to conduct on-site interviews with the Selection Committee. Final selection is based on a holistic review of each candidate.
Interviews will be conducted in-person at the Imperial Calcasieu Museum. Applicants may request remote interviews and/or rescheduling and will be considered on a case-by-case basis, but it is strongly encouraged to make yourself available to be in-person for this stage of the selection process. Please be prepared to spend the entire day on-site with the Selection Committee for this portion of the process.
Studios & Accommodations
RATM provides studio space. Each artist will be assigned their own space in which to work for the length of the residency. Artists may choose to exchange spaces with one another at their own discretion depending on specific needs. Studios will be very lightly furnished, so artists are expected to bring their own equipment into the spaces.
No living accommodations are available at this time, so it is vital that artists have living arrangements in place prior to acceptance into the program. Artists are expected to provide their own food, though RATM studios are located within walking distance of multiple restaurants and other markets in the heart of downtown Lake Charles.
Residency Terms and Expectations
Artists must provide their own transportation. A vehicle is required during the residency stay. Artists selected must be able to attend the entire nine month program. Exceptions will be dealt with on a case-by-case basis, but these are generally reserved for emergency situations only. Artists are welcome to have visitors during the residency. Visitors are not permitted to spend the night in studio spaces. We cannot accommodate family members, partners, or pets. Artists must notify hosts and each other of planned visitors.
Artists will be involved with multiple avenues of community engagement over the course of their nine months in the program. No less than 9 Art in the Park (free-to-the-public art making events at recreational sites) events will be administered by RATM residents. Workshops, lectures, studio visits, and formal critiques are all potential events that will be provided by our residents, and these will be arranged on a case-by-case basis and discussed thoroughly during the assessment and selection process.
Residents will be expected to make themselves available for members of the community seeking to hold appointments.
Residents will be expected to attend at least half of opening receptions/cultural events that take place in Lake Charles over the course of their time in the program.
Artists chosen for the residency will be required to donate one completed work to the RATM program.
Trimester Reviews
Artists will share their works-in-progress with the board members during review sessions at approximately three and six months into the program. These will serve as opportunities to discuss progress or issues with completing projects.
Final Exhibition
Artists will have a group exhibition celebrating their efforts at the Imperial Calcasieu Museum imminently following the completion of their residency. Artists will have an additional exhibition at gallery space at Historic City Hall in Lake Charles, Louisiana. This exhibition’s date will be in the year following their stay at RATM.
Timeline
1 February 2024 – Application window opens
28 February 2024 – Application window closes
March 2024 – Applications reviewed, notifications sent to interviewees
March 2024 – Interviews complete (Exact date TBD)
March 2024 – Winners notified
1 April 2024 – Residencies begin
