Artists and curators working in all disciplines are invited to apply for 2 – 4 week residencies in St. Petersburg, Russia.  Preference is given to artists and curators working in the fields of socially engaged art and public art, but artists working in other fields are also welcome to apply. 

Applicants should be practicing artists and curators over age 21. Students and non-professional artists and curators are not eligible. 

CEC ArtsLink currently has funding only for US-based artists and curators. CEC ArtsLink provides international travel, visa support and health insurance (if needed), accommodation, and per diem. Artists from other countries are welcome to apply, but will need to seek financial support to cover their expenses. CEC ArtsLink can provide lodging at the residency space and organizational support.

Artists and curators based in Russia are not eligible to apply.

All applications are evaluated by an independent interdisciplinary review panel comprised of interna-tional arts professionals based on the following criteria:

· Artistic or professional excellence of the applicant’s work.

· Potential for the applicant to interact with the community in the practice of his or her art form.

· Benefit to the applicant, at this time in his/her career, from interaction with Russian artists.

· Applicant’s plans for sharing the benefits of the exchange with artists and institutions in his/her home coun-try.

· Applicant’s ability to meet cross-cultural challenges successfully.

Although preference is given to artists and curators working in the fields of socially engaged art and public art, artists working in other fields are also welcome to apply.

The selection process is competitive and applicants should anticipate a highly rigorous review of their work. Please carefully follow the instructions for submitting work samples below. Applications missing any of the required materials will not be considered.

1. A completed ArtsLink Back Apartment Residency online application form.

2. Answers to the following questions:

a. What plans do you have for your stay in St. Petersburg? If you have a particular project in mind, please, briefly describe it. (300 words maximum)

b. What do you hope to achieve and/or learn during your residency? (300 words maximum)

c. How does your participation in the residency relate to your personal artistic vision, your creative or professional goals, and/or to your organization’s mission? (300 words maximum)

d. What resources do you anticipate you will need to work during your residency? (300 words maximum)

e. Each resident is required to give at least one public talk or event. What would you share with the community in St. Petersburg? Do you have any plans to collaborate with local arts professionals? How do you plan to engage with the local arts community? (300 words maximum)

3. A résumé or Curriculum Vitae (only one-page PDF file).

4. A letter of recommendation (only one-page PDF file) from a colleague or supervisor that explains how a residency will benefit you professionally and why it is an important endeavor at this time in your career.

These letters can be submitted to info(at)cecartslink(dot)org separately from your application, but must arrive within two weeks of the application deadline. Letters without signatures and reference’s contact information cannot be accepted.

5. If you represent an organization, please submit a one-page description of your organization in English. Include information about staff size and resources.

6. Applicants are advised to submit recent quality work samples. Please follow the instructions for submitting work samples in the application. Applicants should make sure their work is properly labeled and that all work samples are fully and succinctly described.

Incomplete applications will not be considered.

Important information

The work sample is a critical part of your application. Because of the limited time available for the review panel, you are encouraged to prepare a well-organized presentation that exhibits your work in the best possible light.

Work samples should be recent (not more than 5 years old), preferably of projects that are technically or conceptually relevant to the work proposed for the residency. Work samples in a language other than English must be accompanied by a synopsis or translation. 

You can upload your work samples when you complete the online application form. Please include the following information about each sample: title, date, medium, dimensions/duration, your role and short description (no more than 4 sentences). List the work samples in the order in which you would like to have them viewed. For large files, please, use Internet services capable to transfer large-sized data, like Dropbox or WeTransfer. You also may submit links to your video or audio files on YouTube, Soundcloud or Vimeo. ONLY files submitted via Internet services Dropbox and WeTransfer must be accompanied by a Work Sample Sheet (download here). Samples submitted without proper descriptions will not be considered. 

Please label your materials with your full name as it appears on your application.

Images 

Up to 10 images in JPEG format. 

• The file name should be in the following format: Number_LastName_Title (e.g. 01_Smith_Untitled 1, 02_Smith_Untitled 2, etc.). 
• Each image file should be no larger than 2 MB. 
• Submit individual image files only – NO PowerPoint, PDF or Keynote presentations will be accepted.

Videos or Audios 

Two different 3-5 minute video/audio samples. 

• Video/audio files should be in MOV, AVI, MPEG, MP3, MP4 or FLV format for viewing/listening on a PC. 
• Label each digital file as follows: Number_LastName_Title.ext (e.g. 01_Smith_Untitled3.mp4). 
• The maximum file size for uploaded video or audio files is 20MB. (For larger file size, please, use Internet services capable to transfer large files, like Dropbox or WeTransfer. You also may submit link to your video or audio files on YouTube, Soundcloud or Vimeo. Files submitted via Internet services must be accompanied by Work Sample Sheet) 
• For longer pieces, note the time cues for the segment that best represents the entire work. 

For Curators

Please submit digitized examples of published, professional writing or documentation of the applicant’s work as an arts professional. You may also submit digitalized items of descriptive literature about the organization(s) you represent (pdf documents of catalogues, brochures, press materials, etc.). All work samples should be accompanied by a description of the materials presented and your involvement in their content development, design and/or distribution (i.e., manager of the program, designer or developer of brochure, general organizational information). Work samples in a language other than English should be accompanied by a synopsis or translation.

ArtsLink Back Apartment Residencies for artists are one month in length and for curators 2 weeks.  Residencies are scheduled between September 1, 2022 and February 28, 2023.

For US artists and curators, CEC ArtsLink provides international travel, visa support and health insurance (if needed), accommodation, and per diem.

At the conclusion of the residency, each participant will be required to submit a report with digital documentation that discusses the work accomplished and its impact on his or her professional development.

2022 ArtsLink Back Apartment Residency applicants will be notified of the review panel decision by mid-March, 2022.