Artists-in-Residence 

MEET THE 2018-19 ARTISTS-IN-RESIDENCE >

Jarvis Boyland | Brandon Breaux | Amina Ross 

Arts + Public Life provides platforms for artists and access to arts programming through artist residencies, arts education, cultural entrepreneurship, and arts-led programs and events.

In partnership with the Center for the Study of Race, Politics & Culture, Arts + Public Life supports individual artists through the Artists-in-Residence program by advancing the opportunities available to artists who are underrepresented in the Chicago and national arts scenes. The ten-month paid residency program provides space, materials and stipends, eliminating barriers to participation. During this program, artists have access to rehearsal, performance and exhibition space at the Arts Incubator in Washington Park and access to the academic and research resources of the University.

About the Program

The residency program gives preference to artists whose work examines themes relevant to South Side communities and engages issues of race and ethnicity. Across a diverse range of disciplines, each cohort of artists explores dimensions of race-expansive cultural implications and routine individual experiences. Whether through painting, installation, performance, textiles or photography, the residencies contribute to deepening understandings of race and its intersections with class, gender, sexuality, and nationality.

Artists applying for the program have a demonstrated history of rooting their practice in community engagement. The Artist-in-Residence program is typified by active immersion in public-facing aspects of APL, rather than a “retreat from” traditional studio practice. During the ten months, artists are present at the Arts Incubator. They lead public workshops, programs and artists talks, and host studio visits, host dinners, screenings and readings.

Arts + Public Life offers three distinct residency programs: Artist-in-Residence, Crossing Boundaries Prize, and the Curatorial Collective. In 2019, APL will add a fourth: a theater and performing arts residency as part of the new Green Line Performing Arts Center.

32 Chicago-based artists have been hosted annually since 2011. Artists have included photographer Cecil McDonald, sound artist Ayana Contreras, dance collaborative Honey Pot Performance, multidisciplinary artist Krista Franklin, and studio artist Brittney Leeanne Williams.