Residencies for the Time-based Arts

The Dresher Ensemble Artist Residency [D.E.A.R.] was established in 2012 to support Northern California artists who are actively exploring new aesthetic premises and pushing the boundaries of conventional art forms and media. The program provides early to mid-career artists with affordable workspaces and up-to-date equipment to create new work in the time-based arts such as theater/performance, dance/movement, music/sound art/instrument invention, including collaborations and interdisciplinary work.

Each residency receives up to 4 consecutive weeks of uninterrupted access to our well-equipped rehearsal studio in West Oakland, near the Eastern anchor of the Bay Bridge. Priority will be given to projects whose realization requires continuous and/or multi-day access to the space and our available technologies as well as artists working in diverse disciplines and from culturally-diverse perspectives.

D.E.A.R. grants 4 to 6 awards annually to individual artists or to groups of artists collaborating on a single project. The lead artist must be a resident of Northern California.

Each residency provides:

• Full-time access of 1 to 4 weeks in the Ensemble’s rehearsal studio (45′ x 45′) and fabrication shop. Residency weeks may be contiguous or spread out over a period of months;
• Access to state of the art sound, lighting, projection, and recording equipment;
• Technical, financial, and managerial assistance from professionals on the Ensemble’s staff.

SUPPORTED DISCIPLINES (Collaborative and Interdisciplinary):

• theater / performance
• dance / movement
• music / sound art / instrument invention

ELIGIBLE PROJECTS:

• Experimenting with new creative concepts, approaches, or methods;
• Researching or developing new technology for performance, including inventing and constructing new musical instruments;
• Preparing the premiere of an existing work;
• Creating a new work in music, theater, dance, media art and interdisciplinary performance.

INELIGIBLE ACTIVITIES:

• Ensemble facilities may not be used as housing.
• Public performances in the studio are not permitted.

SELECTION CRITERIA:

• The artistic potential and value of the project;
• Artists working in diverse disciplines and from culturally-diverse perspectives;
• The residency’s likely impact on the work and career of the artist/s;
• How likely the artistic project will be realized;
• Projects whose realization requires continuous and/or multi-day access to the space and our available technologies;
• Whether the proposed project suits the Ensemble’s physical space and technical equipment;
• How responsibly the artist/s will use the rehearsal studio and equipment.

LINKS:

• Present and past DEAR recipients and their projects
• Technical specifications for the Ensemble Studio

The 2018 application deadline will be in mid-winter. Details and application materials will be available October 15, 2018.