Social Practice Institute & Residency | Greensboro Contemporary Jewish Museum
Residency: September 8th - 20th, 2022
Post-Residency Project Period: October 2022 - March 2023
Related Public Events: Dates TBD
ABOUT THE SOCIAL PRACTICE INSTITUTE (SPI) + RESIDENCY
The GCJM Social Practice Institute and artist residency trains Jewish identifying southern-based artists in the pedagogy of socially engaged art practice alongside a curriculum of Jewish thought leadership. We award up to six Jewish artists living in the U.S. South (Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia, District of Columbia) a safe and generative space to converse about and explore contemporary Jewish experience while expanding their art practice. The SPI participating artists will gather in residence for two weeks at Elsewhere Museum in Greensboro, NC to interpret, disrupt, narrate and reimagine contemporary Jewish life and experience through the development and implementation of relevant and timely socially engaged artworks. The subsidized training provided by the Institute will support each artist in designing and carrying out a social practice artwork that intersects with and engages the Jewish community in Greensboro, NC and their hometowns. Artists and collectives selected for this program are at all stages in their careers and work in any art form.
GOALS: WHAT MAKES THE SOCIAL PRACTICE INSTITUTE UNIQUE?
The GCJM Social Practice Institute aims to support and invest in Jewish creatives from a multitude of disciplines whose work has the potential to impact the Jewish cultural landscape at large. We explore aspects of identity specific to Jewish artists in the U.S. South while touching upon universally relevant identity intersections within Jewish life and practice. The Institute’s goal is to provide participating artists with training, support and opportunities that help develop socially engaged artistic practices that will deepen an understanding of contemporary Jewish experience for public audiences. Participating artists become part of a living, interdisciplinary, and collaborative network of Jewish cultural creatives in the South.
We have chosen to partner with Elsewhere Museum because of their unique approach to and facility for hosting artist residencies, their history as a Jewish site in Greensboro, NC and our prior experiences of collaboration.
HOW DOES IT WORK?
On-Site Residency at Elsewhere Museum: September 8th - 20th, 2022
A two week on-site training institute at Elsewhere Museum in downtown Greensboro, NC, from September 8 - September 20th, 2022
Training includes: Lectures, workshops, site visits, readings, film viewing, experimentation, art production and more. Full participation in all aspects is required
Artists create and present a public program and/or artist talk for the Greensboro community at large
Post-Residency Cohort Virtual Convenings: October 2022-March 2023
Once a month (virtual convenings) of up to 2 hours each from October 2022-February 2023
The design, implementation and completion of a socially engaged art project for/with/in the artists’ home town Jewish community
A public event and/or program with the artists’ local audience (this can be built into the project, can be an artist talk about the work, etc)
A virtual presentation of the project in partnership with Elsewhere Museum to the Greensboro community
Documentation of the project (writing, video, audio, film, photography, etc) for an online presence and GCJM Social Practice Institute catalog to be released in 2023
Completion of personal art project including public events/programs, documentation, and artist talk by March of 2023
Other benefits of participation include:
Meetings with social practice and Jewish thought leaders
Visits to arts and community hubs
Room and board while at Elsewhere
Public engagement and programming opportunities through GCJM and Elsewhere
Mentorship with the SPI founding artists and directors
Documentation and promotion of artists’ SPI projects
Participation in the GCJM and Elsewhere alumni networks
Quiet down time and space to pursue creative inquiry
ELIGIBILITY
Participants must be 18 or older
Participants must identify as Jewish (terms of Jewish identity are expanded upon in the application.)
Participants must be practicing artists in any discipline.
Participants must reside in the Southern U.S. region (Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia, District of Columbia.)
Individuals and collectives are eligible to apply
Artists must be able to commit to the on-site Elsewhere dates and the post residency convenings.
SELECTION PROCESS
Readiness to engage with and benefit from the SPI + Residency experience + merit of past work. The GCJM Social Practice Institute has been inspired by these 7 merit criteria for selection as developed by Elsewhere Museum:
Radical creativity and resourcefulness
Refinement of concepts, practices, and critical material use
Experience working with non-traditional spaces
Potential to successfully engage fellow residents, Jewish themes and concepts, and hometown Jewish community
Capacity to produce new work independently in a relatively short period of time
Understanding of their own process and practice, and the ability to adapt to new practices and resources
Benefit to their growth personally, professionally, and/or artistically, and enthusiasm to participate in this opportunity
RECEIPT OF APPLICATION: GCJM staff review applications to ensure completion and eligibility. Submissions are then reviewed by a dynamic group of arts and Jewish professionals, and other community members.
NOTIFICATION: All applicants will be informed of their status by June 5th, 2022. If you have not heard from us by this date, please contact: greensborocjm@gmail.com.
SEMI-FINALISTS: Semi-finalists are invited to a 20-minute Zoom interview.
FINALISTS: Applicants accepted into the SPI + Residency are required to sign a contract within a month of acceptance.
ACCOMMODATIONS FOR RESIDENCY AT ELSEWHERE MUSEUM
(adapted from Elsewhere’s site)
Elsewhere Museum is both a public space and a home. Residents live in the 2nd floor artist-built boarding house or at their off-site, accessible housing.
1st floor fully ADA accessible and all bathrooms are single-stall and gender neutral
Each resident or collective stays in a private bedroom with a shared bath
While still a relatively rustic environment, Elsewhere has an HVAC system, safety egress, fire monitoring and alarm system, sprinklers, and emergency exits
Elsewhere strives to create accommodations that ensure residents’ ability to participate and be successful in the residency. Off-site, accessible housing is available through Creative Aging Network. The Inman House is located at 2304 Summit Avenue, 3.4 miles from Elsewhere (~35 minutes on public transit or an 8 minute car ride: map).
Access to free on-site washer and dryer
Wi-Fi in designated spaces
Elsewhere operates a vegetarian food co-op in their artist-created Kitchen Commons, with grocery requests and orders completed weekly. When available, they utilize produce from their garden and local food surplus. Residents have 24/7 access to the kitchen, which has two ovens and loads of gear. Shared meals are prepared 4-5 days per week by residents and staff.
Trained service animals are welcome, provided official documentation
COST OF PARTICIPATION
The institutional cost of the residency component of the SPI is $2,000 per participating artist. We strive to remove barriers to participation by offering a sliding scale to SPI candidates. Any pledged support by artists would be made after accepting an invitation to participate and would not affect our decision-making. Finalists can choose to contribute between $360 - $2,000 at their own discretion. No one will be turned away for lack of funds.
Artists are responsible for their own travel expenses.
Untitled (Chalk Mind Map) by Mike Nourse, 2017
The GCJM Social Practice Institute is generously funded by Elsewhere Museum, The Covenant Foundation, The UNCG Jewish Studies Program and The Greensboro Jewish Federation.
To become a supporter or for any other questions or assistance please write: greensborocjm@gmail.com
