2022 Residencies
Applications deadline has been extended to 2/1/22 at 11:59PM EST.
Our free application requires having or creating a Gmail account, written responses to questions, and uploading of a PDF (CV, references, work samples).
We recommend reviewing the full sample application here before applying.
If you have any trouble with the application, you may use the sample application above to gather the required information and documents - email to residencies@goelsewhere.org.
There will be a BIPOC Artists Town Hall exclusively for BIPOC prospective applicants on Tuesday, January 25th from 6-7PM on Zoom hosted by Elsewhere Managing Director, April Parker. We will provide an overview of the residency opportunities and application, as well as answer any questions. Register here for the Zoom Link
The recording below is from our 12/2/21 Residencies 2022 Town Hall for all applicants. (please excuse the typos - deadline extended to 2/1/22.)
Context
Elsewhere is a living museum, international artist residency, and collaborative learning laboratory built from Sylvia Gray’s three-story thrift store and her 58-year collection of material culture and surplus.
Elsewhere’s mission is to support site-specific experimentation, social action, and interdisciplinary collaboration in order to foster new ways of thinking and doing, the exploration of context and place in artistic creation, and the integration of creativity and life. Our vision, “with people and things, we build collaborative futures,” is both practical and utopian, believing that everything we do through Elsewhere is creating the futures we need.
We are situated in the center of downtown Greensboro, North Carolina, surrounded by restaurants, shops, venues, and other organizations, and in close proximity to historically under-resourced and redlined neighborhoods.
Right up the street is the International Civil Rights Museum that commemorates the Greensboro Four who started the sit-ins in the 1960’s and have ourselves been a critical site for supporting contemporary movement work of Black Lives Matter, Queer People of Color Collective, and other groups. Greensboro was at one time an international hub for the textile industry and is in recent decades hosting growing immigrant communities. The city was founded by Quakers and boasts 5 universities and colleges, including A&T, the largest HBCU in the country, and Bennett College, a small Black liberal arts college for women. We have partnered with nearby downtown arts magnet high school Weaver Academy and Experiential School, who uses downtown as their campus. Our proprietress, Sylvia Gray, was a founding member of the local synagogue and regularly fed groups of Guilford College students when she came home from the shop.
Residencies Overview
“One of the most unique residency experiences in the country.” - Andy Warhol Foundation
Annually, 30-35 residents are selected to collectively live and work within Elsewhere to create projects that activate the Living Museum. Work produced is site-specific and responsive, exploring Elsewhere’s environment, material inventories, cultural histories, social systems, neighborhood communities, and past projects. All objects and artworks remain part of the museum, available for continued transformation by future creatives.
Residents receive room & board, material, tool, and equipment access, as well as, public engagement and programming opportunities, documentation, promotion, online and in-museum representation of work.
Elsewhere’s environment is highly stimulating, conceptual, and social. The Museum hosts an incredible density of materials and continuous public activity. Composed by layers of artworks and objects, there are no white walls, blank spaces, or separate studios. Everything is interpreted contextually and in situ. Artists-in-residence respond to a collection of artworks and materials to make visible their conceptual, material, and social visions. Projects engage Elsewhere’s Museum as a platform for creative, performative, research-based, and curatorial experimentation. The century-old inventory of objects form a natural resource, archive, and set of incredible things, available for thoughtful and site-specific transformation.
The Museum is both a public space and home. Residents live in the 2nd floor artist-built boarding house or at our off-site, accessible housing. The kitchen is centrally featured in the museum's 1st floor and showcases Elsewhere’s organized, cooperative, living practices to visitors.
Elsewhere is an unparalleled site for creative inquiry, join in the experiment of building new futures from old things!
Residency Statistics
Actual residency length: 27 days, with some flexibility. New Collaborative Family Residency is 7-19 days.
Average number of artists in residence at a time: 6
Number of artists accepted in most current year: 40 (for 2020)
Total applicant pool in most current year: 250 (for 2020)
Number of applicants for our 10 paid fellowships: 150 (2020)
2022 Residencies & Fellowships
FOUNDATIONAL RESIDENCY
RES#111: April 14 – May 10
RES#113: August 11 – September 6
Foundational Residencies are now FEE FREE - free to apply, free to attend. We also now have a modest pool of funds to offer financial assistance. See funding for more details.
Nominate someone for this opportunity.
This is the original residency experience of coming to Elsewhere to become immersed in our world of things. Open to all artists around the globe who are 18 or older. Foundational Residencies are typically 26 days (arrive on a Thursday, leave on a Tuesday, with three FULL weeks in between), but they offer the flexibility to do shorter 2-3 week research residencies that are less focused on producing finished works. Proposals for longer residencies will also be considered.
Contributions of financial or in-kind support in are always very welcome as our full residency costs are only ~60% covered by grants. Any pledged support by artists would be made after accepting an invitation and would not affect our decision-making.
URBAN EXCHANGE FELLOWSHIP: NEW ORLEANS
RES#112: June 16 – July 12
Funded fellowship for six (6) residents who are currently based in New Orleans and demonstrate active local investment. Fellows commit to full participation of the 26-day residency session. See funding for more details.
Nominate someone for this opportunity.
This fellowship program fosters exchange between Elsewhere and emerging ecologies of contemporary art production in major cities across the United States. Past cities include Chicago (2015, Museum as Instrument, curated by Shannon Stratton and Joe Jeffers), 2016 Miami (2016), Baltimore (2017), Philadelphia (2019), and Kansas City (2021).
*New* COLLABORATIVE FAMILY RESIDENCY
July 21 - August 9 (7-19 days, flexible start and end dates)
Required dates: Saturday, July 30 - Saturday, August 6
This is a new invitation for families to apply for our residency program as collaborative units. Artists may collaborate with members of their family of origin or chosen family. We welcome family members of all ages and abilities to experiment with collaborations of all kinds.
Nominate someone for this opportunity.
The former boarding house on our second floor that resident artists stay in was originally composed of four family units. We took this as a cue to invite four families to stay at Elsewhere next Summer. Elsewhere’s new(ish) directors, Matthew Giddings and April Parker, are both parents (both have a Juju) and are working to cultivate a truly intergenerational space in the museum.
Anne Wu (‘20) and Eva Wǒ (‘19), parent/adult-child family and Elsewhere alumni, are being tapped to help shape the experience. Our residency will be in dialogue with thought partners across the field such as Chicago's Cultural Reproducers, who have agreed to play an advisory role.
We are currently seeking funding to turn this program into a fully-funded Fellowship. You can sponsor this initiative directly to help it grow. Also, if you have experience or expertise that could help positively shape this experience, reach out.
SOUTHERN CONSTELLATIONS (SOCO) FELLOWSHIP
RES#114: October 13 – November 8
Funded fellowship for six (6) residents who are currently based or were raised in the Southern United States. Fellows commit to full participation of the 26-day residency session. See funding for more details.
Nominate someone for this opportunity.
The SoCo Fellowship is an annual, curated residency program that explores experimental practices across a network of Southern artists and organizations. SoCo Residents are specially featured in press, public events, and exhibitions.
This Fellowship is part of Elsewhere’s larger Southern Constellations Program, which includes Southern Constellations Convergences, SoCo exhibits, and Rural Residencies on a 1-2 year cycle.
*New* GREENSBORO CONTEMPORARY JEWISH MUSEUM (GCJM) SOCIAL PRACTICE INSTITUTE (2022 Dates TBA; Call forthcoming)
GCJM Social Practice Institute will train Jewish identifying artists in the South in the methodology and pedagogy of socially engaged art practice alongside a curriculum of Jewish thought leadership.
Nominate someone for this opportunity.
Funding for the inaugural residency is provided by Greensboro Jewish Federation and UNCG’s Jewish Studies.
*New* Artists In Residence Financial Support Fund
Invited artists may now request financial support needed to be able to participate in the residency. You can donate directly to help increase this pool of funds to $5,0000 to make our residency more accessible to artists who face financial barriers to participation.
Foundational Residency
Room and board ($550 value), $100 materials budget (increased from $50)
Collaborative Family Residency
Room and board ($210-410 value per person), $100 materials budget per family unit.
Applicants must answer additional questions to determine their eligibility.
PAID FELLOWSHIPS
Urban Exchange: New Orleans and Southern Constellations
12 paid fellowships that include a $1,000 stipend, $500 for travel expenses, room and board ($550 value), $100 materials budget (increased from $50).
Fellowships are strengthened through nominations from professional artists, curators, collectors, and university educators, but anyone eligible can apply.
Fellowship applicants must answer additional questions to determine their eligibility. Applicants indicate if they are interested in participating in the residency without funding if they do not receive a paid fellowship, which in no way impacts our decision-making. Invited artist may also choose to redirect the stipend to be added to our new artist in residence financial support fund.
All residents receive a free annual membership to Elsewhere after completing their residency.
Expectations & Opportunities
All invited residents sign a contract that includes artwork agreement, residency agreement, liability release, media release, equipment loan agreement, fellow payment agreement, residency invoice, contact form, and The Forge waiver/agreement/policy. Included is our equity agreement and community guidelines, which give you a sense of the culture we strive to maintain. We are adding a mandatory check-in meeting via phone or Zoom for each resident two months before their residency to confirm participation.
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The museum’s collection shall be treated as a natural resource of limited quantity.
Transformations to the museum’s collection and all projects will be authorized at the discretion of the curators and directors, who make decisions based on sustainable and continual use of the collection and community engagement.
Projects and documentation will remain with the museum for re-presentation and further transformation by future artists-in-residence through on-going collaborative processes.
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Orientations: Residency (2hrs), House (1hr), and The Forge (1.5hrs) (day 2)
One dinner preparation (2hrs) during the week and nightly kitchen clean-up
An artist talk introducing your work and practices (3-5PM; day 3)
A proposal meeting to discuss your work with curators (30 mins; day 6)
The weekly House meeting (30min) and group clean (1hr)
Daily upkeep of your room and shared/public spaces
Participate in one community dinner with Elsewhere’s members, collaborators, and friends
Meet with your Alumni Buddy by phone/zoom/in-person (1hr); Meet with visiting curators, arts leaders, and artists on-site or on field trips
Workshop, a works-in-progress open house and interactive workshop (3-5PM, day 16)
Curatorial finalization such as titling, project description, future engagement and maintenance
First Friday openings, called Happenings, to debut your new work (6-9PM; day 22)
Sharing of documentation and photos/scans you take of your work and Elsewhere materials
Final clean-up of your room, studio, and production space; reimbursements submission
Family photo and residency departure (day 26)
(Optional) Other events that celebrate and explore your work and process
(Optional) Outings with the staff and community members
(Optional) Get paid to teach workshops at The Forge or Elsewhere
Eligibility
Participants must be 18 years old or older with the exception of the Collaborative Family Residency where one participant per group must be 18 or older.
Elsewhere shares a radically expansive understanding of creative practice and identity, and we strive for different representations of voices, life experiences, views, and interests to reflect the collaborative community we have and wish to serve.
Who make great Elsewhere residents?
Makers, doers, and thinkers of all kinds…
who work across media (i.e. installation, performance, video, sound, food) and fields (i.e. art, healthcare, administration, coding, journalism, education, curation, homesteading, design, writing, science)…
and are interested in co-creation, reuse, public practice, social engagement, intersectional critique, urban intervention, collective and experimental living.
Collectives and collaborative groups, international artists, and off-site commuter residents are all welcome.
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Site-specificity
Radical creativity and resourcefulness
Refinement of concepts, practices, and critical material use
Experience working with non-traditional spaces
Potential to successfully engage fellow residents and Elsewhere’s community
Inclusive and intentional processes when creating in relation to underserved or marginalized communities
Capacity to produce new work independently in a short period of time
Understanding of their own process and practice, and the ability to adapt to new situations and resources
Benefit to their growth personally, professionally, and/or artistically, and enthusiasm to participate in this opportunity
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SELECTIONS: Elsewhere staff review applications to ensure completion and eligibility. Submissions are then reviewed by a dynamic group of arts professionals, community members, and past residents (40% of reviewers are our alumni). We take great care in this process to ensure committed, talented, diverse and engaged residents are chosen, and that all applications get adequate attention.
NOTIFICATION: All applicants will be informed of their status by March 1st, 2022. If you have not heard from us by this date, please contact residency@goelsewhere.org.
FINALISTS: Applicants accepted into the residency are required to sign the contract within a month of acceptance to secure their residency and confirm attendance two months before their residency begins.
Facilties & Services
Elsewhere bedroom. Photo: Thea Cohen
Accommodations
We strive to create accommodations that ensure residents’ ability to participate and be successful in the residency.
While still a relatively rustic environment, we added heating and air conditioning HVAC system, safety egress, fire monitoring and alarm system, sprinklers, and emergency exits in 2016. We also made the 1st floor fully ADA accessible and all bathrooms single-stall and gender neutral.
*New* Each resident or collective gets a private bedroom with a shared bath in our artist-converted 2nd floor boarding house.
*New* Off-site, accessible housing now available through Creative Aging Network. The Inman House is located at 2304 Summit Avenue, 3.4 miles from Elsewhere (~35 min. on public bus or 8 min. car ride - see map).
*New* Access to free on-site washer and dryer.
We operate a vegetarian food coop in our artist-created Kitchen Commons, with grocery requests and orders completed weekly. We utilize produce from our garden and local food surplus whenever possible. 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.
Residents are welcome to have guests. We will ask that they contribute to food costs if they eat with us and overnight guests must be approved ahead of time.
Significant others and/or collaborators who would be joining residents must be included in the original application.
Trained service animals are welcome, provided official documentation.
Elsewhere’s Kitchen Commons
Production Resources
ON-SITE EQUIPMENT + MATERIALS ACCESS
Studios: woodworking, textiles, tech lab , printmaking, storefront theater, vintage wardrobe, garden, and public kitchen inside the 120-year-old building. Tools and equipment list.
Materials: Residents have access to the vast vintage material resources dating back to the early 20th century. enormous collection of textiles, toys, books, consumer technologies, clothes, bric-a-brac, and general thrift for transformation.
A small budget for materials necessary for artistic production - as Elsewhere is an experiment in post consumption, we prioritize using what is at hand.
FORGE MAKER SPACE
All residents gain 24-hour access to neighboring maker space, The Forge Greensboro, after completing a 1-hour orientation. Additional orientations are required for certain equipment.
3D printers, laser cutters, CnC router, ceramics and welding facilities through Elsewhere’s organizational membership with neighboring maker space. Tools and equipment list.
Check out past resident projects that utilized The Forge (note: this page is in development).
PRODUCTION SUPPORT
Elsewhere’s curatorial team stewards the creative process and collection use provides critical feedback, supports public events, and facilitates connections with Greensboro neighbors and our international network.
Documentation, promotion, press, and social media support. See examples here.
Presentation of your projects through the museum and permanently on our website.
COMMUNITY ACCESS
By hosting five to seven residents at a time, our residencies promote a collaborative work environment for learning and experimentation among peers.
Elsewhere organizes visits from local, regional, and national curators and arts organizations to offer critical feedback and to expand artists’ professional networks.
Residents interact with the public through open studio hours, community meals, artist talks, other events, and through informal gatherings and introductions.
Following residencies, artists join our alumni network, E.T.C. (Elsewhere Tenured Collaborators), for continued access to the resources of our international community. Take a look at our alumni artists.
Frequently Asked Questions
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What do you mean by “chosen family”? A group of people in an individual's life that satisfies the typical role of family as a support system.
Can I participate for more than one residency this year? No
How often can I apply to Elsewhere’s residency program? You can apply every application cycle.
How often can I take part in Elsewhere’s residency? While you can apply every cycle, you cannot be a part of the residency more than twice in a 5 year span.
Can I bring family/partners? Currently, residents can only have overnight visitors for a maximum of 3 nights, with a $20 a night charge to cover room and inclusion in our food coop.
You have a vegetarian food coop, is meat allowed? Meat is allowed, but must be purchased by the resident themselves.
Can I bring animals? Only registered service animals are allowed. You must provide us with papers to confirm their status. These animals will be solely the responsibility of their owner.
Does Elsewhere have quiet hours? Yes. As this is a communal living situation, Elsewhere operated quiet hours from 11pm to 10am. If artists living together choose to expand these based on consensus from the entire group, this is allowed.
Can I take my work with me? In general, no. Most work at Elsewhere makes use of the collection. Elsewhere’s general rule is that nothing new comes in and no collection leaves. That said, if your work is part of an edition, as long as a complete version stays at Elsewhere to represent you in the museum, extra editions may go with you.
I am part of a collaborative, can I apply as a group? Every member of the collaborative who wants to apply separately.
Testimonials
“Being a resident at Elsewhere is one of the most memorable experiences I have had to date as an artist. The freedom and encouragement to play and discover new and dormant parts of my practice was invigorating and has given me inspiration, impetus, and tangible tools to continue working with long after the conclusion of the residency. As an artist-parent, the residency was very accommodating and I didn't feel judged for needing to split my time arting and parenting. Quite the contrary. The flexibility and understanding on the part of the staff made the success of my residency possible. It gave me the confidence to ask for what I need and to seek more balance as I do other artistic work. I miss being at Elsewhere these days, but the effort to keep alumni involved has eased that feeling and I am so happy to still be in orbit with the museum. I feel seen, I feel included, and I feel like I can tap into the community whenever I need, from now on.”
-Cara Hagan (‘21)
“I am an artist and art historian who has presented visual and scholarly work throughout the United States and in the U.K., Canada, Belgium, and the Netherlands. I was a Southern Constellations Fellow at Elsewhere in February 2019. Because of my experience there, Greensboro holds a special place in the geography of the contemporary art world […] alongside such locations as Skowhegan, Maine; Marfa, Texas; Joshua Tree, California; and Yaddo, Vermont. What makes these locations so desirable is not the mere presence of notable collections (many cities have such assets), but the fostering of an environment for the creation of new work and for forging relationships with other artists. Elsewhere has done this since its beginning, built on the remarkable and unique legacy of original proprietor Sylvia Gray, and I can imagine an immense legacy to be proud of when looking back in fifty or a hundred years.”
-Josh Franco (‘19)
“Elsewhere runs a strong artist residency program, based on trust in artists and an embrace of collaboration in all its forms. The organization’s support for artists who take creative risks and build meaningful peer and community relationships through their work, aligns well with the foundation’s belief in the value of experimental practice and the importance of artistic participation in cultural and civic conversations.”
-Rachel Bers, Program Director, Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts
Read this great NEA interview with Carolyn Mak (‘10) about the residency.
Visitors exploring Time Machine by resident Ali Momeni (‘12)
Mixed by Southern Constellations Fellow, Lonnie Holley (‘18). Photo: Amelia Nura.
A Love to Last 13 Hours by Urban Exchange Fellow: Miami, Pioneer Winter (‘16). Photo: Gui Portel
Documentation of ASMR video production and “Slime Social” for Social Sensory Stimulation by Diana Laurel Caramat (‘19). Photo: Amelia Nura
Sponsor Elsewhere Residencies
We have increased the number of paid fellowships, eliminated residency fees, created financial assistance, and are working toward being able to pay every artist in residence for their commissioned site-specific work.
Additional financial support is needed to fully resource our residency programs.
Sponsor Elsewhere’s 2022 Residency Program or one of the following initiatives:
Foundational Residency Financial Assistance Fund
Urban Exchange Fellowship: New Orleans
Southern Constellations Fellowship
Collaborative Family Residency
Greensboro Contemporary Jewish Museum Jewish Social Practice Institute (details forthcoming)
Black Creatives Revival Residency
Visiting Artist and Curator Series - studio visits, field trips, and lectures
Special Residencies - we develop original residency experiences with artists every year
Individual sponsorship starts at $100 and organizational sponsorship starts at $250. Sponsors are acknowledged on our website, in print, and at our events.
Donations of any amount are very welcome, including in-kind donations of goods and services, and membership to the museum helps us build broader support for our Residency, Museum, and Education programs, starting at just $3/month.
Elsewhere is has been an organizational member of the Artist Communities Alliance (ACA) for over 11 years. ACA is an international association of artist residencies. ACA supports the people who power the field - administrators, artists, culture bearers, creatives, volunteers, neighbors and community - of artist residencies, organizations and programs that provide time, space and resources for artists to advance their creative practice. Artist residencies and artists are at the center of our work.
Elsewhere is a founding member organization of Common Field. Common Field connects, supports and advocates for the artist-centered field by providing a network for independent arts organizations and organizers.