1708 Gallery is pleased to announce a call for applications for its pilot Artist Residency Program.
The Pilot Artist Residency Program will be located on the second floor of 1708’s building at 319 W. Broad Street in Richmond, Virginia’s downtown Arts District and will help 1708 further define the full vision for its future Artist Residency Program, which will expand our mission to empower and support diverse artists’ voices.
The pilot residencies will be free, and 1, 2 or 3 months in length running from September 2024 through August 2025.
1708 will provide:
-A private live / work space that is furnished and includes a large open room with north facing windows, a full kitchen, three bedrooms or office spaces, 2 bathrooms, and a washer and dryer. Please note: at this time, the second floor is accessible via a staircase. Future plans include an elevator to provide accessibility for all abilities and needs.
-A $1000 monthly stipend.
-Access to basic equipment.
-Professional development opportunities.
-1708 will work with each artist to plan and facilitate a public program to take place during the residency, for example an artist talk, open studio, or workshop.
For the pilot Artist Residency Program, we are seeking artists:
-Located within a 350 mile radius of Richmond.
-Who are working towards a specific outcome (a future exhibition, public art project, community engagement program, or other).
-Who are willing to learn alongside us, provide feedback from their experience, and help shape the future program. This is a pilot program and 1708 is seeking a candidate who is willing to participate in regular dialogues throughout their tenure about their experience: What is working? What needs improvement?
While the application is open to all levels of experience, we’re especially interested in candidates with previous residency experience who can provide informed feedback to help us shape our future program. Additionally, the specific details and size of the space make the pilot residency especially well-suited for collectives and/or artists with families. Applications will be reviewed by a committee of artists.
Applications are due: JUNE 2, 2024
About 1708 + the future Artist Residency Program
One of the longest-running nonprofit arts spaces in the US, 1708 was founded in 1978 by faculty members from Virginia Commonwealth University at 1708 East Main Street to present artists and projects that reflected their commitment to provocative contemporary art. Today, 1708 is located on Broad Street in the city’s Arts District and is a crucial member of Richmond’s art ecosystem, a leading organization in the region in providing significant resources to artists who are working in a noncommercial capacity, and an accessible platform for the community to experience contemporary art.
At 1708, we believe artists are essential members of our community and necessary to move our culture forward. We believe artists’ work reflects upon, re-frames, and challenges contemporary thinking and issues. We believe artists provide transformative, unconventional, and exploratory experiences that expand perspectives for our audiences. We believe artists connect and build communities both locally and nationally.
In December 2021, 1708 purchased our building–a former storefront space on Broad Street in Richmond’s downtown Arts District with apartments on the second and third floors. This was an important milestone in our plans to develop an international artist residency program that will expand our current mission to empower and support diverse artists’ voices. For the full residency program, live/work spaces will be developed on the second and third floors to provide artists with time, space, and resources to develop new ideas and refine existing ones.
For more information, please contact ubuster@1708gallery.org.