Eligibility
Artists of color…

• with a demonstrated creative practice and who are interested in (or already) making socially-engaged art. Proposed projects can use any medium or artistic genre as long as it can be adapted to a site-specific project in a working coin-op.
• who live in the Greater New York Metropolitan Area (including Jersey City and Newark) and Philadelphia.
• who are available to fully participate in all residency activities from May – October 2012.
• who are not enrolled as a full-time student at any point during the residency.

Benefits to Artists
The Laundromat Project is able to provide all Create Change participants with:

• Honorarium ($3000) and production budget ($1000)
• Access to a rich network of local and national peers, activists, arts professionals, curators, funders, and change agents
• Opportunity to form a peer network with other area artists on a bi-weekly basis
• A peer learning process for workshopping your creative vision, sharing strategies, and exchanging ideas
• Additional opportunities for support as program alumni

Additionally, Create Change Public Artists in Residence are resourced with:

• Support in promoting the public art project and generating participation
• Support in documenting the work
• A culminating event that features their Create Change project at the end of the residency cycle

Selection Criteria
Strong Create Change Candidates have:

• Familiarity or interest in local issues impacting their neighborhoods
• Willingness to take risks and step out of comfort zones
• Interest/Ability to actively engage non-artists in all aspects of your creative process
• Problem-solving skills, resourcefulness, and flexibility
• Capacity for critical analysis
• Deep respect for their neighbors, and the ability to collaborate with a broad public
• Demonstrated ability to carry out a project of this scale

Criteria Used to Evaluate Applications:
Artistic Merit

• Has the applicant demonstrated a command of the medium(s) presented in their work samples?
• Does the applicant’s work samples illustrate technical strength? Is the applicant’s work conceptually strong?

Project Clarity & Feasibility

• Is the project description and purpose clear?
• Can this project be completed within 6 months? If not, has the applicant indicated that the project will continue after the residency is over?
• Has the applicant identified the resources and support needed to realize their project? If they have listed resource and support needs that exceed $1000, do they offer an alternate strategy for acquiring these resources?
• Based on the work samples and the applicant’s past experience, will they be able to realize the project that they have proposed for the residency?

Relevance to Artists

• Does the applicant make a compelling case for why this residency is appropriate for their practice as an artist?
• Would participation in this residency significantly advance the artist’s career and scope of work?
• Do you think the applicant would go forward with realizing this project if funds were not granted?

Relevance to Neighborhood

• Does this project respond to the specific needs of the applicant’s neighborhood?
• Does the project incorporate the culture of the applicant’s neighborhood?
• Has the applicant demonstrated a familiarity or interest in local issues impacting their neighborhood?
• Is the project relevant and of benefit to the applicant’s neighborhood?
• Does the applicant demonstrate a deep respect for their neighbors and the ability to collaborate with a broad public?
• Is the project unique to the laundromat setting?
• Does the project interact with the laundromat as a public space?
• Will the applicant compellingly engage non-artists in all aspects of their creative process?

Sustainability

• Has the applicant identified additional resources (e.g. partnerships with schools, faith-based organizations, neighborhood leaders, local business owners, councilmen, etc) that will allow them to complete this project with excellence?
• Will the project continue after the residency term is complete?
• Will the applicant work with any of the aforementioned community partners and their neighbors to insure that the project continues past their residency term?

March 23, 2012
Applications submitted by 11:59pm EST

April 9/10, 2012
Interviews for short listed candidates (New York/Philadelphia)

May 2, 2012
Final Notifications sent

May 18 - Oct 31, 2012
Create Change Public Artists Residency and Professional Development Fellowship

Orientation will be held May 18, 2012. Workshops take place every other Saturday, 10am-2pm starting May 19, 2012

"There are so many things I learned from this program and doing my project its hard to put it all into words. I feel confident about creating another project with a public art/social practice component. I also feel very proud that I have a relationship with my laundromat that goes beyond doing laundry. And that Laundromat goers continue to engage with the project. And I continue to check in on it. And the owner and [laundromat attendant] have taken ownership of it."

"While doing my project, I learned a lot from the people I met. At first it was hard to understand many aspects of the area where I am, but now, I have a better understanding of the needs, struggles, and aspirations of [my neighbors]."

"As someone who was frustrated with the lack of collaboration in my professional life, participation in the collaborative nature of Create Change residency has had particular resonance in my artistic practice. Creative work (especially public art), whether done by artists or nonartists, requires collaboration with other people. For me, engagement with the other artists, program staff, and various guests, generated the sort of energy that resulted in creative expression. Although the potlucks operated in a physical space where we met to discuss our projects, receive feedback, and talk about public art in general, I believe that they also created an aura that connected us to one another when were are beyond the physical space."

"I am extremely grateful for the opportunity to create work within the community. As women of color we understand the barriers that still exist and knowing that [The Laundromat Project] support our project only propelled us to continue to work and develop our work as artists. The past 6 months have been absolutely wonderful, interacting with fellow residents and professionals, and learning from our participants."