PROGRAM ELIGIBILITY: 

The 25/26 Artist-in-Residence program discipline is Photography. A successful AIR applicant works in photography, embracing either traditional or expanded lens-based processes. Experience in both analogue and digital photographic mediums is desired. Applicants are MFA preferred. Applicants may not be enrolled in any degree program at time of residency. Disciplines rotate each academic year. One artist is in residence per year. Artist partners or collaborators (up to 2) will be considered if both  parties apply individually. Please clearly note any collaborators within the application writing portions. 

International artists, please take the following into consideration: International artists are responsible for obtaining a visa, as well as necessary documentation for travel and employment within the United States. Munson can provide formal letters of invitation and additional support information requested, however it is the artist's responsibility to carry the burden of the visa acquisition process through the appropriate channels.  Please consider the timeline for making such arrangements. Artists must be reasonably fluent in English. 

Munson is a recognized program by International Arts & Artists, a non-profit organization that sponsors J-1 visas for international interns, trainees, and scholars participating in cultural exchanges with American arts institutions. 

More info at artsandartists.org.

SELECTION PROCESS:

Artists are reviewed by a committee made up of staff and faculty and based on the (1) visual quality of artwork, (2) written proposals, (3) trajectory of career, and (4) potential to thrive living in Utica and working within the AIR program parameters. The selection process has three phases:

Phase 1: All applications and advisory committee recommendations are reviewed by the Munson AIR Selection Committee which includes College of Art and Design Faculty and Museum of Art Staff. Up to 10 finalists are chosen and all applicants are notified via email of their status. 

Phase 2: The finalists are notified of their status via email. Zoom interviews are scheduled for each candidate with the Munson AIR Selection Committee.

Phase 3: Finalists may be interviewed again and/or invited to visit Munson before being offered residency. The review process can take up to three months from the deadline. All applicants will be notified of their status by email. Please do not call the office for selection results.

There is no fee for residency participation. Munson provides a private apartment and utilities, private studio, and a meal plan.

AIR receive two guaranteed stipend payments of $1,250, one in September and one in January for a total of $2,500 to help offset the costs of living and supplies. 

AIR teaching non-credit classes and/or workshops in our Community Arts program will be paid compensation as a Community Arts  Instructor. Classes are subject to enrollment guidelines which means they may be canceled if they do not reach minimum enrollment.  Opportunities to teach a credit bearing course in the Pratt Munson program is dependent on enrollment. Details and adjunct credit course pay discussed in depth with finalists. 

Munson provides up to $500 in travel to the residency, $600 in support for the spring exhibition, and up to $500 towards shipping of artworks at the end of the residency.

Munson provides compensation for three to four Art Alive Family Day events and craft design at approximately  $300 per event. 

Munson is not responsible for arranging artist transportation to and during residency or additional costs of living. 

A private first-floor apartment is provided in a campus owned apartment building. The furnished, one-bedroom apartment includes laundry, living area, kitchen, and closets and is in the heart of the Munson and Pratt Munson campus. The apartment is equipped with some kitchen basics and wifi. Resident artists are responsible for their own laundry and should bring their own queen-sized bed linens, bed pillows, blankets, and towels. 

Please Note: The apartment is located on the first floor but is not handicapped-accessible. The AIR program is unable to accommodate families, spouses, or long-term guests at this time. However, artist partners or collaborators will be considered if all parties apply individually. Please clearly note any collaborators within the application writing portions. The program and studios are intended for the artists awarded and selected by the jury.

A Dining Hall meal plan is also provided when college is in session. Current menus may be found HERE >

Once an artist has accepted residency, the artist will begin remotely collaborating on a fall noncredit, Community Art class and/or workshops with the Community Arts and Residency Director.  These classes will be featured in the fall catalog and begin early-September and are generally offered once a week. Classes are taken for many reasons by members of the community of all ages. Many community classes are skill or project driven courses. Early planning, prior to arrival, allows for proper marketing of each class and event. Current Community Arts courses may be explored here >

Resident artists are paid  bi-weekly and receive an hourly wage per teaching hour. Community classes that do not meet minimum enrollment are subject to cancellation.

Community involvement refers to planning and participation in public events at Munson or in the community and simply covers a broad range of involvement like ArtAlive! Family Days. Munson encourages resident artists to be involved in local and regional art events and nearby artist residency events.

Each year, more than 100 art and design students from around the world choose to start their Pratt Institute B.F.A. degree at Pratt’s upstate New York campus, Pratt Munson College of Art & Design. Students who select Pratt Munson to complete the first two years of their BFA on the Utica campus and are then guaranteed a seamless relocation to Pratt’s main Brooklyn campus at the beginning of their junior year as long as they are in good academic standing. Pratt Munson students graduate with the same prestigious degree as those who attend Pratt Institute in Brooklyn for four years – but Pratt Munson students gain an edge afforded by the many benefits of an intimate and nurturing upstate campus.

Artists-in-Residence may teach in the credit Pratt Munson program. Courses are determined by the Dean and are compensated as adjuncts instructors. Inclusion in this program is based on availability and need of the program.  Full-time faculty may ask artists to participate in other classes as well. This may be in the form of critiques, small lectures, studio visits, or short class projects. First-year and sophomore students at Pratt Munson benefit greatly from seeing the AIR studio practice and work on campus over the course of the academic year.

STUDIO DETAILS:

A studio is provided to resident artists. The AIR receives a private studio space on the second floor of the ceramics studio building along with other faculty and has 24/7 access.  

Artists are responsible for bringing all specialty equipment, tools, and supplies used in their daily studio practice (including computers) to the residency. If an applicant has a special interest in facilities outside of the specific discipline, please indicate in the application form writings. Please find a brief overview of other campus facilities HERE.

FACILITY HIGHLIGHTS:

Below are brief descriptions of several studio facilities on campus. Resident artists have access to facilities with prior consent of managing full-time faculty and must work around Pratt Munson, community classes, and heavy traffic lab times. If an applicant has a special interest in facilities outside of their specific discipline, please indicate in the application form.

Design + Video: The 4D and communications design labs are located in the Pratt Munson Academic Building along with the Munson Art Research Library and classrooms. The labs are equipped with iMac computers and a full suite of Adobe Creative Cloud and printers. This area includes a media lab for full-body green screen and other shooting that is shared with the photography department. Various video and still cameras, sound, light, and related equipment is available for brief periods of check-out.

Drawing, Painting, + Illustration: Our drawing and painting classes are held in the Pratt Munson Studio Building, a three-level, 23,000 square foot facility designed specifically for higher art education. The drawing and painting studios on the upper level feature ample space and airy, vaulted ceilings. Each studio is furnished with sinks, easels, tables, lighting, and a substantial reservoir of still life subject matter.

Ceramics: The pottery studio encompasses 3,500 square feet of the historic carriage house Ceramics and Sculpture Studio Building. Arched windows, tiled walls, and decades of good energy make this studio aesthetically pleasing and the best-equipped ceramics facility in the area. Included are more than a dozen electric wheels, a slab roller, extruder, mixers, electric kilns, and a Bailey Car kiln. The kiln shed is equipped with large salt kilns, a downdraft kiln, and an Anagama kiln. The shed is the hub for workshops and for learning the fundamentals of wood firing. The second floor is home to the Vincent R. Clemente Ceramic Resource Room, a library of 250 ceramic books, magazines, and DVD demos for research and inspiration.

Jewelry + Metals: The spacious jewelry facilities are located on the first floor of the Pratt Munson Studio Building. The studio is professionally equipped with a wide variety of equipment to support beginning through advanced techniques and processes. This includes an extensive array of hand tools, flexshafts and drill presses, buffing machines and tumblers, a hydraulic press, rolling mills, shears, an etching tank, kilns, and equipment for vacuum casting and enameling, numerous hammers and stakes for forming metal, six soldering stations, each equipped with a gas/air torch and annealing station. A modern ventilation system allows for safe practices of all techniques taught. Jewelry students can conveniently purchase nonferrous metal (copper, brass, and silver) as well as consumable supplies (saw blades, solder, and sandpaper) for classes directly from the School of Art Reception desk.

Photography: Our photography classes are held on the lower level of the Pratt Munson Studio Building. The studio has two traditional darkrooms and 16 enlargers for 35mm, medium format, and 4x5. Digital photography processing equipment includes Mac computers with the latest Adobe Software, large format printers up to 24” wide, and six flatbed scanners for both film and photos. A separate lighting studio houses both LED continuous and strobe lighting with seamless backdrops. Photography classes emphasize awareness of fine arts traditions as well as the professional disciplines of contemporary media artists.

Printmaking: The printmaking facilities encompass 1,200 square feet of the lower level of the Pratt Munson Studio Building. Our print classes focus on a “green printing” philosophy, limiting harsh chemicals, solvents, and waste. The studio is equipped to explore multiple print processes from screenprinting, lithography, to monoprint. There are also two large etching presses, a Washington press with wood type, Platen press with metal type and a lithography press.

Munson Art Research Library

Museum of Art

Pratt Munson Academic

Campus Map

APPLICATION FEE and INSTRUCTIONS:

DEADLINE: MONDAY, MARCH 17, 2025 at Midnight EST

There is a non-refundable application fee of $10.  Applications are only accepted online through Submittable.com. Finalists may be invited for an onsite visit prior to accepting residency and may be compensated for a portion of travel. There is no fee for residency participation. 

Please email ataylor@munson.art for need-based application fee waiver consideration. 

This is an entirely online application process. It is recommended that answers are prepared offline, saved in a document, and copied/pasted into the application form so that work is not lost. Do not email or mail your application. 

APPLICATION CHECKLIST:

Please prepare and submit the following:

1. Applicant Information

2. CV (pdf)

3. Three professional references and contact information (References will only be contacted following finalist interviews)

4. Artist Statement (250 Words)

5. Statement of Intent (250 Words: Why is this specific residency program a good fit for you?)

6. Non-credit class teaching proposals (250 Words: one to three short descriptions of ideas. These are non-binding.)

7. Artist website (optional)

8. Artwork Samples:

• 12 images of recent artwork.
• Preferred formats: JPG, PNG, TIFF | Resolution: 300DPI | File size: max 5MB.
• Other accepted formats: GIF, MP4, AVI, MOV. 
• Stills of video work with a link to Vimeo/YouTube is also acceptable for time-based media.

Note: Finalists may be asked for additional materials as a part of the review process. 

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