BCA Studio Residency Details

BCA’s cross- and multidisciplinary studio residency program is designed to foster and support access, equity and experimentation in the arts and in new art being created in Boston. Inaugurated in Summer 2021, BCA’s Studio Residency program provides selected artists with work-only studio space in BCA’s Artist Studios Building located at 551 Tremont Street in Boston’s South End, along with access to a roster of programs and professional support geared towards nurturing a vibrant and diverse community of artists in Boston.

BCA Studio Residency welcomes applicants working in all media, including artists with community-based public art practices, artists interested in further developing curatorial skills and projects, and artists with movement- or performance-based practices.

Artists who are juried into the program will begin the program starting in late Summer/early Fall 2023. They will join 41 studio resident artists already working in the Studios Building. Each artist who is selected for the program will be provided with 24/7 access to an individual, work-only studio space in BCA’s Artist Studios Building at 551 Tremont Street in Boston’s South End for a maximum term of three years. Studios range from 140-540 square feet. Studio space includes free Wi-Fi and heat, and reduced rate access to available rehearsal space at BCA, as well as access to a vibrant professional community, opportunities for public visibility for their work, and support for artistic development through participation in a range of programmatic events and activities.

Since available studio space is limited, we will create a Waiting List of artists based on our jury’s recommendations. Studio space that becomes available following the late Summer/Fall period will be offered to artists on the Waiting List.

BCA Studio Residency includes a studio fee that ranges from $240 – $900 per month based on studio size. Studio fees are calculated at a rate of $20 sq ft/year, or 60% off market rate. We are working to be able to offer opportunities for need-based and merit-based financial aid as the program grows.

2022-2023 ROSTER OF BCA STUDIO RESIDENCY PROGRAM EVENTS & ACTIVITIES

In addition to enjoying 24/7 access to individual studio space and reduced rate access to rehearsal space at BCA, BCA Studio Residents will be expected to participate in:

Monthly Informal Gatherings to exchange ideas and share project updates;
Ongoing programs involving arts professionals including curators, gallerists and arts writers, arranged by BCA and made available to Studio Residents on a sign up basis;
Ongoing BCA Studios Open House, coinciding with Mills Gallery opening receptions and other BCA events and promoted by BCA; and,
Ongoing Opportunities for Project Room Exhibitions in BCA’s Mills Gallery Project Room.

STATEMENT OF ARTISTIC ETHOS

Our goal is to gather a diverse and inclusive community of artists for the purpose of supporting innovative work across disciplines, connecting artists with peers and resources, and providing a vibrant platform for new art in Boston.

Applications will be evaluated based on artist’s demonstration of:

Experimentation. We support artistic work that displays innovation and openness to new ideas, perspectives and techniques.

Responsiveness. In the process of supporting new and innovative work, we value ideas that are relevant to contemporary interests and conversations.

Community engagement. We encourage an artistic practice that engages meaningfully with the ecosystem where it exists through collaboration and exchange among artists and audiences.

Potential impact. We seek to support artists for whom our involvement has the potential to propel their practice creating a path for growth artistically and professionally.

SELECTION PROCESS

Applications will be reviewed and juried by an independent group of arts professionals, with selections made based on the strength of their application in light of the foregoing articulation of Boston Center for the Arts’ core Artistic Ethos.

Strong consideration will be given to creating a diverse cohort of applicants, with priority for BIPOC artists, taking into account each applicant’s potential contribution to building a community of artists, as well as potential transformative effect of the residency on their individual artistic practice. This includes willingness to participate in public events, interact with the public and fellow artists, and be involved in BCA activities.

ELIGIBILITY

We do not accept students currently enrolled in school, however a BA, MA, BFA or MFA is not required.

We do accept collectives, however we ask that you apply by way of a single application.

BCA Studio Residency alumni must wait one year to reapply following their last residency.

IMPORTANT NOTES, RESTRICTIONS AND LIMITS:

Overall:

Studios in the building are WORK ONLY, not live-work space;

Studios and common space in the building may not be the site of any public events (that is, any non-residents coming into the building must be entering on the basis of an individual invitation);

The studio building is a four floor, walk-up building, with no elevator and no loading dock.

In Addition:

We look forward to inviting artists across disciplines to pursue their art through the BCA Studio Residency program, within the realistic constraints and restrictions related to the physical structure itself, which includes a particulate-based fire suppression system, non-sound-proofed walls and floors, and old pipes.

Artists selected for the 2023 (third) cohort of BCA’s Studio Residency program will begin their residencies between August 1—October 1, 2023, and may remain in the program for a maximum term of three years (through June 30, 2026).

ANTI-RACISM AGREEMENT

Black Lives Matter. It is incumbent upon us to act accordingly, and to identify those ways that we, as leaders of cultural organizations, can stop perpetuating pervasive and systemic white supremacist practices and lead through our actions.

Boston Center for the Arts is committed to doing the hard work of dismantling even the most subtle forms of white supremacy in our organization, in our practices, and in the work, we do to help make Boston a place where Black artists can live and thrive.

BCA Residents agree to working with Boston Center for the Arts to dismantle white supremacy.

To that end, Residents will be expected to adhere to BCA’s anti-racism and sexual harassment policies as detailed in the residency handbook. Residents agree to participate in ongoing anti-racist work which may include workshops, readings, and other activities. BCA has a zero-tolerance policy for racist, sexist, homophobic, xenophobic, transphobic, anti-Semitic, Islamophobic, and ableists actions and behavior. BCA will immediately revoke all rights and privileges of its Residents should a Resident or its artists act or behave in the aforementioned manner.