KHECARI RESOURCE SHARE RESIDENCY

About the Open Call

Khecari has had the pleasure to be the dance company in residence at Indian Boundary Cultural Center since 2012. This arrangement called "Arts Partners in Residence" is a barter between the park district and us with no monetary compensation coming to the company as part of the residency. In essence, Khecari trades public dance programming open for our community in exchange for studio use to create art. As part of our Redress initiative (www.khecari.org/redress), we have been sharing this space resource plus our equal pay hourly rate with BIPOC/ALAANA* artists in our community every year during Khecari's winter studio break. Anyone who identifies as BIPOC/ALAANA* and is interested in this residency opportunity should fill out and submit this eligibility and interest form. We will determine the recipient by lottery. GENERAL POINTS: The Residency offers: - Four weeks of studio space, February 9th - March 6th, 2026 - Three days per week, Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays (On Monday, January 16th, Presidents Day, the Cultural Center is closed for a holiday and there will not be rehearsal) - Three hours per day, 11am - 2pm - The studio is the auditorium at Indian Boundary Cultural Center (2500 W Lunt), 864 sq ft. with a wood floor - A no-tech informal work-in-progress showing at the end, on Friday March 6th, 6PM - Pay for all the rehearsal and showing hours utilized (you are not obligated to use every rehearsal slot, but are only paid for days/times that you use the space), at Khecari's equal pay rate, currently $21/hr (The rate is based on a single artist; if you bring in collaborators to work with, we are unable to pay them as well) SOME DETAILS: - If you are selected as the recipient, you will need to sign a contract with Khecari and fill out a w9. - You will need to email a simple rehearsal report after each time you used the studio to get paid. - Pay is made twice monthly, after the 1st and 15th of the month and will arrive as a check or direct deposit. - By Park District rules, you can bring in your own folks you're working with (dancers, musicians, your own children, etc.) but cannot bring anyone in from the general public for rehearsals, except for at the showing at the end, which will be hosted by Khecari. - If having a work-in-progress showing at the end of the residency does not feel supportive to your process, let's discuss an alternative way to invite in community to share your work. - It's good to remember that the Park District is, in our experience, a goodhearted and imperfect system where sometimes doors don't get unlocked on time but folks are happy to figure out how to make up for lost time. We're looking for people who are happy to be part of the community there, however briefly, and roll up their sleeves if the floor isn't swept to their standards or have a spontaneous rehearsal in the park if a Park District employee doesn't show up to open the studio. - We would also like to consider ourselves at Khecari goodhearted and realize that we are imperfect as well. We are all part-time contract workers who are juggling multiple jobs, raising small children, dealing with health issues, care-taking buildings and animals, and doing the best we can. We know that the people who will be most happy with this residency are those who are interested in mutual care, clear communication, and lending a hand where needed with the space and the future of the residency. We imagine this residency has the capacity to become more and more lovely over time through the care of many people and look forward to welcoming more people into the continuity of this evolution. - We strongly encourage everyone interested in this opportunity to first visit the space at Indian Boundary Cultural Center (IBCC). We feel it is important for folks to experience the commute and see the space you'd be working in. Also, there are potentially triggering aspects to being at IBCC. The name "Indian Boundary" itself denotes a line created to ethnically cleanse the area. Within the fieldhouse, there is appropriated imagery of American Indian people including the symbol commonly known as swastikas. These aspects of being at IBCC are understandably difficult for anyone, and may be particularly triggering for Native Americans and Jews. We want to notify people in advance, to affirm Khecari's anti-racist stance, and also to be in community while trying to make changes to the imagery and naming of the space. Please reach out to us if you want to talk about this. a more descriptive trigger warning can be found here under the PLACE/IBCC toggle. - We also ask recipients of this program to be willing to assist us in continually improving upon the resident experience by offering feedback or with any other offer that would feel helpful and easy to contribute. A great way to help keep energy flowing into this program would be to plan to attend the showing of the next year's resident and offer your energetic support as a former recipient of this residency. - Upon completion of this application, we will add your email address to our newsletter list to keep you in the loop of our offerings and hope you see you at our events in the future, meet you in person and develop a lasting relationship with you. (You are always welcome to unsubscribe if you are wanting to streamline your inbox.)

What is Offered

Four weeks of studio space (February 9 - March 6, 2026), three days per week for three hours per day, a no-tech informal work-in-progress showing, and an hourly pay of $21 for all utilized rehearsal and showing hours.

Requirements

Open to artists who identify as BIPOC/ALAANA. Selected recipients must sign a contract with Khecari, fill out a W9, and email simple rehearsal reports for payment. Applicants are strongly encouraged to visit the Indian Boundary Cultural Center space beforehand due to its history and imagery. Recipients are also asked to assist in improving the resident experience by offering feedback and are encouraged to attend future resident showings.

How to Apply

Applicants should fill out and submit the eligibility and interest form by September 15th at midnight.