About the Open Call

The Ucross Residency Program is open to visual artists, writers, composers, choreographers, interdisciplinary artists, and performance artists, as well as collaborative teams. Applicants must exhibit professional standing in their field; both mature and emerging artists of promise are welcome to apply. Students at any level are not accepted. Residents are chosen by a rotating panel of professionals in the arts and humanities. Final residency awards are at the discretion of the Ucross Foundation. Notification of application status takes approximately sixteen weeks after the close of the call. While every effort is made to accommodate applicants' scheduling requests, first choices cannot always be granted. Artists who have applied in the past, including previous residents and those who had 'Alternate' status, must submit new and complete applications to be considered for another session, including recent work samples and references. An artist may return to Ucross after three years have elapsed since their previous residency. If applying as a collaborative team, one artist needs to apply with all artists needing to submit additional forms within the original application. Work samples may be individual and collaborative. Applicants may submit up to three collaborators. Couples composed of two artists may apply individually for concurrent residencies with the understanding that one might be accepted and the other not. Every artist accepted for a residency will be offered a private studio. Ucross is unable to invite spouses, partners, and/or family to accompany artists-in-residence under any other circumstance. Work samples should represent/relate to the project that is being submitted. Specific work sample requirements are detailed for Dance (2-3 video files), Music/Sound (3-5 audio files), Performance/Video (1-3 video files), Playwriting/Screenwriting (one complete play, 20-page section), Visual Art (10 images and a data sheet), Fiction (20 pages), Nonfiction (20 pages), Poetry (6-10 poems, up to 15 pages), and Interdisciplinary (samples representing multiple genres).

What is Offered

Uninterrupted time, studio space, living accommodations, and the experience of the majestic High Plains.

Requirements

Applicants must exhibit professional standing in their field, be either mature or emerging artists of promise, and are not students at any level. Work samples must represent the genre(s) in which the artist plans to work while in residence.

How to Apply

Applications are submitted online via the Submittable platform. Applicants must provide work samples relevant to their project proposal. The work samples and project proposal are the most significant features of the application. Applicants should review specific guidelines for their discipline regarding format and length of work samples.