Artist Opportunities

"The ultimate goal of the creative process is an 'enlargement' of imagination for all people."
--Shaun McNiff, Creative Arts Therapist & Author

The Performance Project @ University Settlement provides established, emerging and young artists and local audiences with opportunities to connect and enrich each others’ lives. Our aim is to encourage greater participation in the live arts and to help cultivate diverse creative communities on the Lower East Side.

The Performance Project@ University Settlement stands out among local opportunities for performing artists to present original work. Rather than establish formal curatorial criteria, we seek artists who are philosophically aligned with the spirit of the Settlement House movement. Artists who are conscious of the multi-layered communities that co-exist in New York City and who want to reach beyond existing audiences for live performance are the best candidates for inclusion in our annual programming. The artists we present often have a Do-It-Yourself attitude, and are interested in working with communities who typically have little to no exposure to the live arts.

We believe strongly in ensemble-based, collaborative, inter-disciplinary work. We are particularly interested in supporting artists who value process as much as product, launch experimental investigations into storytelling and narrative structures, and believe that engaging in artistic activities has inherent social and cultural value and should not be limited to the domain of the “professional artist.”

artist-in-residency program

The Artist-in-Residence Program provides year long opportunities for artists to develop and present their work at The Performance Project. Our goal is to connect artists with "non-artists" and help build bridges of understanding and communication between people with different backgrounds. Artists are provided with free rehearsal space and production support, as detailed below. At the same time, they are asked to work with the University Settlement community in creative ways to provide artistic enrichment activities.

Due to the large number of programs the Settlement offers there are a variety of ways to accomplish this goal. Artists can target specific programs or age groups and propose participant workshops, professional development trainings, community events or interactive art-making experiences. Arts curator and educator Alison Fleminger will help to optimize these creative exchanges.

Artists accepted as artists-in-residence receive the following support from University Settlement:

• inclusion in all Performance Project promotional & marketing materials
  

• assistance with press and publicity
  

• listing on US event calendar
  

• newsletter/email blasts to Performance Project mailing list
  

• 100 hours of free rehearsal space
  

• audience development efforts within the University Settlement community
  

• presentation as part of a works-in-progress festival in the winter

• full box office management services
  

• a full, formal run in the spring

RFP: If you are interested in becoming an artist-in-residence please follow the instructions below. Applications are due Thursday March 1, 2012. Residency will begin July 1, 2012 and run through June 30th 2013.

• Mail or send an email to the arts program curator, Alison Fleminger at afleminger@universitysettlement.org
  

• Please include the lead artist(s) bio, resume and one page description of your current project.
  

• Please also include a paragraph highlighting how you have used the arts to engage with diverse communities in the past and another paragraph brainstorming ways in which you want to connect with the University Settlement community. Be creative--Settlement programs are very interested in creative engagement with artists!
  

• Please provide either links to performance footage or a DVD of a past performance.
  

• Please be sure to follow up with a phone call to Ms. Fleminger at 212-453-4532

SALON SERIES

More than just a performance series, The Performance Project@University Settlement cultivates creative community by hosting events that connect working artists to residents from the Lower East Side. Our Monday Night Salon Series offers an ongoing series of participatory arts events and conversations about important issues facing the arts and the local community. Salon events are free and open to the public.

To find out more about our salons, please click here. To find out how you can participate in a salon, please contact Alison Fleminger at afleminger@universitysettlement.org.