Applications open FEBRUARY 6, 2023 and close MARCH 13, 2023 at midnight EST for residencies beginning in July 2023. (link below)
Who We Are:
Since 2011 the Monira Foundation (formerly Mana Residencies) has awarded rent-free, non-living studio space to artists in Chicago, Jersey City, and Miami. Started by Karline Moeller and Ysabel Pinyol Blasi, this residency was through invitation only, but for the first time in 2023 we will be accepting artists through an open call. This residency is the gift of time, space, and community for collaborative Performance and Visual Arts projects.
Our mission is to provide a stimulating, rigorous, and contemplative environment in which talented and committed artists benefit from a large studio workspace and the support of a vital creative surrounding community. Studio space is still critical to the practices of the overwhelming majority of artists but remains at a premium, especially in major Urban areas like Chicago; a residency at Monira facilitates production and helps strengthen professional and intellectual bonds among diverse individuals.
Program Overview and Facilities:
This is a Performance and Visual Arts collaborative residency that is project driven. We are looking to support artist collaborations or individual artists whose work exists in the performance and visual art cross section. This is a broadly defined area that can include any visual art practice and any movement practice. The Monira Foundation will support artists for 6 month periods beginning in July 2023 to create a new work that will be exhibited in a public presentation at the end of the residency (December 2023 or June 2024). Applications may be submitted by individual artists whose work operates in this intersection or from artist collaborations who are looking to create new works.
Selected Artists will have access to a private studio that is about 300 sq/ft for their 6 month residency. The space comes equipped with basic studio equipment like a work table and chairs and a small portable sprung wood dance floor. The spaces are adaptable to artists’ needs with multiple electrical outlets and internet access. The Foundation will also supply a $325 honorarium to the lead applicant to support the project and access to a dance space through High Concept Labs, our programming partners (also located in the same building). There is also selected equipment available for shared use during the time of the residency. This includes projectors and some audio equipment.
The Monira Foundation will support the final presentation for each project at the end of the residency by providing space and equipment needed. We will also document and record the project for presentation virtually through youtube to reach audiences far and wide.
In addition to providing physical space, residents will receive visits from artists, curators, critics, and collectors throughout their residency.
Application and Selection Process:
Applications will open in February of 2023. In each application we ask you to provide bios for each applicant (if applying as a collaborative), a project proposal (250 words), a tentative plan for your time in the studio, and to submit 5 images of your work. Images should include samples of completed projects and a possible mock up of the proposed project (if possible). No composite images or files with multiple images will be accepted. Individual slide images only. Images and statements cannot have artist names or identification on them. Image Descriptions should include title, media, year, and description. Our aim is to keep this application equitable and heavily focused on the work submitted. Reviewers will not see applicant names during the process and only have access to the artist statement, the program statement and the portfolio.
Each application will also ask for general information and a recent resume for internal use only. Please make sure your Slideroom account is up to date when submitting as we rely on their system to communicate during this process.
The Monira Foundation will convene a panel of arts professionals from Chicago through the support of our advisory board to select an artist or artist collaborative for the 2 residency slots in the upcoming year. This selection panel will only be announced after each cycle (8-10 weeks after the open call ends) and will change year to year. For application questions please contact Anne Muntges at anne@monirafoundation.org
Jurors look for
- Artistic Excellence: work that is compelling with a distinct voice and vision.
- Evidence of Commitment: A history of active engagement in creating artwork and presenting it publicly, and does the proposed work seem feasible based on history of practice.
- Impact: Will this residency help the artist(s) further their practice?
- Engagement: Will artist participating engage with the community at the Monira Foundation and the general public through studio visits and community programming.
Monira Foundation’s Artist in Residence Program, Chicago supports artists with established careers who work in any visual arts media and performance. All applicants must be at least 21, American citizens or residents of the United States during the residency period, not be enrolled in a degree-granting program or other residencies at the time of their residency, and be able to demonstrate an understanding of our program. We encourage artists working in all visual media to apply.
The Monira Foundation is committed to diversity, equity, inclusion, and fostering mutual respect for the diverse beliefs and values of all individuals and groups regardless of age, sex, race or ability. The Monira Foundation will not discriminate among any of these grounds and encourages all established artists who would benefit from this program to apply.
Special Notes:
Artists who are accepted into the program must be prepared to actively use their studio space and not be enrolled in any other program during their residency. Residency periods are from July – December 2023 and January to June 2024.The residency takes place at 2233 S Throop St, (inside Mana Contemporary).
The assigned residency studio has 24 hour 7 day a week access and is equipped with a table and two stools. It is roughly 300 sq/ft. Regular studio hours for the dance studio are 08 am to midnight. Subject to availability, the studio may be scheduled an average of 8 to 12 hours per week, as single or split days through High Concept Labs. The dance studio is a shared space. Return it to the same, or better, condition as you found it when arriving.
Applications open FEBRUARY 6, 2023 and close MARCH 13, 2023 at midnight EST for residencies beginning in July 2023.
There is a modest $15 fee for each application. 5 dollars goes to Slideroom and the remaining 10 helps pay our reviewers / curators for the time spent reviewing and thoroughly considering each submission. It also supports the program so that it can continue year to year.
If this is truly a hardship please contact Anne Muntges at anne@monirafoundation.org
Community Give Back:
The Monira Foundation cosponsors two Open House events with Mana Contemporary annually, as well as sponsored visits from curators, critics and gallerists. Artists are expected to participate and engage. Additionally artists will be asked to offer one public event at the end their residency. We will work with you to put that into action. This program will be related to your proposed project for residency. This program can be designed by you and take the form that makes most sense. This can include a talk, a film presentation or release, a live performance or installation. At the end of each residency each artist will be asked to donate a recent work to the Monira Foundation for the Mana Permanent Collection. These works will be exhibited throughout the Mana Contemporary locations in Jersey City, Chicago and Miami for exhibitions.
