AMP: Artists' Meeting Place and Resource Collective

Emerging Musicians & Writers: Applications Due September 15

Since it's opening May 2010, The Hill House Residency has provided eight artists the time and space to dedicate to their craft. The Hill House works to support two fields: emerging songwriters and writers at all stages of their career. Emerging musician Marcus Sigh reflected on the Hill House Residency as if he and partner Melissa Sigh were painters who had canvases and brushes at home, but were missing red and yellow paint (space and time). "ISLAND and the Hill House gave us these, our red and our yellow."

Residents receive the gift of a two, three or four week stay in a semi-secluded log cabin near East Jordan, Michigan. It includes a well stocked kitchen, a selection of instruments and some basic recording gear. The musician residency also offers performance opportunities and a small stipend to aid in professional development.

Applications for the second round are due September 15. The second round runs from November 2010 to April 2011.

Caitlin Strokosch, Executive Director of the Alliance of Artists Communities, says of the program, "Residency programs support artists in their creative development, and have, for more than a century, nurtured the individuals who have contributed to our cultural legacy, changed the way we view the world, and addressed some of our most critical challenges. ISLAND is an emerging leader in this field, and has already begun to shape the ways we think about the interconnectedness of artists and community."

For more information about ISLAND Hill House residencies, including applications, visit www.ARTmeetsEARTH.org or contact Amanda Kik at amanda@artmeetsearth.org or 231-480-4515.

What is a Residency?
Artists’ residencies (also called artists’ communities, colonies, retreats, workspaces, and studio collectives) provide dedicated time and space for creative work. Beyond this core value, these creative communities are a diverse group, and provide artists of all disciplines with many different styles and models of support.

Residencies can be found in urban or rural areas, serving one artist at a time or fifty. Some support one artistic genre while many are interdisciplinary, welcoming visual artists, writers, composers, choreographers, scholars and other creative individuals. There are programs that are active centers for public programs and others that offer solitude and retreat. Many provide room and board as a home-away-from-home; others offer not a place to live, but a community for local artists in which to work and be supported in the creation of new art.

Selection Criteria
Applications will be juried by a rotating panel selected by ISLAND. Residency awards are merit driven, based primarily on the quality of existing work, using the following criteria, in order of priority:
• the creativity and integrity of the work
• the strength of the artist’s statement and the perceived fit with the Hill House residency
• the availability of the artist in the dates still open for residents

For an excellent overview of artist residency programs, including hints on the application process, visit the Alliance of Artists Communities website, www.artistcommunities.org.

About ISLAND
The Institute for Sustainable Living, Art & Natural Design is a non-profit arts and ecology center dedicated to connecting people with nature, art and community. ISLAND helps people become native to place by:

* supporting artists — visionaries, conceptual explorers and compelling communicators — with dedicated time, space and resources to create new work;
* restoring the old and developing the new skills and traditions of community self-reliance;
* creating and sharing a broad collection of tools for ecological living.

The 2010/2011 Emerging Musician Residency Program is supported by a generous grant from the Begonia Charitable Foundation