ABOUT THE RESIDENCY
Arts Letters & Numbers was founded in 2011. At that point the summer workshop was the driving force of the organization. When the facilities grew so did the program. In 2015 the first Artist in Residence arrived. Since then we have continuously been cultivating this program to encourage individual and collaborative creation: to think, make and act alongside others within a community. The program has brought together artists from a wide range of disciplines, to ask and engage their questions, create and share their work. When people are free to act, interact with and support one another, new works and ideas emerge.
Arts Letters & Numbers is a place of creative urgency and intensity of purpose, a place to create new linkages, new thought processes, new path- ways of understanding that embody our best hopes and aspirations. It is a place where many elements come together to co-construct questions and works, of empathy, of ethics, of imagination; it is a place to explore the nuanced fragilities in our shared stories.
We are situated within an enthusiastic and supportive community that is highly active in the short term programming of Arts Letters & Numbers, including Events, Courses, and Workshops that run in parallel to and interweave with the Residency Program. To further expand the conversation and space of Arts Letters & Numbers – both within the Residency Program and the broader community – as an Artist in Residence you will be encouraged to participate in and host some of these features, as well as proposing your own events to foster and enrich this dialogue, i.e. lectures, exhibitions, performances, etc.
After the success of our interdisciplinary exhibition SunShip: The Arc That Makes The Flood Possible during the 17th Venice Biennale titled How will we live together?, from May to November 2021, six months of overflowing creative intensity: onsite and online public programs, conversations, events, concerts, film screenings, performances, lectures, workshops, studios, seminars, and exhibitions from diverse disciplines, we invite you to join us at our upstate NY campus for another immersive retreat.
A warm Victorian home, a big white barn and a textile mill turned studio space await your creative practice. Away from the distractions of life, surrounded by woods, hiking and lakes the Residency is designed to provide creative opportunities while developing meaningful relationships with other artists and local community. With the freedom to shape one’s workspace in the historic Faith Mills complex and the ability to work outdoors, the Residency program at ALN cultivates individual and collaborative explorations as well as shared dinners, and bonfire conversations as dimensions of the creative process. We welcome artists and thinkers from all disciplines to pursue and build upon their questions.
Arts Letters & Numbers is constructed by us: not just those who are directly involved in its day to day operation, not just the fellows, participants, visiting artists and local community members, it has and continues to be built by everyone who sets foot in this remarkable place. It is being constructed by and between us. This aspect of Arts Letters & Numbers is foundational.
Application Deadline
Rolling
Duration of Residency
2 – 12 Weeks
Eligibility
Applicants must be 18 years old or older. Applicants may be of any nationality. Visa support is available for those who require a visa.
Residency Fee (After May 15; Before September 3)
$350 (shared room) per week
$475 (private room) per week
$550 (private room for couples) per week
3 communal meals per week will be provided for all residents and program participants that will be on site between May 15 – Sept. 3.
“Spring/Fall Residency Fee” (Before May 15; After September 3)
$300 (shared)
$400 (private)
$450 (private couple)
Selection Process
Applications are reviewed within 14 days post deadline. Work samples are required for evaluating applications. The application form asks for a website, but if your works are not on a website, samples in pdf format and any questions regarding the application can be sent directly to: residency@artslettersandnumbers.com
COVID Guideline & Support
All guests are kindly requested to take a COVID test upon arrival. This is done for the sole purpose of protecting those residing in the house, as well as ALN employees. There is no requirement to discuss your current vaccination status or previous COVID contagion.
We will work together to navigate the challenges presented if positive test results occur.
Arrival
Public transportation is available through the Albany international airport or Albany/Rensselaer train station. We are happy to schedule a pickup and drop off from either location. Upon arrival you will be given a tour of the facilities by an ALN affiliate, a run through of the protocols of the facilities and covid guidelines.
Accommodations
Artists in residence are accommodated in the House on the Hill or the Twins both with shared kitchen, bathrooms and communal spaces. Although residents are responsible for their own meals, it is always encouraged that everyone in the house gathers to cook and share dinners together, or prepare dishes for the community events. Weekly grocery shopping runs for those without a car will be organized by the onsite ALN affiliate.
Studio / Workspace
Arts Letters & Numbers facilities are a collection of buildings once part of the former textile complex Faith Mills along Burden Lake Road in Averill Park, NY: the House on the Hill, the Twins, the Barn, the Studios and the Shop. With a variety of different sized studio spaces (socially distanced areas in both large and smaller rooms), a wooden barn and the outdoor grounds, we welcome artists to think of these spaces at sites they can work with and within. We’ll help you choose one that best suits your practice.
The Shop is equipped with basic woodworking tools and an assortment of power and hand tools. Additional equipment are digital media, musical instruments including a 9’ concert grand piano, a 5’ baby grand and upright piano all available for artists to use.
Expectations Towards the Artist
Artists are expected to pursue their individual creative endeavor and many times this calls for leading a workshop, giving a lecture, sharing a film, partake in critique, exhibiting/performing work etc. These are optional but has proven to be an integral tool for artists to find inspiration and to allow others to experience the works in progress or previous works. The artist will be encouraged to propose any form of sharing suitable for their work.
Everyone staying at Arts Letters & Numbers is expected to treat the facilities with care and consideration as well as be mindful of each other’s space. Whether it’s in a living or working situation, everyone is responsible to clean up after themselves, and to lend a helping hand when needed. Arts Letters & Numbers is based on the value and reward derived from communal efforts.
Staying at ALN you will become part of an ecosystem. During this time you will be asked to follow the guidelines provided, and respect the integrity of the spaces, property and personal spaces.
Additional Programs
Throughout the year Arts Letters & Numbers will hold additional onsite as well as online programs and events in parallel to the residency program, each of these has to be applied for or registered independently of the residency program.
Scholarships
There is a limited number of Scholarships available with partial reduction of the residency fee. Scholarships are only considered for applicants for whom this is crucial for their participation in the program, and require a separate application. The scholarship application should be submitted once the program application has been submitted.