The mission of the Roman J. Witt Residency Program is to support the production of new work with assistance from the Stamps School community. The program awards one residency per academic year for a visiting artist/designer to work at the school to develop a new work in collaboration with students and faculty. A centerpiece of the residency is the open studio, a centrally located studio space that is part of the school’s main gallery where the resident carries out work in a public domain. This public visibility of the artist/designer’s process is intended as a teaching tool for the school as a whole. The residency is expected to culminate in the realization of the proposed work, as well as a presentation that summarizes the process and work accomplished.

Eligibility

The Witt Residency is open to both established and emerging artists/designers. The Witt residency provides students a alternative learning opportunity to engage with practicing artists/designers who make use of resources across campus. Therefore, the ideal candidate must value collaboration, have good social and communication skills and be interested in generating creative partnerships across disciplines. It is the goal of the Witt Residency to foster an atmosphere of inventive creative activity that extends throughout the University community.

Honorarium

Witt Residents receive an honorarium of $20,000 for up to twelve weeks in residence served over one academic year. There is flexibility in how the time in residence is apportioned. In addition to the honorarium, residents will be provided with housing, studio space, and up to $5,000 funding support for project materials. The School encourages applications from individuals as well as from creative teams however, please be advised that the resources listed above are finite, including the travel budget. If teams apply the expectation is that the award will be shared among its members.

How to Apply

The Witt Residency Program’s application process is conducted using SlideRoom, an online review system. Applicants register and submit their application materials on the SlideRoom website using the Stamps School’s portal. SlideRoom is web-based, so all applicants need is an Internet connection and a modern web browser – there is nothing to download or install. Applicants with prepared digital files can quickly upload their submission within minutes.

Applicants must submit their portfolio online at: um.slideroom.com.

SlideRoom Application Requirements:

• Complete the online application form, including resume/CV and references.
• Upload media – this may include video, audio, and pdf files.
• Submit the processing fee.

Our SlideRoom portal offers complete instructions for submitting work. For technical assistance, a video tutorial is available at SlideRoom and applicants may access the SlideRoom help desk at slideroom.zendesk.com.

Slideroom requires a nominal $10 application fee to offset the cost of media uploads and storage at the time of submission. The fee is paid by the applicant using a secure system via SlideRoom online as the final step in submitting the application.

If you cannot use Slideroom and would like to make alternate arrangements, please email Chrisstina Hamilton at chrissti@umich.edu.

Application Schedule

• Proposals Due – January 15, 2014
• Selection Committee Review – February, 2014
  Selection Committee reviews materials and selects finalists to interview. Applicants will receive email notification, so please be sure to include your correct email address in your proposal.
• Interviews – March/April, 2014
• Notification – May 15, 2014

art-design.umich.edu/witt/application