Bruce Museum Artist Residency

The Bruce Museum is excited to announce that we are accepting applications for our inaugural Artist-in-Residency program. Through the support of the Art Bridges Foundation, the Bruce Museum will host one Artist-in-Residence for a period of nine months, from November 1, 2023, to July 31, 2024. This initiative will introduce an Artist-in-Residence to the Bruce for the first time in the Museum’s history. This residency includes an educational component, through which we encourage the Artist-in-Residence to facilitate discourse between the exhibition, their practice, and Museum visitors.  

Application Deadline: October 7, 2023, at 11:59pm

Program Structure

The Artist-in-Residence will work at the Bruce Museum for a period of nine months, from November 1, 2023, to July 31, 2024. The Artist-in-Residence must work on-site at the Bruce Museum for a minimum of 20 hours per week. We invite artists of all types to apply, including (but not limited to) visual artists, sculptors, poets, writers, musicians, and movement practitioners.  The selected applicant is expected to fulfill their role as a teaching artist by engaging directly with Bruce Museum visitors and the local community. Responsibilities and commitments for this artist will include:

• Partnering with the Museum’s Junior Docent corps to implement two workshops intended for teen audiences;
• Planning and leading two adult workshops;
  Participating in select school tours;
• Participating in one lecture presented by the Bruce Museum. This program will be livestreamed, and a recording will be made available through the Museum’s website and social media channels; 
• The artist will host three open studio sessions throughout the course of their residency for visitors to view works-in-progress and engage directly with the artist; 
• In accordance with the Museum’s mission, all programs that the Artist-in-Residence participates in, assists, or develops will incorporate art and science. 

Program Benefits

The Artist-in-Residence will have the opportunity to generate their own work inside facilities and with materials provided by the Museum. Other benefits include:

• A stipend of $35,000 to generate new work which will be displayed within the Museum’s Steven and Alexandra Cohen Education Wing (to be paid in bi-weekly installments over the duration of the residency).
• Reimbursement for the cost of materials (up to $8,000); 
• $500 honorarium to present one lecture at the Bruce Museum; 
• Any artwork created during the residency will be presented on the Museum’s website and social media channels;
• Engaging Museum visitors and reaching new audiences;
• Access to the Museum galleries, public programs, and exhibition openings.

Application Requirements

The Bruce Museum Artist-in-Residence program supports emerging and mid-career artists and creatives. The Bruce Museum encourages those from historically underrepresented communities to apply. Successful candidates are confident engaging with the visitors and working in an open studio environment.

In this application, we ask candidates to create a hypothetical proposal for a piece currently on view at the Bruce Museum, Homage to My Young Black Sisters by Elizabeth Catlett. We encourage prospective applicants to view this piece in-person at the Bruce Museum, or online. However, once the program commences, our Artist-in-Residency will respond to two works which will be on display at the Bruce Museum, Collage X Landscape by George Morrison and DNA: Sepia V by McArthur Binion (on loan from the Art Bridges Foundation) through the lens of their own practice.

We request that all applicants provide one letter of support in their application and include contact information for two references. Please provide a broad overview of your work in the application, including the title, date, medium, dimensions of each piece, as well as any other pertinent information that you see fit which will help us better understand your work.

The Bruce Museum strongly encourages our Artist-in-Residence to be up to date on all vaccinations at the time of their residency.

Commitment to Diversity, Equity, Access, and Inclusion:

The Bruce Museum is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Qualified Applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital status, national or ethnic origin, age, ancestry, disability (physical, mental, or intellectual), protected veteran status, domestic violence victim status, or any other characteristic protected by state or federal law.

The link to our application can be found here.

If you have any questions please contact bruce.artist.residency@gmail.com