2024 Sugar Hill Children’s Museum of Art & Storytelling 
Artist Residency Guidelines and FAQ’s

APPLICATIONS ARE DUE April 30th, 2024 (at 11:59pm EST)

Please note all applicants will need to create a Submittable account in order to apply.

Overview and Guidelines 

The Sugar Hill Children's Museum of Art & Storytelling is offering a 10-month residency for one visual artist. The selected artist will be granted a non-live in studio, a $10,000 honorarium, and the possibility of earning additional income by leading workshops for museum patrons.

The Artist-in-Residence will have access to a 450 square-foot studio space where they will be expected to work a minimum of 15 hours per week and present projects by participating in open studio activities and events.

For this residency, the Museum is looking to award one visual artist whose artistic practice will resonate with children ages three to eight and their families, and reflect a relationship to the demographics, location, and/or history of Sugar Hill. The selected artist should be comfortable interacting with children and families, and entertaining conversations with curious museum visitors about their studio practice.

A jury composed of arts professionals and Museum staff will use the criteria below to select the finalists. Notice of advancement will be delivered by email by May 31, 2024. In June 2024, selected finalists will demonstrate their practice in live teaching demos with children and meet with the Museum leadership team for a short interview. The 2024 Artist in Residence will be announced on July 3, 2024.

The selected artist will begin their residency at the Museum in September 2024 and will have use of the Artist-in-Residence Studio until the end of June 2025. The artist will have a culminating exhibition in the studio space from approximately July 2024 through the end of August 2025*.
  

Benefits to Artist 

• Access to a 450 sq ft private artist Studio, with a sink for 10 months (September 2024 – June 2025)

• Culminating solo exhibition in their Studio (2 months including installation; July 2025 – August  2025*) 

• An honorarium of $10,000, dispersed in 10 monthly installments

*Exact dates TBA and subject to change based on installation requirements and Museum calendar.   

Who Should Apply? 

This opportunity is ideal for visual artists who:

• Are comfortable interacting with children and their families

• Are accustomed or open to entertaining conversations with curious museum visitors about their studio process

• Are not currently enrolled in a college or graduate school program

• Are not related to an employee of Broadway Housing Communities (BHC) or the Sugar Hill Children’s Museum of Art & Storytelling

• Live within the Tri-State Region

• Are at least 21 years old 

Qualifications 

To be considered for this opportunity, artists should:

• Have a demonstrated creative, ambitious practice, which should be documented in the work samples submitted in their application.

• Be eager to work with children ages three to eight and their families.

• Be able to attend Museum staff training sessions to ensure the most successful interaction occurs between Museum staff, contractors, and visitors.

• Be able to commit the time and attention to developing new work in their studio for at least 15 hours per week from the beginning to the end of their studio residency (from September 2024 to June 2025).

• Be able to participate in monthly open studio events and activities where children and families can view the projects they are working on.

• Have a practice that reflects a relationship to the demographics, location, and/or history of the Sugar Hill neighborhood. (A plus, not a requirement).

Selection Criteria 

The jury will be assessing the following questions during this process:

Artistic Excellence

• Has the applicant demonstrated a command of the medium(s) presented in their work samples? Do their work samples illustrate technical strength?

• Is the applicant’s work conceptually strong?

• Is the candidate a visual artist?

Comfort Working With Children

• Does the applicant demonstrate competency and comfort in working with children ages three to eight years old and their families? This will be assessed when semi-finalists are asked to present their work and art-making activity to children.

• Will the applicant’s work resonate with museum patrons, specifically with children ages three to eight years old?

Familiarity with Sugar Hill

• Does the applicant demonstrate an understanding of Sugar Hill, its history, and/or the communities that live and work there?

• Would the applicant’s work resonate with the Sugar Hill community?

Application Materials 

Visual artists applying for this opportunity will be asked to submit the following:

• A resume

• Work samples

• Answers to 5 application questions

• Artist statement

• Biography

For more information on the guidelines, please feel free to email airprogram@sugarhillmuseum.org.

2024 Timeline

March 20, 2024: Applications open

April 10th, 2024: Application info session: 6-7:30 pm. RSVP here

April 30, 2024: Application deadline (11:59 pm EST)

May 31, 2024: Finalists notified

June 2024: Teaching Demos with Children + Interviews*
* Held between 9:30-11:30 am on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday

July 1, 2024: AIR winner announced

Week of July 8, 2024: AIR orientation

Frequently Asked Questions 

What is the Sugar Hill Children’s Museum of Art & Storytelling? 
The Sugar Hill Children’s Museum of Art & Storytelling (SHCMAS) strives to strengthen the community by providing our culturally rich neighborhood with a space where children and their families grow and learn about Sugar Hill, and about the world at large, through inter-generational dialogue with artists, art and storytelling. As a cultural institution where the contributions of children are nurtured and honored, SHCMAS provides opportunities for children ages three to eight to learn and grow both as  audiences and as authors that create and share their own stories. 

Opened in summer 2015, SHCMAS is a cultural destination for and to the surrounding communities of Harlem, Washington Heights, Inwood and the South Bronx. Our year-round calendar of exhibits  explores generations of artists who have contributed to and been inspired by the cultural vitality of the legendary neighborhood of Sugar Hill. We expand our exhibitions with a range of public programming  – storytelling series, performances, concerts, films and festivals, and a wide array of hands-on workshops – that further our curatorial mission to engage young children and families with art of the highest quality.  

If I do not live in Harlem or Washington Heights, am I still eligible to apply to this program?
Yes. The selected artist for this opportunity need not be a resident of Harlem or Washington Heights.  They should however have knowledge about the neighborhood and its many inhabitants.  

How many hours do I need to be in my studio each week? 
The selected artist should be prepared to work a minimum of 15 hours in their studio per week, which will not include participating in staff meetings and open studios or other related public programming. 

Does my work have to be child-friendly? 
The selected artist’s work should be accessible in both material and content to children ages three to eight. To ensure that this unique target audience can experience the artist’s work, it should not be hypersexual, utilize profanity or gratuitously violent. It does not need be thematically focused on  children; however it should be relevant to children within the three to eight year old age ranges. 

Do I need to have experience teaching children ages three to eight? 
It is highly desired, but not at all required. We are looking for artists who are comfortable engaging younger populations, but formal teaching experience or training is not required. Shortlisted applicants will be invited to present a demonstration with children ages three to eight to best determine their comfort level working with these populations. Additional information about preparing for the demonstration with children will be provided upon being notified of becoming a semifinalist.

When can I access the studio? 
The artist will have access to the studio 7 days a week, from 7 am to midnight. When needing more time in the studio, arrangements with building security and Museum staff can be made, but the artist cannot  enter the building after midnight. 

Can I live in the studio as well as work there? 
No, the studio cannot be lived in.  

Am I allowed to bring my child/ren to my studio? 
While we encourage parents to apply, childcare is not provided with this program. If the artist’s  child/ren visits, it will be the parent’s sole responsibility to ensure a safe working environment for their child/ren and ensure that their child/ren does not compromise the working environment for Museum staff, its contractors or visitors.  

Can I bring people to my studio after the Museum has closed? 
Visitors are not allowed in the artist’s studio after the Museum’s daily business hours, Thursdays 5:30pm - 8:00pm, Fridays 10:00am - 5:00pm, Saturdays & Sundays 10:00am - 3:00pm.

When will I know the public programs schedule? 
Together with the Museum staff, the selected artist will determine the dates and times of when they will need to have an open studio with the general public and when they are needed to participate in any other relevant public programming. These public programs will fall outside of the 15-hour/week  studio requirement.  

Besides being in my studio for at least 15 hours a week, what else is required of me if I am selected to participate in this residency program? 
In addition to working on the production of new artwork, this 15-hour per week commitment includes time by the Artist spent: 

a. Leading a weekly (2) hour, hands-on workshop(s) with children attending the Sugar Hill  Museum Preschool, a partner of the Museum. The Museum and the Preschool will coordinate with the Artist to determine the workshop(s) schedule and content.  
b. Participating in (4) family workshops during the residency term supported by the Education Department. The Museum will coordinate with the Artist to determine the workshop(s) schedule and  content.  
c. Participating in a monthly open studio program, to allow Museum visitors to view the artist’s working process. The Museum will coordinate the open studio schedule with the Artist, but preference is given for open studios on the third Sunday of every month or possibly the second Saturday of every month. A culminating exhibition of the residency program will occur in the Artist’s studio and will be open to the public in 2024. Participation in the Culminating Artist-in-Residence Open Studio Exhibition is mandatory. 

All staff training sessions are also mandatory to ensure the most successful interaction occurs between Museum staff, its contractors and visitors. 

Will the Museum arrange to have curators visit my studio? 
The main benefit of this opportunity for the selected artist is the ability to have the space and time to work on their projects. There is a chance that the Museum staff will make arrangements for curators  to visit the selected artist’s studio, but this is not guaranteed. That said the artist should feel free to  invite curators to their studio as needed.

Please note all applicants will need to create a Submittable account in order to apply.