Artist - Before the Residency

Artist Selection Process
Attending the Arts Learning Residency Conference
Writing Your Application
Residency Preparations
Conducting the Planning Session

The Residency Plan

• Components and Terms
• Administrative Tasks

Artist Selection Process

Artist in Residence program artists are invited by sponsors to participate in OAC-funded residencies.

Sponsors use the Arts Learning Artist Directory to become familiar with the artists in the Artist in Residence Program. This publication is available to schools and organizations across the state via the OAC website. Individual and company artists are listed by discipline with a photo and brief artistic statement.

Experienced sponsors may directly contact an artist in the Arts Learning Artist Directory and involve him/her in designing the residency before the grant is submitted. This may involve several conversations to ensure that the rationale, design and plan are strong. The artist may also be asked to write a letter expressing interest and support for the residency, if funded.

Criminal Background Checks

The OAC does not have the statutory authority to require criminal background checks of the artists participating in its Artist in Residence program. It is the responsibility of the applying organization to review the Ohio Revised Code or internal policies and administrative procedures to determine their responsibilities in this area.

Participating in Arts Learning Professional Development Opportunities

Several types of professional development opportunities will be made available to artists and sponsors.  These include meetings, seminars, workshops, webinars, PowerPoint presentations and will feature valued and knowledgeable professionals in the field of arts learning.  When resources permit, the Arts Learning Promoting Creativity Conference, is held in late September, and brings together artists and residency sponsors to prepare for successful residencies. Conference sessions are designed to meet the needs of new and experienced sponsors in their residency preparations and choice of residency artist. In addition, sessions highlight exemplary student and artist work, arts education resources and advocacy. In lieu of the Fall Conference, alternative professional development opportunities will be offered to artists and sponsors.

Residency Preparations

All Arts Learning Program Artists:

• Participate in the meeting activities for new artists in the Program.
• Attend the required Arts Learning Promoting Creativity Conference in late September, when available.
• Meet and network with other Artist in Residence program artists.
• Ask questions and clarify their roles and responsibilities as artists in the residency program.
• Participate in professional development workshops to prepare for residency and other education-related projects.
• Meet sponsors and discuss artistic work and interests, exchanging ideas and possible plans that will reflect their expertise and the sponsor's artistic and educational goals.
• Obtain a copy and become familiar with the Ohio Department of Education's Ohio Fine Arts Academic Content Standards.
  Dance Standards
  Drama Theatre Standards
  Music Standards
  Resources
  Visual Standards
  Complete Standards. (This is a large file and will take time to open.)

Conducting the Planning Session

The planning session addresses critical components that support a successful residency; however, the approach to planning may vary depending on whether you are working with a newer applicant or more experienced sponsor. There are specific components you need to consider as you develop your work plan for the residency. These components are items found on our Artist in Residence Program, Planning Session Checklist, which is a tool used during each planning session.

The planning session provides time for brainstorming, in-depth discussion and decision making to fully develop residency ideas. The session allows for further discussion of the residency guidelines and panel comments from the grant review process. The session is scheduled four to six weeks before the residency begins and lasts approximately two hours. For schools, a time after class hours usually is chosen so all school personnel part of the planning committee can attend. The residency planning committee, artist and Artist in Residence Program representative must attend. Preliminary residency discussions can be handled through the mail, by phone or e-mail so most residencies will require only one planning session. The Arts Learning staff recommends additional planning for certain residencies, including multi-disciplinary or longer residencies.

During the planning session, it is important to develop a focus for the residency by discussing the following:

• Residency goals that are mutually rewarding. Balance artistic and educational expectations.
• Realistic plans.
• Goals for students and faculty.
• Staying focused on the artistic process so the residency does not become product-driven.
• Plans that honor and reflect students' perspectives and artistic visions.
• Diversity issues when developing residency plans, discussing social and cultural values and customs that affect art-making.
• Residency activities that comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

The Residency Plan

• Components and Terms

  Over the years, artists and sponsors have discovered that a residency is most successful when the following components are addressed. What follows is a listing of components and terms. They are presented here in alphabetical order for easy reference. However, they appear in a different order on the Artist in Residence Program, Planning Session Checklist.

  Academic Content Standards

  Academic content standards in the arts are challenging, but attainable visions of student outcomes (i.e., what students should know and be able to do and appreciate, resulting from their arts education and arts learning experiences). Grade-level benchmarks are interim targets progressing "normally" toward a final standard.

  In 2004, the Ohio Department of Education published the state's first set of standards and benchmarks in the arts entitled, Ohio Fine Arts Academic Content Standards. In June 2012, Ohio's State Board of Education (SBE) adopted updated content standards for dance, drama/theatre, music and the visual arts. The updated standards provide a new framework that reflects the learning needs of the future but retains the best content from the arts standards Ohio adopted in 2003.

  The revised framework:

  • Includes new grade clusters -- K-2, 3-5, 6-8 -- and high school achievement levels.
  • Highlights how learning in the arts contributes to enduring understandings, such as critical thinking and collaboration.
  • Guides integration of cognitive and creative learning processes - perceiving/knowing/creating; producing/performing; and responding/reflecting.

  The Office of Arts Learning requires use of those standards in funded K-12 in-school educational programming. Standards can be found in PDF form at the Ohio Department of Education website through the following links:

  Dance Standards
  Drama Theatre Standards
  Music Standards
  Resources
  Visual Standards
  Complete Standards. (This is a large file and will take time to open.)

  Accommodations Securing free or reduced-rate housing for the artist is the responsibility of the sponsor. Often, sponsors arrange lodging in a local hotel or bed and breakfast in exchange for public recognition of the contribution. Some artists are willing to stay in the homes of staff or community members. Lodging details should be discussed and confirmed with the artist before the residency.

  Artist-Staff Workshop

  To understand the arts you must experience them. These hands-on workshops are a required component of every residency because it is the best way for participants to gain confidence and understanding of what working in an arts discipline means in an experiential way. The workshop also allows participants to better understand the resident artist's vision, discipline and work. A minimum of one workshop per a two- to four-week time period should be scheduled. Longer residencies increase the number if possible. All staff, especially those who will work with the core group, should participate.

  Artist Planning Time

  Planning time is important for artists and should be built into the residency schedule. This time is needed to prepare for contact sessions, workshops, public presentations, sharings and to assess the residency progress.

  Artist Studio Time

  Studio time is a necessary part of each residency. Without time to devote to their own work, many artists would not travel to residencies outside their home community. Artists need daily time and space to make art. Sponsors should provide adequate studio space and reasonable access during the residency. Studio time should be discussed during planning sessions. Especially in longer residencies, studio time may be open so residency participants can observe the development of the artist's work over time. Studio time generally is scheduled during regular program or school hours, rather than after normal hours of operation.

  Closure Meeting

  As the residency draws to an end, a closure meeting should be scheduled for the artist and participants. Use this gathering to reflect upon the original residency plan, the actual experience, and the learning that resulted. Each participant should share from his/her perspective what worked well and what could be improved. It is also time, if appropriate, to consider next steps and possible follow-up experiences.

  Community Outreach

  An artist and sponsor may want to extend the residency experiences beyond the sponsor's primary site and participants. Earlier in the planning process, the sponsor is asked to assess their needs. What needs were identified that might help build connections between a residency and community initiatives or themes? Or, were individuals identified in the larger community who would benefit from involvement in a residency? The answers to those questions may provide direction for outreach efforts. Residencies of a longer length provide greater opportunities for community involvement.

  Contact Sessions

  A contact session is a meeting between the artist and a group or class. An artist conducts not more than four contact sessions per day. Each contact session usually is an hour long, but may be adjusted to meet the needs of the artist, participants or discipline. Additional time each day should be scheduled for the artist's preparation and studio time.

  Core and Peripheral Groups

  Each residency site must identify core and peripheral groups. The core group meets with the artist daily. Peripheral groups meet less often with the artist. Core and peripheral groups vary from eight to 25 participants, depending on the artistic discipline, and the age, health or developmental needs of the residency participants. Furthermore, some disciplines require a great deal of individualized instruction. The final decision on group size and composition rests with the sponsor and the artist as the residency plan is developed before the grant is submitted or later during the planning session.

  Etiquette and Protocol

  Sponsors should explain critical policies or procedures, such as dress code, safety or emergency procedures and expectations. Extra attention and preparations are needed when an artist is working with special populations in a health or mental health facility and in secure institutions with court-involved individuals.

  Faculty, Staff and Administrators

  Faculty, staff and administrators play a critical role in the success of the residency. They contribute to the artistic vision of the residency through collaboration with the artist, along with the members of the core group. Faculty and staff also ensure a safe and disciplined atmosphere for work by being present during all contact sessions. Through their participation, they develop themselves professionally through the arts by participating in the residency activities. Most importantly, they feel more comfortable thinking artistically and creating themselves, thus, increasing the potential that the residency will have a long-term impact.

  Families, Guardians and Care-givers

  For schools: Parents are their children's first teachers, which is especially true during the pre-kindergarten and elementary years. Creative play is a developmentally appropriate way to nurture children's talents and interests. Therefore, whenever possible, include parents and other guardians as participants in the art-making activities. Parent-child workshops are a great way to promote parental involvement and learning during and following the residency. Similarly, children and family members can create powerful multi-generational arts learning experiences in residencies that involve older adults.

  For organizations: The Arts Learning program now funds artist residencies in a broader range of organizations including neighborhood centers, senior centers, arts organizations, faith-based organizations, libraries and social service agencies, etc. This broader access allows for new ways of involving families, guardians and care-givers in residency experiences. A community residency has the potential to: strengthen family and community bonds, foster inter-generational learning, and overcome practical and perceptual barriers often associated with age, economics, ethnicity, geography, social status, etc.  Organizations are encouraged to develop projects that address the needs of older adults and to align with Creative Aging, an Arts Learning initiative that strengthens the connection between healthy aging and creative art-making.

  Image-Release Forms

  The Image-Release Form is distributed to individuals with direct involvement in the residency. A signed form allows the OAC to unlimited use of their images in OAC-related educational and promotional materials in perpetuity throughout the world.

  Hospitality

  Sponsors often see receiving a grant for a residency as an honor and an opportunity to promote the arts and highlight their own arts programming. To capitalize on the award, social events are utilized to educate staff and to draw the larger community into your facility, as appropriate. A welcoming activity for the artist should be held early in the residency. This event gives all participants and citizens a chance to get to know the artist, why he/she is in residence, and the focus of the artist's work and residency. Receptions are also an effective means for staff and community members to meet and discuss the residency with the artist. Some sites prepare a "welcome" basket that includes area maps, a local newspaper, community souvenirs, etc. to help the artist become acclimated to the area. Artists frequently report what a great experience it is to get to know a new community, specifically, and Ohio overall through their travels.

  Meals

  Sponsor should provide lunch for the artist each day. Sponsors have found many creative ways to provide lunch, such as offering coupons for local restaurant meals, having parents and students prepare lunches, asking community members to prepare gourmet box lunches and, of course, offering the school or organization's regular lunch, if that is an option. Artists should be appreciative and considerate of the sponsor�s meal plans and inform them if for some reason the plan needs to be changed.

  Public Presentation or Sharing

  Residencies give artists important opportunities to present their work, enhance the cultural life of a community, and reveal the learning that occurs through an artist residency. Presentations, however, should not drive the residency. Instead, presentations should be used to share the residency experience with a larger audience. It is important to introduce an artist and their work at the beginning of the residency through a performance or slide presentation in an opening assembly. The artist and sponsor should plan additional public presentations together. The more elaborate the activity, the more preparation time will be needed. Presentations have taken many forms including: open classes, lecture-demonstrations, readings, exhibitions, concerts, etc.

  Reflection and Assessment

  Artful assessment is at the heart of each discipline. Making artistic work "good" requires the creators to thoughtfully reenter the work multiple times to reflect and refine it and, ultimately, find satisfaction with its expression. Do not short-change this process by an over emphasis on the final product. This can undermine the artistic process and learning for the participants.

  Refection and assessment can also focus on the residency experience in its entirety. As the residency progresses, participants should consider what changes might be occurring that improves teaching and learning. And, how those changes could be tracked and communicated through such qualitative means as journals, video documentation, focus groups and interviews and through the artistic work.

  Schedule

  The schedule shows all daily activities planned with the artist and participants throughout the residency, such as core group sessions, introductory assemblies, artist and staff workshops, parent-child workshops and community outreach. It is important to be flexible when creating the residency schedule so that it is workable for everyone involved. To inform that process, during the planning session, a calendar of events for the school or organization should be referenced. By adjusting regular daily schedules, providing staff release times and appropriate space, the sponsor creates the best learning environment for the residency. A copy of the schedule must be e-mailed to Chiquita Mullins Lee prior to the residency. To get you started, we have sample schedules for you to view.

  Site and Community Orientation and Tour

  For artists who are not familiar with a site and community, a tour is a good way to be introduced to their new home away from home. The site's floor plan, map of community, and other orientation materials are helpful.

  Administrative Tasks

  Fiscal Responsibilities

  Artist Payment

  Artists Fee
  The individual artist is paid $1,200 per week. Fees for more than two artists may need to be negotiated between the Arts Learning Program Coordinator and the sponsor.

  Payment Sources
  It is the responsibility of the sponsor to pay the artist's entire fee from two sources:

  • 1/3 of the artist fee comes from the sponsor's cash match (identified in the grant)
  • 2/3 of the artist fee comes from the OAC grant award (identified in the grant agreement)

  Sponsor's Cash Match
  The sponsor must pay the artist their portion of the fee by the last day of the residency.

  OAC Grant Award
  Once the signed Sponsor Grant Agreement has been returned to the OAC, the on-site coordinator is encouraged to complete a Partial Payment Request located as part of OLGA. Once processed, this payment will be mailed to the sponsor for payment to the artist by the last day of the residency. The remaining portion of the OAC grant award will be processed and mailed after a satisfactory Sponsor Final Report has been submitted. The sponsor then pays the artist the final residency payment.

  Supplies

  The residency grant is for artist fees only. The artist decides with the sponsor what supplies are essential and determines how supplies will be secured and stored. The sponsor has a contractual responsibility to secure all supplies that must be purchased or equipment that needs to be rented. A site representative and the artist may want to shop together, if that is convenient. Confirm that all necessary items will be on-site in advance of the start of the residency. All items should meet current health and safety standards. We suggest artists provide the sponsor with a list of materials and supplies used as part of the residency in the event they need to answer questions about composition and safety later.

  Final Report Form

  The AIR Final Report Form should be completed and returned within 30 days of the residency ending date. Success of the residency program depends on a candid and constructive evaluation of the experience. Information from the final report will be used to evaluate future grant applications.