Acadia National Park Artist-in-Residence Open Call for 2019

The Artist-in-Residence program at Acadia National Park encourages accomplished, professional artists to create fresh and innovative new ways for visitors to experience the park through the arts. Selected artists travel to and take part in the program at their own expense at the invitation of the park superintendent. There is no stipend or support provided beyond park housing, and the possibility of collaborative opportunties with some park staff. Local transportation is not provided. Participants must possess a valid drivers license and personal vehicle. Paricipants are at liberty to use online fundraising campaigns to help cover travel and other costs associated with their residencies, but they may not brand, promote, or imply endorsement of such activities by the National Park Service, Acadia National Park, or the Artist-in-Residence program.

In exchange for 14 nights in park-provided housing over a residency year, participants are asked to host a public outreach activity with park visitors, and to donate within a year one finished work of art that depicts a new perspective of Acadia for visitors that's drawn from their own experience. Pieces donated to the program collection are included in a permanent online catalog on the park website, and displayed seasonally in public spaces within the park, surrounding communities, and beyond.

An open call for online applications spans from October 1 through December 31, 2018. The process is open to all, but is highly selective based upon prior professional achievement and broader program goals to foster innovation, diversity, and relevance with new audiences. A required application fee of $25 directly benefits program operational costs, such as participant housing, supplies for public display spaces, and staffing assistance with public outreach activities.

Applications are reviewed by juries consisting of past program participants, subject matter experts, local community members, and park staff. The jury period typically spans from January 1 through March 1 each year. The park superintendent then reviews and extends formal invitations to individual participants. Once all available residencies are accepted, other remaining applicants are notified of the outcome of their submissions via email, preferably before March 31 each year. Once specific housing and residency dates are fully confirmed, park staff will craft a press release announcing the names and qualifications of all selected participants, preferably before May 1.

Currently, the total number of AiR participants at Acadia is capped at eight each year. Some residency opportunities may be left unfilled.

• Four for Visual Arts in painting, textiles, sculpture, fine art photography, etc
• Two for Writing in essays, poetry, drama, etc
• Two for "At-Large" categories including music, dance, indigenous arts, emerging techologies, etc

As participants accept an invitation to a residency, each may request further designation as a Resident Artist, as someone who has a home or vacation property within commuting distance of the park, and who does not require housing provided by the park. For Resident Artists, there are no limits for the dates or extent of participation with the program. They receive an entry pass to visit the park as often as they wish during the year. Resident Artists may also request a turn at staying briefly in a remote ranger cabin on Isle au Haut, as described below.

Other selected participants may have a total of 14 nights during their residency year in park-provided housing options:

• A maximum of five nights in a rustic and remote ranger cabin on Isle au Haut anytime during its operational season, June into October
• A maximum of ten nights in a one-bedroom apartment on the Schoodic Penninsula, as available year round.

Each participant may be accompanied for the duration of their stay by a spouse, adult companion, or one of their own children age 16 or older. These individuals must also complete paperwork to become a formal park volunteer, with a stipulation of contributing 32 hours of work each week to receive free park housing.

Wheelchair-accessible housing is available. Pets and smoking are not allowed in park housing.

Public Outreach Activities:

Each public outreach activity is planned on a case-by-case basis. They are often hosted in collaboration with local libraries, colleges, community groups, and art galleries. Participants may be reimbursed as much as $150 with receipts for supplies and materials purchased for use by as many as 15 visitors.

Explore an online photo album of past outreach activities.

Display and Disposition of Artwork:

To the fullest extent possible, all artworks donated to the program are to be cataloged online and displayed in public gallery spaces within the park, and beyond. Each donation must be accompanied by a brief statement that either describes how the piece reflects the artist’s experience of Acadia, or articulates what new insight and perspective for visitors the artist hopes to convey through the piece.

For visual artists creating physical pieces, size is limited to 48-inches on any side for two-dimensional pieces, and a footprint of roughly 18-inches square (324 square inches) for three-dimensional pieces intended for indoor display. Portable outdoor pieces will be considered on a case-by-case basis. Finished works must be donated with frames or cases appropriate for secure public display, transportation, and storage, and must not require permanent installation or alteration of host facilities.

While artists retain ownership of copyright for their donated pieces, they are asked to grant permission for limited ongoing use to the park and its partner Eastern National for program promotion, public outreach, and development of sales items in park bookstores, with proceeds benefiting program operational costs.

Physical pieces donated to the program are not intended to be stored indefinitely, or displayed in private offices. Eventually, all physical artworks retire from the program collection by being offered without cost to other public entities, nonprofits, and park partners. Artists are highly encouraged to express preferences and to participate directly in this outplacement process. Final curatorial choices about which pieces remain active in the program collection are made internally, and will be based primarily on the ongoing interpretive capacity of each piece, and the purpose it serves park visitors in the larger collection.

Site Description:

All residency applications, without exception, must be completed through an online interface hosted on the CallForEntries.org website.

A required application fee of $25 directly benefits program operational costs, such as participant housing, supplies for public display spaces, and staffing assistance with public outreach activities.

Complete submittals will include:

• Professional resume and summary of creative achievements
• Brief description of creative goals, objectives and expectations for a residency at Acadia.
• Brief description of your intended public presentation, including AV and infrastructure needs, and any other expectations of the park.
• Writers and poets may upload a single PDF file amounting to no more than 1,500 words of text (about six pages, typed, 10-point, double-space)

A representative sampling of professional work may include:

• As many as 14 images, JPEG or JPG only, each no larger than 5 MB and 1200 pixels on the longest side
• As many as three audio files under 10 MB (AIFF, WAV, XMF, MP3; bit rate minimum 96 kpbs and maximum 320 kbps; and codec aiff, wav, au)
• As many as three video files under 100 MB (3GP, WMV, AVI, MOV, ASF, MPG, MP4, M2T, MKV, M2TS; Resolution minimum 640 x 480, maximum 1920 x 1080; aspect ratio 4:3 or 16:9; bit rate recommended above 240 kbps; frame rate minimum 12 fps, recommended 30 fps; codec h.264, h.263, mpeg-1, mpeg-2, mpeg-4, Windows Media Video, and motion jpeg mpeg-1 muxed, Apple Lossless; container 3gp, asf, avi, mov, mpeg, mpeg-2, mp4, ogg)

Application Requirements

Eligibility Criteria