GLEAN is a juried program that gives five selected artists from the Portland area (Multnomah, Washington, and Clackamas counties) access to the Metro Central transfer station (“the dump”) to glean materials to use to create art. In response to the current crisis, we will be closely watching and responding to COVID-19. The safety of our artists is of the utmost importance to us. At this point, artists will most likely be allowed to glean materials at the Transfer Station during off hours with the understanding that there may be periods of this residency where artists are asked to stop gleaning, and instead will “GLEAN-in-place.” This would entail using materials that you have on-hand at home. The GLEAN program will provide virtual studio visits, marketing support, interviews, a stipend, virtual group critiques with GLEAN artists, and will help you work through your creative practice, culminating in an exhibition. 

Residents and businesses in the Portland area generate more than 2 million tons of waste every year.  While we can be proud that we recycle and compost a significant amount, there is an opportunity to do better. GLEAN taps into the creativity of artists to inspire people to think about their consumption habits, the waste they generate, and the resources they throw away. We know that access to the transfer station is a big perk of the residency, and will work with you to make sure you are able to access that space safely. 

We are reserving one residency position for a student currently enrolled in an art program at a local college or university. Student applications will be considered separately from other artist applications. GLEAN seeks to hear from artists with a broad range of experiences and cultural perspectives from the diverse communities in the Portland area. We encourage artists working in a variety of media to apply.  GLEAN is a partnership between Recology, an employee-owned integrated resource recovery and recycling company; Metro, the regional government that manages the Portland area’s garbage and recycling system; and crackedpots, an environmental arts non-profit.

Program Elements: Five artists will have the opportunity to glean materials from Metro Central transfer station for the five-or-six months of the program duration. Each artist will be required to create a minimum of eight pieces available for sale at the exhibition. Ninety-five percent of each piece must be created from materials gleaned from the transfer station. Each artist will be paid a $2,000 stipend upon the successful completion of the program. Each artist will receive 80% commission from the sale of their art at the exhibition. Applicants must be residents of Multnomah, Washington, or Clackamas county. Recology will retain one piece from each artist for its permanent collection; Metro will retain one piece from each artist to be publicly displayed for 2-years. Artists are required to sign an artist agreement and attend a safety training before gleaning. Artists must be available for monthly meetings.

APPLICATION CLOSES AT 11:59PM MOUNTAIN TIME / 10:59PM PACIFIC TIME

 

2021 IMPORTANT PROGRAM DATES

• March 31 - Deadline for artist applications

• May 7 - Jury Committee selects eight artists to be interviewed as finalists

• May 14 - Finalist Interviews with panel

• May 21 - Safety Training and Orientation

**Materials are available in other languages upon request.

• June 2021 to November 2021- Gleaning Residency Dates

*image above shows work by 2020 GLEAN artist Christina Kemp, photo by Mario Gallucci

Application Requirements

Eligibility Criteria