Ars Nova Artists in Residence Program

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Deadline: June 6, 2025

SUBMISSION FORM

THE RESIDENCY 

The Artists in Residence Program is an individually tailored, development-based residency for early career performing artists of all disciplines to explore a project in house at Ars Nova over the course of a season. The residency is a unique opportunity for artists who develop work in 

non-traditional ways to make use of Ars Nova’s customized, flexible support to discover new things about their project and process, and to build community and peer relationships with artists across genres in the residency cohort. Residents will be invited to develop a specific project in house at Ars Nova for a season, working toward goals and benchmarks for that project that are defined at the beginning of the residency. The focus of an artist’s residency at Ars Nova is on a fruitful process and the development of an artistic practice, not on a finished product. Through a wide range of development tools, institutional resources and hands-on artistic support, residents are encouraged to think big, take risks and push their creative potential as they make work under Ars Nova’s roof. Residents will also have the opportunity to connect with one another and with the wider Ars Nova community through events, monthly get-togethers, and more.  

RESIDENCY EXPECTATIONS 

• Resident Artists will be in residence with Ars Nova from early September 2025 through end of June 2026;
• Resident Artists will attend monthly cohort gatherings led by a member of the Ars Nova Artistic Team;
• Resident Artists will work with the Artistic Team to design a development trajectory for their residency at the beginning of the season.

RESIDENCY RESOURCES 

• A monthly residency stipend
• A budget, managed by Ars Nova, to support their development in the residency;
• Hands-on support and mentorship from the Ars Nova artistic team on their artistic trajectory;
• Access to the space and resources in the Ars Nova building, including, but not limited to, rehearsal space, theater space, jump desks, printers, and more;
• Participation in a retreat at some point in the season;
• Complimentary tickets to Ars Nova shows;
• The opportunity to present work onstage at the Ars Nova Theater.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Q: I create with a collaborator. Can I apply with them?
A: We will accept applications from individuals, duos, or trios collaborating on a project.

Q: What kinds of artists can participate in this residency?
A: We would love to receive applications from early career generative artists of all types in the performing arts. This could include—but is not limited to—playwrights, composers, devisers, curators, comedians, clowns, choreographers, and directors. Are you a generative artist who doesn’t yet have a name for what you do? We’d love to meet you!

Q: What kind of projects are you looking for in this residency?
A: Projects that are either new or in early stages of development will benefit most from the resources offered in this residency.

Q: Is this residency open to artists outside of New York City?
A: Given the frequency of cohort gatherings and onsite development work, this residency is best suited to artists who live in the New York area.

Q: What will the full application process look like?
A: Interested artists should submit an Intent to Apply form by June 6. After reviewing all submissions, Ars Nova’s Artistic Team will invite a selection of those artists to submit a full application to the program in July. A select group of those applicants will be asked to interview with the Artistic Team in August, with the goal of finalizing the cohort by the end of August for an early September start.

Q: I want to apply to Play Group, CAMP, the Vision Residency, or Maker’s Lab. When are those applications opening for next season?
A: You should apply to this program! This year, we are putting our energy into a program that connects artists working in all mediums rather than siloing them into separate programs. The Artists in Residence Program will support all the same genres of art-making that Play Group, CAMP, Vision Residency, and Maker’s Lab supported. And ideally, its flexible nature will make room for artists who might not have found a home in any of those programs!

INTENT TO APPLY FORM INSTRUCTIONS 

Please fill out the Intent to Apply Form which includes a few short answer questions and an artist statement. The deadline for submitting an Intent to Apply Form is June 6. We invite interested artists to submit their artist statement via a written piece, audio or video recording – whatever form best supports your self-expression. If you are submitting a written statement, it should be no more than a page. If you are submitting a video or audio link, please keep the statement under two minutes. For technical or process questions, please email artistic@arsnovanyc.com.