Maker Works Residency:

During the months of June- August, Maker Works will host 3 resident artists from the Southeast Michigan area in the studios.  The intention behind a Maker Works Residency is to give Southeast Michigan artists access to tools that are cost prohibitive for most, such as CNC machines, a laser cutter, a 16-thread CNC embroidery machine and more.  Artists applying should seek to push the boundaries of their knowledge and be willing to explore these new tools along with using the tools they may already know.  All resident artists will be trained for free on the tools they wish to use and will have access to project storage space, computers & software and all other amenities that regular Maker Works members have access to.

Resident artists will be asked to present their work for the public during an evening lecture and may be asked to informally talk with Maker Works members about their work throughout the month.

Facilities:

Artists are encouraged to spend some time looking at the Maker Works tool list and photos on the website, facebook page and flickr account as well as to visit the facility.  Many of the tools may be new to artists, so Maker Works encourages artists to do their research and see which tools they wish to experiment with. Studios are handicap accessible. 

www.maker-works.com

www.facebook.com/MakerWorx

www.flickr.com/photos/makerworx

Though we do not offer individual studio space at this time, Maker Works has around 10,000 sq. ft. of actual working space, a project storage area for your work while participating in the residency, and a desk with wall space for each artist in our communal office area.  Maker Works cannot provide transportation, housing and food at this time.

Categories:

Maker Works Residency has 3 categories from which to choose. You may only apply to 1 category so please pick the category that best describes your work or the direction you want to take during your residency. Each resident artist has access to the entire scope of Maker Works (Metal, Circuits, Wood & Craft) despite their previous experience and medium. Only 1 artist from each category will be selected at this time, totaling 3 resident artists.

Craft: This category fits all artists who work in craft-based mediums such as woodworking, metalworking, traditional/figurative sculpture, ceramics, traditional textile & fabrics and have experience within their fields for 5+ years.

Conceptual: This category fits artists who work in non-craft based mediums such as installation, mixed-media sculpture including fabric, electronics, video, photography, performance and happenings.

Emerging: This category is specifically for young artists, age 25 years and younger and working in any medium.

Eligibility:

Maker Works’ mission is to serve the Southeast Michigan area’s small businesses and entrepreneurs, tradespersons and skilled workers, artists and makers, hobbyists and beginner makers. This mission carries over to the residency. Only artists currently living in the Southeast Michigan area are eligible to apply, which includes Washtenaw, Wayne, Monroe, Livingston, Oakland, and Macomb Counties. Artists must be 21 years and over and not currently enrolled in a degree-granting program (i.e. undergraduate or graduate programs). Artists who will no longer be students when the summer residency begins are eligible to apply (those who graduate by May 2012).

Project Proposal:

Artists should submit a project proposal (no more than 1 page & 12 pt. font) that highlights the concepts and/or materials with which you will work while on residency.  Part of Maker Works’ mission is to be a space where knowledge is shared amongst the community of makers. Please reflect on how you might contribute to the knowledge base at Maker Works, given that how an artist approaches a machine may be different than how an engineer or tradesperson may approach a machine. Artists may discuss ideas, tools, and/or materials you seek to experiment, or tools and concepts that you normally use.  Discuss how a Maker Works Residency would aid your work.

Also, please let us know if the work you seek to create during your residency is a different route than the 10-15 images you submit.

Length of Stay:

All Maker Works Residencies are 1 month long and begin on the 1^st of the month and end on the 30/31 of the month.  Artists can choose which summer months (June/July/August) they wish to begin their residency.

Submitted Images:

All artists must submit a CD with 10-15 JPG images or if working in video, no more than 10 minutes worth,  that best represents your current body of work. If submitting images, all must be 300 DPI and 6” on the longest side.  Please include a detail shot if you do installation or if your work is highly detailed.  These count as part of your numbered images, not as substitutes. If submitting video, no more than 10 minutes in length and under 60mb per video and saved as a .mov.

Please label images by #LastName:

            Example: 01Smith, o2Smith, 03Smith, … 10Smith, 11Smith, etc.

Please include a Slide List that has #LastName, Title, Medium, Size, and Date. Please label ‘Detail’ under Title if it is a detail image.  Please list video length under 'Size'.

Artists are highly encouraged to take the time to photograph their work well with good lighting. Any images that are hard to see, too pixilated or less than 300 DPI will not be considered. Maker Works has the right to use the 3 selected artists’ images for publicity purposes.

Admission Panel:

Jury is composed of professional artists who are accomplished in their fields. There will be two rounds of jurying: The first jury will only look at artists’ first 6 images + proposal. Artists who make the 2^nd round will have all their images juried+proposal.

Notification:

Submission deadline is Thursday, March 15, 2012. This is a postmark deadline. All artists will be notified about the status of their application by Saturday, March 31, 2012 via email or phone. No information about results will be released before this date. Please do not call Maker Works for inquiries during jurying.

Fee:

There is a $25 application fee to help offset the jurying process and handling. There is no residency or membership fee for selected artists. All classes on tools are free for the selected artists.

If artists have questions or would like to set up an appointment to see the studios, please email Membership Coordinator, Thea Augustina Eck, at teck@maker-works.com.