Art + Research residency program

The California Institute of Technology (Caltech) seeks applications for an artist residency, which is part of the Caltech-Huntington Program in Visual Culture, managed by Caltech’s Division of the Humanities and Social Sciences in coordination with The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens (“The Huntington”). The Art + Research Residency Program provides an artist the opportunity to develop a project in conversation with the Caltech and Huntington research communities and to work especially with Caltech students. It supports artists and other creative practitioners whose work involves research and experimentation and engages art, humanities, science, and technology in society. We are particularly interested in artists whose work engages with social justice issues.

Caltech is a science and engineering research institution in Pasadena. Caltech has around 1500 graduate students, 900 undergraduates, and 300 full-time faculty. Caltech has a small but excellent research faculty in the humanities, and since its inception the humanities have played a key role in the education of undergraduates pursuing degrees in math, science, and engineering.

Residency duration and dates: four months fulltime during academic year 2022–23 (September 27, 2022–June 21, 2023), starting approximately one month prior to one of Caltech’s three academic quarters (fall, winter, or spring).

Funding: Funding for this residency is provided by and subject to the terms of an Andrew W. Mellon Foundation grant. The maximum support available for the four-month residency is an all-inclusive stipend of 35,000 USD. The selected applicant may request a lower stipend in exchange for housing support and/or reimbursement for expenses. Housing is not provided, though the artist-in-residence will have access to Caltech rental properties (availability varies).

Announcement of residency appointment: February 2022. Number of residents: two per year.

Space: The artist-in-residence will have access to an office on Caltech’s campus. No other work space is guaranteed, but applicants should include a description of any work space request beyond an office, which Caltech may be able to accommodate.

Commitment
Public presentation(s) of your work in a range of possible formats including a lecture, site-specific installation, event or something else you propose. Teach an undergraduate course you propose and design to engage students in research, writing and/or hands-on practice. Participation in the life of the Caltech and Huntington communities including attending lectures, social gatherings, and/or developing collaborations. *There is a 5,000 USD budget available for public programming and student engagement activities or teaching equipment.

Application requirements
Submit the following: Completed application form (There is no word limit, but please be concise); Portfolio including any of the following: Images up to 25MB total (jpgs) + image list (pdf); List of links to media online (pdf); CV; Two references including professional affiliation, phone, and email (Letters will be requested only for finalists); A brief diversity and inclusion statement that discusses past and/or anticipated contributions to improving diversity, equity, and inclusion in the areas of research, teaching, and/or outreach. Applicants must have an MFA or PhD. We do not accept undergraduate students or Masters degree candidates.

Describe your residency project. How might you use a residency at Caltech? Include the topics, themes, and possible artifacts, events or performances in a project you could pursue. We realize the project will develop and change; we would like to see your vision of the topics and questions you will engage, your approach to discovery and manifestations of it.

How will your project connect with and benefit from involvement at Caltech? Be as specific as possible. Consider your own work, research at Caltech, resources at Caltech, and Caltech’s undergraduate students. To answer this question, we suggest you delve into Caltech’s website and online course catalog.

How does the project connect with the Caltech-Huntington visual culture program’s aim to advance intersections between art, science, technology, humanities, and society? Is this project a collaboration with another individual? If so, please elaborate.

Provide context for your work. For instance, this could include an artist’s statement or a statement of research interests. The residency involves teaching a course you propose and design to engage Caltech undergraduate students in research, writing and/or hands-on practice. What topics will you address and/or what hands-on practices will you include? We do not expect you to provide a syllabus or formal course description here. We would like you to give us a sense of how you imagine shaping engagement with students over an academic term.

Please outline a possible timeline for the project and fulltime involvement in the residency for four months during Academic year 2022–2023. View the academic calendar here.

Applications will be accepted until midnight (Pacific Standard Time) January 5, 2022. Please submit applications early. Technical assistance will not be available after 5pm January 5. Interested candidates should apply electronically here.

Candidates unable to apply electronically may send their application to: Caltech Huntington Art + Research Residency Program, HSS 101-40, Caltech, Pasadena, CA 91125.

We are an equal opportunity employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, or national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.

Caltech has implemented a mandatory vaccination policy effective October 15, 2021, requiring COVID-19 vaccinations for all employees (with Institute-approved exemptions for religious or medical contraindications only). At present, an individual is deemed “fully vaccinated” when that person has received, at least 14 days prior, either the second dose in a two-dose COVID-19 vaccine series (e.g., Pfizer or Moderna) or a single-dose COVID-19 vaccine (e.g., Johnson & Johnson). As a condition of employment, employees must submit official COVID-19 vaccine documentation. More information may be found here.