Residency
Applications released February 1, 2013
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ACRE’s residency takes place each year outside of rural Steuben, Wisconsin. There, several dozen emerging artists from all over the US join a staff of dedicated volunteers and visiting luminaries. The residency is a time to meet and form collaborations with like-minded peers, make work, learn new skills, and discuss ideas with a group of dedicated, talented makers. Please find tons of logistical information about the residency below, and information on how to apply on the applications page.
Download this e-booklet for comprehensive information regarding the 2013 Residency Program.
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2013 Dates
Session 1: July 10 – 21
Session 2: July 24 – August 4
Session 3: August 7-18
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ACCOMMODATIONS
Most residents stay in the sprawling Steuben Lodge, which houses around 40 people and contains a large central area that includes a library with wireless internet, breakfast area, staff office equipped with computers, printers and scanners for everyone’s use, and more.
The lodge contains 12 two-story rooms that can sleep three at a time, each with its own bathroom and kitchenette. Each room opens onto a porch that can be used for outdoor studio space. Residents who prefer to share a bed with a friend or partner can stay in single-bed apartments in a nearby building. Couples are welcome to come together and share sleeping accommodations. However, unless all work is collaboratively produced, each person should apply individually. To request a shared bed, just note your situation in the facility section of your application or contact us by email once you’ve submitted your application.
Unfortunately, due to insurance reasons we cannot accommodate anyone under 18, including children of residents. Because of the animals already on the farm, the property owners cannot allow pets to attend.
Breakfast is provided each morning in the lodge, available from 8-10am, continental style. Residents eat lunches and dinners communally in a large indoor/outdoor dining hall/kitchen. Prepared by a large team of chefs and assistants, each meal is prepared from locally-sourced meats, veggies, and dairy. Options for vegans and vegetarians are available upon request, and food is prepared specially for those with other dietary restrictions.
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STUDIO SPACE
Spaces within the outdoor and indoor communal work areas are afforded to each resident.
A two-story studio cabin just outside the main lodge holds twelve work areas. Air conditioned and clean, this space is often occupied by folks working in 2D media, but is open to one and all. The open-air wood shop, and the adjacent 1,500 square foot covered outdoor area can be great places to set up work-spaces, especially if you’ll be utilizing the wood shop or screen printing area.
The covered porches that wrap around the main lodge are set up with clean white walls and work tables, and can be directly accessed through each apartment in the lodge. Most apartments in the lodge have tables to work at and can be furnished with heavier-duty work tables upon request. These spaces are ideal for those wanting a more private work space.
Additionally, we encourage artists to set out into the sprawling grounds to find new places to work and think.
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WOODSHOP
ACRE’s woodshop is a 2000 square foot covered, outdoor area with a newly- poured concrete floor, new electric, and lots of work tables & tools. It sits next to a gigantic lumber yard full of salvaged timbers and usable scraps from buildings demolished in Chicago and salvaged by Bob Samuelson, one of the owners of the farm. Many residents in the past have requested and been given access to this lumber (sometimes for a small fee), and have made use of the extra-large timber- cutting tools that the farm retains. The wood shop staff also facilitates other sculptural processes, such as mold making and casting. At least one volunteer technician is always available to advise and assist with sculptural projects.
Equipment : drill press, table saws, band saw, miter saw, circular saws, hand saw, routers, grinders, belt sanders, disk sanders, air compressors, planer, lathe, chain saw, cordless drills, soldering supplies, wrenches, files, chisels. This is a simplified list of available tools, if you would like more specific information, please contact us.
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SCREEN-PRINTING
Built in the summer of 2011, ACRE’s screen-printing studio contains a dark room, exposure unit, vacuum table, dozens of screens, drying equipment, and more. Staffed by a master screen printer at all times, the lab provides inks, emulsions, transparency that will work with our printers, and other supplies to offer free to any resident that wishes to use them.
Residents who plan on using the screen-printing studio are encouraged to bring their own paper, fabric or material to print on, inks they know they will specifically want to work with or other specialty supplies. Access to scanners, computers and printers in other areas of the farm will be provided for creating images to work with. As with other facilities, there are built-in training sessions for anyone who might be new or rusty to the basics of the process.
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RECORDING STUDIO
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VIDEO/AV
The computer lab has all the software you’ll need to edit photo, sound & video. A super-fast, custom-built mac/windows/linux-capable computer with all sorts of video editing and 3D rendering tools is available for residents who sign up to use it. A small computer lab that is connected to the Internet is also available. A number of computers are available with a variety of software that can suit artists’ needs including Adobe softwares, Abelton, and various other audio editing softwares to experiment with tracks made in the recording studio and other audio files.
ACRE’s space for electronics, robotics and 3D prototyping, Art/Tech holds workshops on a variety of subjects that are designed to introduce newbies to electronics. For those with more experience, we try to provide a wide an array of tools and equipment and can offer assistance with all kinds of projects. In addition to the things you’d expect to find in any general purpose electronics lab, some unique capabilities of our space include the possibility to work with vacuum tubes, and power electronics for various types of lighting. We stock all the common electronic components like resistors, capacitors, discrete transistors and commonly-used ICs.
Equipment: soldering irons, circuit-board prototyping tools, digital multimeters, LCR meter, analog oscilloscope (100 MHz), digital storage oscilloscope (50 MHz), arbitrary waveform generator (25 MHz), logic analyzer (75 MHz), vector network analyzer (60 MHz), RF power meter (125 MHz), power supply (500 V). We also have a 3D printer, the Reprap Huxley, which can print objects up to 5.5” x 5.5” x 4.3” in either ABS or PLA plastic (various colors of plastic can be ordered; contact us if you would like to arrange for this).
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PROGRAMMING
Each year we invite several mid-career and established artists and thinkers to come and conduct studio visits, give lectures, offer workshops, organize intimate reading groups, lead excursions into neighboring areas, and stage other, more experimental programming. Each visiting artist comes for 2-5 days, and there are up to four at a given time. Residents and staff also share skills with each other via informal workshops. Visiting bands & performers come through on the weekends to play concerts & interact with the residency community.
As visiting artists are confirmed in the lead-up to the residency an updated list can be found on ACRE’s website. At the beginning of each session a packet of information will be provided to each resident with a programming schedule, visiting artist bios, and procedures for signing up for studio visits.
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YEAR-ROUND SUPPORT
Each resident is offered an exhibition opportunity in Chicago. These include solo shows, two-person shows, and curated group shows. These shows are held at ACRE’s gallery space in the Pilsen neighborhood of Chicago or at one of ACRE’s partner galleries. This year a group of emerging curators will be selecting artists for duo and group shows at ACRE Projects.
ACRE’s partner galleries, all respected Chicago alternative spaces, invite dozens of residents each year to show with them. The list of partner galleries grows and changes each year. In the past they have included such spaces as Roxaboxen, New Capital, Co-Prosperity Sphere, Roots + Culture, Heaven Gallery, Johalla Projects, Plaines Project, ADDS DONNA, and LVL3. Partner galleries choose artists they would like to work with from their ACRE applications and determine the date and length of the show as well as whether it will be a solo or group show. Once the partner galleries have chosen the artists they want to work with, they will communicate directly with the artist in regards to planning the show. ACRE handles the show’s publicity, and the residents handle the install.
In addition to exhibitions in Chicago, residents have the opportunity to join ACRE at various art fairs and receive webspace. In the past ACRE has participated in the NEXT, MDW and EXPO fairs in Chicago and the NADA fair in Miami, FL. Residents will get user-friendly web space to upload work samples, information, writing or other work onto ACRE’s online flatfile. This is a space that ACRE uses to direct curators and critics to, and one that the artists can use either experimentally or as a website proper. ACRE is constantly working with other institutions and organizations to create opportunities for our artists.
ACRE’s volunteer staff is dedicated to making the residency and following year of affiliation a rewarding and unforgettable experience for everyone!
