Furman University- Artist in Residence Opportunity

Thompson Gallery of Art
Department of Art | Furman University | 3300 Poinsett Hwy, Greenville, SC 29613
thompsongalleryofart@furman.edu | https://www.furman.edu/academics/art/ | (864) 294-2950
CALL FOR PROPOSALS:
2025 TRUE INSPIRATION ARTIST IN RESIDENCE
The Department of Art at Furman University invites applications for the 2025 True Inspiration Artist in Residence. The program awards one Residency each academic year to an artist or designer interested in developing a body of work in collaboration with Furman’s students and faculty. Inaugurated in 2016 as part of The Furman Advantage—a university-wide program that aims to build educational value through tailored student experiences—the Residency provides Furman’s students with the opportunity to directly witness, partake in, and engage with practicing artists and designers as they bring a defined work from ideation to realization. The Resident will receive a generous stipend, a private studio in the Roe Art Building, and a solo exhibition at the Department’s Thompson Gallery of Art at the conclusion of the Residency.
Eligibility
The True Inspiration Artist in Residence is open to emerging and professional artists or designers who reside in North America and who hold an MFA (or have a record of equivalent professional achievement). The program recognizes the importance of interdisciplinary practices and welcomes artists and designers working in all media.
Preferences
The ideal Resident will have a practice that expands upon the Department’s extant studio concentrations in drawing, painting, photography, ceramics, graphic design, sculpture, and printmaking, as well as resonates with its conceptual interests. As fostering an atmosphere of creative activity that extends throughout Furman is a goal of the Residency, the ideal Resident should also be excited to engage and collaborate with Departmental majors and eager to demonstrate art’s capacity for interdisciplinary dialogues with the broader University community. Proposed collaborations with one or more of Furman’s institutes (the Shi Institute for Sustainable Communities; the Riley Institute of Government, Politics and Public Leadership; the Institute for the Advancement of Community Health; and the Hill Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship) are of particular interest. This cycle, the Department of Art is especially interested in Resident artists and designers whose work engages with the themes of social justice, artificial intelligence (AI), environmental consciousness, gender and sexual identity, historical memory and archiving, and the lived experience of marginalized social identities. Preference will also be given to candidates able to be in residence for the entire Spring 2025 semester (January 13 to April 29) and who are interested in teaching a studio course of their choice (subject to approval) on a topic related to their Residency project. Finally, preference will be given to artists who live outside the upstate South Carolina region.
Compensation
There are two compensation options for the 2025 True Inspiration Artist in Residence.
Option A: A Resident on campus for the entire Spring 2025 semester (January 13 to April 29) and who teaches a course will receive a $10,000 stipend and a contribution from the Department of Art toward housing expenses.
Option B: A Resident on campus for a portion of the Spring 2025 semester (a minimum of six weeks between January 19 and April 29), or on campus for a full term without teaching a course, will receive a $6,000 stipend.
The Resident will have 24-hour access to a private 850 sq. ft. studio, as well as the resources of the Department of Art and Furman’s larger academic community. Access to additional studios and equipment will be provided with demonstrated experience. The Residency concludes with a solo exhibition at the Thompson Gallery of Art in March 2025. Residents are otherwise responsible for their own food, housing, transportation, materials, and supplies.
Thompson Gallery of Art
Department of Art | Furman University | 3300 Poinsett Hwy, Greenville, SC 29613
thompsongalleryofart@furman.edu | https://www.furman.edu/academics/art/ | (864) 294-2950
Resident Expectations
It is expected that the Resident will, by the culmination of their Residency:
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Create a body of work that will be exhibited and presented to the public in the Thompson Gallery.
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Give two public process and/or gallery talks to Furman students and the Greenville community.
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Run two workshops for Furman students.
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Maintain an ‘open studio’ during two Thompson Gallery exhibition openings.
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Be available (i.e. working in their studio) for a minimum of 20 hours per week. It is expected that most of these 20 hours be scheduled during the work week (weekdays, 9am to 5pm) so that the Resident is accessible to Furman’s students for informal interactions and collaborations.
Optional Programming
Additional compensation may be available for programming opportunities not directly specified above, such as a community project, public engagement opportunity, additional talk, or other Furman-related events.
Facilities and Campus
The Resident’s studio is in the Roe Art Building, a postmodern building comprised of academic classrooms, the Thompson Gallery of Art, and five teaching studios. While the Resident has 24-hour access to these studios, the Roe Art Building is a shared teaching space and students involved in course-related activities have priority access to them. The Department of Art has about 60 students majoring in studio art or art history and 7 full-time faculty. Courses range in size from 12 to 24 students. Furman University is a small liberal arts university located in Greenville, SC. With 2,500 on-campus students from across the nation, the university strives to support lifelong learners through inquiry, transformative experiences, and deep reflection. The upstate South Carolina area is rapidly growing with a rich history rooted in the textile industry. The New York Times ranked Greenville #12 on their 52 Places to Go in 2017 and Condé Traveler readers named it among the top five small cities in 2021. Greenville has a vibrant and artistic atmosphere, with many creative industries having moved to the area in the past few years.
To apply for the 2025 True Inspiration Artist in Residence, please submit the following materials to thompsongalleryofart@furman.edu by Friday, March 29, 2024.
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A one-page Statement of Intent that describes the:
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Intended project(s) to be undertaken during the Residency period.
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Creative goals and intentions of the project(s).
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Major concepts, themes, and questions explored.
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Preferred materials, production processes, and installation procedures.
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Preferred compensation option.
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A one-page Programming Statement that describes:
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The project’s capacity for sustained interdisciplinary engagement with other University departments, centers, and/or institutes), as well as with the broader Greenville community.
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Potential ideas for two Resident-led student workshops.
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Interest in (and ability to) teach a studio art course related to residency project(s) and, if so, a brief description of its desired purview, objectives, and potential assigned projects.
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Image Portfolio, submitted as a single PDF, consisting of:
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8-10 high quality images of proposed (or similar) work.
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A corresponding image list with titles, dimensions, materials, and year created.
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Artist Statement (no longer than one page)
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A short Artist Biography
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Current CV with contact information (mailing address, email, and website)