Guild Hall Opening Applications For 2021 Community Artist-in-Residence As An Effort To Support Artistic Efforts During The Pandemic

Guild Hall has been gracing the Hamptons community with artistic talents for 90 years. This past year was one that no one could have predicted and the impact was felt in all professions. Guild Hall adapted to the times and started the Community Artist-in-Residence (CAIR) program in response to the pandemic, which is focused on spotlighting the creatives who live and work in the community. Applications are opening for the 2021 program beginning on Monday, March 1.

The pandemic put many artists out of work, and as an institution founded on fostering civic participation through engagement of the arts, the Guild Hall team knew they had to do something. They prioritized the need to stimulate both the local creative economy and the cultivation of imagination through commissioning four artists to create participatory and socially engaged work with local organizations. The program commissioned projects such as Lindsay Morris: A Small Taste of Freedom with Guild Hall’s Teen Arts Council (GHTAC), Monica Banks: Cloud Garden with the Bridgehampton Childcare & Recreation Center, Rosario Varela: Red, Gold, and You with the GHTAC and the New York Blood Center, and Viv Corringham in a series of concerts and workshops with Mandala Yoga Center for Healing Arts.

“As the pandemic continues to affect artists and our East End community’s ability to work and participate in the arts, we have expanded the CAIR from a reactionary program to a pillar of our Summer 2021 program at Guild Hall. We are so excited to welcome and support a new group of artists through this program,” said Anthony Madonna, Guild Hall’s Patti Kenner Senior Associate for Learning and Public Engagement.

All artists in visual, literary and performing arts are encouraged to apply, especially those who have completed formal training or equivalent experience and recognition from peers. Artists must live and work on the East End of Long Island in a ZipCcode beginning with “119.”

The goal of this program is to produce socially engaging projects and the artists chosen will work collaboratively with Madonna and other Guild Hall staff over the summer and early fall months. There will be project development and workshops during the spring and summer and exhibitions and performances in the summer and fall.

The application process will be open from March 1 through March 29 and costs $25. Every application is reviewed by a selection committee of celebrated artists, creative professionals, and members of Guild Hall’s staff. Candidates will learn the results of their application the week of April 12. Those selected are provided with creative and administrative support, a stipend, and an exhibition or performance platform. The CAIR program differs from the Artist-In-Residence program, started in 2016, in that living and studio space are not included in the residency.

Guild Hall is located at 158 Main Street in East Hampton. To apply to the 2021 CAIR, visit www.guildhall.org/education.