The fourth annual residency for individual circus artists in NY State.

A collaboration between the Constance Saltonstall Foundation for the Arts and Circus Culture.

Schedule

Residency Dates: March 30th - April 6th, 2025 (Sunday-Sunday)
Applications open: November 1st, 2024
Application deadline: January 10, 2025
Final selections announced: February 1, 2025

The Saltonstall x Circus Culture residency is designed to provide a generous and spacious environment for the development of the circus arts in NY State and/or Native Nations based therein. It does this by giving individual circus artists from the region time and space with an idea or project of their choosing that they want to develop, polish, investigate, or work on.

About the organizations

The Constance Saltonstall Foundation for the Arts supports the development of the arts through residencies at its 200 acre retreat center in Ithaca, NY for artists based in New York State and/or Native Nations based therein.

Circus Culture is Ithaca’s very own circus school based in downtown Ithaca, NY. We engage in developing circus access and opportunities through education, performance, production, and support for emerging and professional artists.

Please read everything we have offered diligently before contacting us with questions at info@hupstatecircus.org.

Who can apply?

There are five residency spaces open to individual artists during this round.
Artists must be 21 or older.
Artists must live in New York State and/or Native Nations therein. (This includes New York City.)

We define a circus artist as anyone involved in any aspect of art making, creative problem solving, or innovation within the circus arts. This may include designers, dramaturges, choreographers, directors, circademics, writers, photographers, riggers, performers, teaching artists, and more.

Duos who are comfortable sharing a single accommodation are welcome to apply as a unit if working on the same project (please submit a single application noting that you are a duo). Groups and ensembles are not eligible at this time, but a representative from a group or ensemble may apply to work on a project related to that group or ensemble.

Previous applicants are welcome to re-apply.

Note: you will need a submittable account to apply!

What is included?

The residency provides housing for 7 nights/8 days (Sunday March 30 - Sunday April 6th) with a private room and work space with desk and private bathroom, access to up to 6 hours per day of shared circus studio time at Circus Culture (details below), pantry staples, local vegetables for breakfast and lunch, and communal dinners provided by a private chef. Artists are expected to arrange their own transportation, and our team is available to support with links to busses, carpooling, etc.

Once you arrive - for those in residence without a car, we will assist with transportation from Saltonstall to downtown Ithaca (7 miles) where Circus Culture is, in coordination with artists.

The residency is designed for individuals to dive deep into a project they already have brewing or have always wanted to devote energy to. Preference is given to work plans that show ingenuity, clarity, feasibility, and synchronicity with the residency offerings. This is largely a solitary retreat but you will be in community with 5 other circus artists and will gather together for dinners.

Accessibility:

There is on site housing at Saltonstall with an accessible bedroom, kitchen, work space, and bathroom as well as guest quarters for a supporting individual. Learn more about Saltonstall’s accessible space here.

Circus Culture’s space is ADA compliant and staff and funding will be available to provide additional accommodations requested by artists at the residency. Artists will have the opportunity to request services and share more information regarding access in their application.

We are hopeful that applicants will propose projects that lean into what this residency can offer - access to nature, quiet private and reflective time and space for ideas to brew and develop, a small nurturing circus studio, and nourishing food.

Access to equipment and circus space:

Saltonstall is designed as a visual artist, photography, and writers retreat, so the housing and studios on site are not necessarily optimized for movement, physical training, and circus apparatus. Studio space at Circus Culture will also be provided approximately between 10am-4pm each day, and artists will be asked to sign up for the hours and spaces they wish to use 24 hours in advance.

Many of the rooms at Saltonstall are large with wood floors and vaulted ceilings and may be suitable for movement exploration depending on your discipline. Many applicants may not require movement space to engage with their project (especially if it involves research, writing, designing, etc). Free standing aerial rigs are available for use on site outdoors at Saltonstall, however it’s important to note that early April in Ithaca is still wintery most years. We will work with residency recipients to match people with the best accommodation for what they are working on.

Some artists may want to stay on site at Saltonstall the entire time to truly retreat in nature, and never leave to go to the circus studio. Others may want to spend up to 6 hours per day at the studio - this residency is designed to be flexible. We are hopeful that applicants will propose projects that lean into what this residency can offer - access to nature, quiet private and reflective time and space for ideas to brew and develop, a small nurturing circus studio, and nourishing food.

Artists should communicate any circus related equipment they need access to that they will not bring themselves in the application. In some cases, Saltonstall and Circus Culture may not have the structures needed to support an artist's request, so the more details the better will help us choose applicants who we can provide a positive experience to. Please read the below so you are informed about what is available, which will provide the greatest chance of a good match!

Locations:

Circus Studio : Circus Culture, 116 West Green Street Ithaca, NY 14850

Circus Culture space:

The retreat provides optional shared access to Circus Culture’s two studio spaces (36x36 ft, and 30x24ft) which have 16ft - 18ft ceilings depending on the point. You'll have access to:
10 aerial rigging points on 1:1 pulleys
Rollers, therabands, etc
2 inch carpet bonded floor mats, panel mats, 8 inch and 12 inch landing mats.
18.5 ft free standing aerial rig (if desired, to be set up on site at Saltonstall outside).
14 foot freestanding rig to be set up inside certain vaulted ceiling spaces.
Various circus props and equipment (aerial, cyr, unicycles, juggling props, etc)
Private solo time in the circus studio (vs shared with the other artists) may be available depending on the mix of artists who apply.

Residency location (live/work space): Constance Saltonstall Foundation for the Arts, 435 Ellis Hollow Creek Road Ithaca, NY 14850

Saltonstall space:

Private room living quarters (more info here, scroll to the bottom to see the 6 different living spaces at Saltonstall) with a desk, private bathroom, and shared kitchen.
200 acres of outdoor space
Some studios have high enough ceilings for certain circus disciplines. Depending on how you wish to use the space circus training may be able to occur in some of the indoor locations on site. There is ample outdoor space.
Saltonstall has spaces specifically designed for visual art, photography, and writing - if you notice that Saltonstall has a resource that you might want to use and is relevant to your work plan, feel free to let us know in the housing request portion of the application.

Please share as many specifics as possible regarding space needs in your work plan.

Application Guidelines:

We use Submittable, an easy, online submission manager for the application. If you are not already signed-up with Submittable, you will be prompted to create a free account. Submittable helps make the application process smooth and simple for you and for us.

How are applicants selected?

Applicants will be selected by a jury made up of NY based circus professionals based exclusively on the materials provided in your application.

We give equal value to your artist statement, work plan, and work samples. Limitations, defined as any limiting factors - personal, societal, structural, artistic, or otherwise that have reduced your capacity to make the circus that you wish to for any reason during your career, are taken into consideration in the spirit of equity, diversity, and inclusion. Once a short list is decided on, we use personal references to affirm if individuals are a good fit for this particular live/work residency opportunity.

Please note we do not ask for your resume and will not base our decisions on reputation, education, social media, or anything else we did not specifically ask for.

Preparing your application material:

We highly recommend that you gather and edit everything on a computer, phone, or cloud based service like google drive before cutting and pasting your final document into Submittable to ensure everything is in final form.

Please prepare:

Basic personal information - name, pronouns if you wish, address
Project synopsis - Describe your project concisely. (50 words or less)
Artist’s statement - how and why you make work in your own words. (400 words or less)
Work plan - what you intend to explore during the residency and what you need to make it happen. (400 words or less)
Samples of work - up to 3 samples that you feel best represent you as an artist in any format (photo, video, pdf, link, etc).
Limitations (optional) - a description of any limiting factors - personal, societal, structural, artistic, or otherwise that have reduced your capacity to make the circus that you wish to for any reason during your career that feels relevant to share with us.
Technical requirements - so the jury can evaluate if your plan fits with the resources on offer.
Contact information for 2 personal references - people who can vouch for you personally (in regards to living/working in shared space). This is not a professional reference, rather a way for us to ensure safety and comfort for the group. All participants will be asked to abide by a community code of conduct while in residence.
Access needs - to share any accessibility requests or needs.

Feel free to email us at info@hupstatecircus.org at least 72 hours prior to the deadline of Jan 10th with any questions about the above information we ask you to provide. We highly recommend you reach out to us to discuss any questions or concerns regarding space or equipment so we can help you assess what is feasible within the circumstances. We are looking for work plans that sync well with the Saltonstall x Circus Culture resources being made available.

A note on equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI):

Saltonstall and Circus Culture value dedicated play, creative physicality, and inclusive community and are on a forever quest to make our offerings equitable and our spaces welcoming to all. We believe in and value a diverse community of creative individuals. To that end, it is our intention to provide a residency where all artists feel welcome to apply regardless of one’s level of education, experience, race, age, sex, religious belief, marital status, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity or national origin.

You will have the opportunity in your application to explain any EDI related circumstances that you wish for the jury to consider in the optional “limitations” section of the application.

Travel to Ithaca

Ithaca is located in the finger lakes region and is accessible by bus or car. We are aware it isn’t the easiest place to get to via public transit. We are happy to assist with travel logistics and will reimburse for travel expenses up to $100.

Travel while in Ithaca

For artists arriving without a car, Hupstate Circus will provide:

-Transportation from the bus terminal to Saltonstall and back for your arrival and departure

-Rides for daily studio time to Circus Culture and back

-Additional support with rides may be provided upon request based on availability.