Overview of the Residency Program
The Kimmel Harding Nelson Center for the Arts offers up to fifty juried residencies per year to visual artists, writers, composers, interdisciplinary artists, and arts or arts education scholars. The Center does not discriminate on the basis of disability, sex, age, race, religion, or national origin.
Residencies are available for two-, four-, six-, or eight-weeks stays. Each resident receives a $100 stipend per week, free housing, and a separate studio.
The Center can house up to five artists at any given time. Artists interested in applying can learn more by reading the information provided here regarding the facility and the local setting.
Transitional Residencies
The Kimmel Harding Nelson program supports young artists by reserving a number of transitional residencies for recent masters degree graduates. The application process is the same for all applicants, however applications from artists in transition following graduation from an accredited degree program are reviewed as a separate peer group.
Questions? E-mail us: info@khncenterforthearts.org
Residency Application Fee
Application Fee:
$25.00 (U.S.) Payable by check or money order to “Kimmel Harding Nelson Center for the Arts.”
Residency Application Deadlines
September 1 for residencies to take place the following
January 1 – June 15 (Session 1)
March 1 for residencies to take place the following
July 1 – December 15 (Session 2)
Session Dates
Residencies begin on Mondays and end on Fridays.
2008 Session 1: Dec 31, 2007 – June 13, 2008
2008 Session 2: June 30, 2008 – Dec 19, 2008
2009 Session 1: Jan 5, 2009 – June 19, 2009
2009 Session 2: July 6, 2009 – Dec 18, 2009
Application Notification by E-mail
Acknowledgement of receipt of applications and notification of the results of the juried application process will be sent by e-mail from a "@khncenterforthearts.org" address.
Be sure to adjust your e-mail filter to receive these important messages.
We expect to contact applicants with juror results
for Session 1 Residencies by the preceding November 1 and for Session 2 Residencies by the preceding May 1.
Application Guidelines
To apply, mail the following five items:
1 The signed and completed (two-page) application form. Submit a paper copy, legibly completed, dated, and signed.
2 One copy of current resume or vita of no more than 5 pages saved as a Word or PDF file on CD. (Don't remove your name from this file.)
3 Two statements in one file: (a) a brief artist’s statement (100 – 200 words) about your work followed by (b) a brief description (100 – 200 words) of what you propose to work on while at the Center and why the residency is important to you at this stage in your career. Remove your name from this file and save the statements in one file on CD.
4 Support materials for your discipline as outlined below. Remove your name from support files and save on CD.
5 A check or money order for $25 payable to “Kimmel Harding Nelson Center for the Arts.”
SUPPORT MATERIALS : Writers
Fiction
No more than two short stories or novel chapters, not to exceed thirty pages in length. If a portion of a novel is submitted, a one-page synopsis may be provided if desired. Previously published materials are eligible. Submit writing sample(s) in one Microsoft Word file. Only writing submitted in English will be considered. You may submit resume, statements, and support materials on one CD.
Non-fiction
No more than two essays or chapters, not to exceed thirty pages in length. If a portion of a book is submitted, a one-page synopsis may be provided if desired. Previously published materials are eligible. Submit writing sample(s) in one Microsoft Word file. Only writing submitted in English will be considered. (If the work is memoir or biography, you may disregard the requirement to remove your name from the text.) You may submit resume, statements, and support materials on one CD.
Poetry
Five poems, combined length not to exceed thirty pages. Previously published materials are eligible. Submit writing sample(s) in one Microsoft Word file. Only writing submitted in English will be considered. You may submit resume, statements, & support materials on one CD.
SUPPORT MATERIALS : Music Composers
Submit excerpts or complete works from three representative compositions. Each excerpt or work must be under 5 minutes long. Excerpts or works must be saved on a single music disc. Two copies of the music disc is required.
On a separate disc, save a Word or PDF document giving the title(s), date(s) of composition, instrumentation, and a short description (50 words or less for each composition) of each work. Other Word and PDF files (resume, statements, etc.) may be saved on this same disc. Send only one copy of the text disc.
SUPPORT MATERIALS : Visual Artists
Submit ten images of work completed in the past three years. Identify each image in a single Word or PDF file with the following information: title, media, size and date. (Omit your name).
Still images must be in JPEG format (no Photoshop files; no slides). Each JPEG must not be larger than 1440 pixels in either dimension. JPEGs may be saved with resume, statements and image list on one CD. (Video submissions must be saved separately: see below.)
For video, submit up to 10 minutes total of excerpts or complete works. Remove your name from the video and disc. Two copies of video submissions are required (2 identical discs containing only the video submissions). Submit resume, statements, and JPEGS on separate disc.
If submitting both video and still images, submit videos on separate discs. Submit a total of 10 examples of work (JPEGS and video combined). Two copies of video submissions are required (2 identical discs). One copy of JPEGS is required (see above).
SUPPORT MATERIALS : Interdisciplinary Artists
Support materials will be reviewed by jurors in the relevant disciplines. Submit materials as outlined for the disciplines listed. (If you have questions, please inquire.)
Re-Applying
Applicants not awarded residencies may re-apply at the next deadline. (Please note that jurors generally serve for two years.)
Former residents are eligible to re-apply for the session two years after his or her residency. (For example: a resident during Session 1 2008 would be eligible to apply for Session 1 2010.)
Travel
Residents should plan to arrive at the Center between 9 and 5 (local time: CST or DST) on a Monday and depart by noon on a Friday.
There are two airports about an hour away: Omaha Eppley Airfield (OMA) and the Lincoln Airport (LNK). At this time there is no public transportation between Nebraska City and either Omaha or Lincoln. In addition, rental cars cannot be returned in Nebraska City. The least expensive option at this time is to book a Nebraska City taxi (currently $80 per trip including tip). The Kansas City Airport (KCI) is two hours away.
Resident Reviews
Following is a sampling of recent comments.
Stephanie Elizondo Griest, writer, 7-week resident April - June 2007 wrote…
Joan Waltemath, visual artist, - week resident Sept. – Nov 2007 wrote…
Ian Williams, writer, 2-week resident in October 2007, wrote…
Josh Goldman, composer, 8-week resident in February-April 2007, wrote …
Sonja Hinrichsen, visual artist, 7-week resident in April-June 2007, wrote …
Jurors
Residency awards are based upon the recommendations of two jurors who independently review support materials (without names attached) submitted by applicants. Jurors normally serve for two years. Current and past jurors include the following artists and artist/educators.
Music Composition
Ken Bales
Cynthia Folio
Visual Art
Kimberly Cridler
Martha Horvay
Bonnie O'Connell
Larry Roots
Susan McGilvrey
Writing
Liz Ahl
Royal Eckert
Steve Langan
Jill Patterson
Mary K. Stillwell
Residency Application Form
Please download our current 2-page application as either a Microsoft Word document or a PDF document.
You may download Adobe Reader for free to view and print the PDF file.