Application Guidelines

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Applications for Summer Residencies are judged on the basis of artistic merit by juries of accomplished writers and visual artists. We encourage artists in every stage of their career regardless of education or experience to apply. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, age, sex, religious belief, marital status, sexual orientation, or national origin.

The Foundation seeks applications for the following categories for 2012 Residencies:

Creative Non-Fiction
Poetry
Painting/Sculpture/Visual Art *
Photography (digital or film)

The postmark deadline for Applications and Letters of Recommendation is: Sat. January 14, 2012

Note: Categories may change annually.

All applicants must be at least twenty-one (21) years of age. The Summer Residency competition is open to legal residents of New York State (all counties). Applicants should seriously consider whether the communal environment of the Colony suits their temperaments and work habits. The Foundation requires that those selected for residencies firmly commit to spending four weeks at the Colony.

Artists who wish to apply to more than one artistic category must make complete and separate applications for each category.

Summer Residencies are awarded on artistic merit, based on the evaluation of our juries which are comprised of distinguished professionals in each field. Those who are awarded Fellowships will be notified by telephone as early as possible. All applicants will be notified of final decisions by April 1, 2012.

Application Checklist:

THREE (3) copies of the completed Summer Residency Application Form
THREE (3) copies of your one-page artistic resumé
THREE (3) copies of your one-page Artist's Statement
THREE (3) identical copies of appropriate work samples ~ read Work Sample Requirements below carefully!!
Check for the application fee of $25, pay to the order of Constance Saltonstall Foundation for the Arts
Arrange for TWO (2) recommenders to complete and send the Letter of Recommendation Form directly to the Foundation. All recommendations must be postmarked on or before January 14, 2012. There will be no exceptions.
Optional: ONE (1) self-addressed stamped postcard for receipt notification

* Please note: for those applying within the "Painting/Sculpture/Visual Art" category, four (4) complete sets of material are required due to the number of jurors. (i.e. four copies of the application form, your resume and artist's statement, and four copies of your work samples.)

Work Sample Requirements:
Examples of your creative work are the most important part of your application. Send only the required work samples and supporting materials requested without extra binders, folders, brochures, publications, or publicity materials. None of your materials will be returned.

Manuscript material must be typescript, legible, properly collated, and stapled in the top left corner only. The applicant's name and the page number should appear in the upper right hand corner of each page. Do not submit manuscripts in folders, binders, published books or periodicals. Photocopied excerpts from books or periodicals, in published form, will not be accepted.

Fiction and creative nonfiction writers: Please send three (3) identical copies of a manuscript no more than thirty (30) double-spaced pages (250-300 words per page), which may consist of a short story, memoir, personal essay or an excerpt from a longer work.

Poets: Please send three (3) identical copies of no more than fifteen (15) pages, with no more than one (1) poem per page. (Poems can be longer than one page, but please do not type two poems on the same page.)

Visual artists and photographers: Please submit 7 - 12 samples of your work, saved as JPEG or TIFF files up to 15 MB each at the highest possible resolution, on each of four (4) CDs or DVDs. Please label all discs with your name. Be sure to include four (4) printed copies of a file list that includes the title, date, medium, dimensions and file name of each piece you are submitting. Be sure each of the disks is readable on both MAC and PC, and contains all of your intended submissions.

Jurors: We carefully check that jurors do not have close personal or professional connections to the applicants. Our jury panels change each year.