University of Michigan: Call for Proposals: Roman Witt Residency
This residency at the UM Stamps School partners with the UM Museum of Art offering a $20,000 honorarium, housing, studio space, and the museum apse as activation space.
The mission of the Roman J. Witt Residency Program is to support the production of new work at the University of Michigan. Open to both established and emerging artists and designers, the program awards one residency each academic year.
The 2025–2026 Witt Residency is organized in partnership with the University of Michigan Museum of Art (UMMA), specially themed to explore the upcoming United States Semiquincentennial in 2026. We especially encourage social practice and performance artists with an interest in issues of national identity, commemorative practices and memory, and the history and future of the US, to apply. The selected artist will work with partners at the UMMA and the Witt Residency to conceptualize, design, mount and produce a performance, activation, or intervention in the museum’s Lizzie and Jonathan Tish Apse in the Fall of 2026.
The residency will encompass a making period between spring 2025 and winter 2026, and the project is realized during the fall term. The artist will also give a lecture/presentation in the Penny Stamps Speaker Series.
2025 – 2026 Witt Residency Timeline
Dates to be mutually agreed upon between resident and hosts.
Spring 2025
- Resident site visit #1 to the University of Michigan with coordinated orientations to Stamps School of Art & Design, UMMA, and (if appropriate) other campus collaborators
Fall 2025
- Resident site visit #2 for continued research and preliminary scoping of project
Winter 2026
- Scope of project finalized
- Creative residency during Winter term / student engagement
Fall 2026
- Production residency to mount project
- Project is realized during the Fall term
- Artist lecture/presentation in the Penny Stamps Speaker Series
Guidelines for Witt Residency Proposals
Eligibility
The Witt Residency is open to both established and emerging artists/designers. The Witt residency provides students an alternative learning opportunity to engage with practicing artists/designers who can make use of resources across campus. Therefore, the ideal candidate must value collaboration, have good social and communication skills, and be interested in generating creative partnerships across disciplines. The goal of the Witt Residency is to foster an atmosphere of inventive creative activity that extends throughout the University community.
In addition, for this iteration organized around the occasion of the Semiquincentennial, proposals should address how the applicant foresees engaging with the theme, as well as collaborating with partners and units on campus. Applicants should describe preliminary ideas for an engaging one-time or multiple-occasion performance, activation, or intervention.
Honorarium
Witt Residents receive an honorarium of $20,000 for twelve weeks in residence during the academic year (September 2025 through October 2026, may be non-continuous) and implementation of the project in Fall 2026. In addition to the honorarium, residents will be provided with housing, work space, and up to $5,000 research and development funding to support the creative process. Applications are encouraged from individuals as well as from artist collectives or creative teams, but please be advised that the resources listed above are finite, including the travel budget. If teams apply, the award will be shared between its members.
Production Budget and Site Specificity
UMMA will work collaboratively with the artist(s) to develop a production budget for the presentation of the performance/activation/intervention in Fall 2026. This budget will encompass various production expenses including technical elements and support, performers, and other materials, etc.
The culminating performance will be realized in UMMA’s historic Lizzie and Jonathan Tisch Apse. This iconic space is the central nexus of Alumni Memorial Hall, which opened in 1910 as a memorial space for U‑M students and faculty who served in the Mexican-American War, the Civil War, the Spanish-American War; it eventually was repurposed to become the Museum of Art in 1946. A 2026 performance would therefore coincide with the 250th anniversary of America’s Independence, as well as the 80th anniversary of the Museum of Art.
The Tisch Apse is an approximately 6,400 square foot space measuring 45 by 143 feet that terminates in a semicircular recess with a 40-foot skylight. The space does not have built-in technical theater capabilities, therefore all technical elements need to be sourced externally and will impact overall budget. The space is not well-suited for traditional proscenium-style projects. Competitive proposals will be site-sensitive and site-responsive, and make considered and intentional use of technical theatrical elements.
How To Apply
Applicants to the Witt Residency Program submit application materials and portfolios online through SlideRoom, an online portfolio review system.
Using SlideRoom, applicants will register, then:
- Complete application forms, including resume/CV and references.
- Upload media — this may include video, audio, and pdf files.
- Submit the processing fee
The SlideRoom application offers complete instructions for submitting work. Technical assistance is available at help.liaisonedu.com.
SlideRoom requires a nominal $15 application fee to offset the cost of media uploads and storage at the time of submission. The fee is paid by the applicant using a secure system via SlideRoom online as the final step in submitting the application. All funds go directly to SlideRoom, and not the Witt Residency, the Stamps School of Art & Design, or the University of Michigan.
Application Schedule
- Proposals due – December 15, 2024
All applications must be submitted by this deadline. - Selection committee review – January/February 2025
The selection committee reviews materials and selects a shortlist of candidates for further review and from the shortlist selects a slate of finalists to present their projects and interview. Applicants will receive email notification, so please be sure to include your correct email address in your proposal. - Shortlist candidate follow-up – February/March 2025
- Finalist presentations and interviews – March/April 2025
- Notification – May 2025
- Witt 2025 – 26 Public announcement — June 2025
Website link: https://stamps.umich.edu/about/visiting/witt-residency-application
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