Organizer Information

Town Hall Seattle is a nonprofit cultural venue and civic space, formed collaboratively in 1998 in a former Fourth Church of Christ, Scientist building in Seattle's First Hill neighborhood, and operated by the nonprofit Town Hall Association. Town Hall connects an engaged public through curiosity and conversation, working to ensure equitable access to arts, culture, and the exchange of ideas, with a mission of bringing many perspectives to its stages. The organization underwent a $35.5 million top-to-bottom renovation completed in 2019 and today serves as a community hub for civic, arts, and educational programming, drawing more than 100,000 attendees annually across hundreds of events spanning music, humanities, civic discourse, and world culture. Within this mission, Town Hall runs an annual Residency program that invites local artists and scholars to develop original public programming in collaboration with its team.

Title & Description

Town Hall Seattle Residencies — Fall 2026

Each season, Town Hall's Residency program offers a local artist or scholar a paid opportunity to nourish their creative discipline and engage with Town Hall's programs, collaborating with Town Hall's programming team to develop original events for the community. The opportunity is open to scholars and journalists (as a Scholar-in-Residence, SiR) or visual and performing artists (as an Artist-in-Residence, AiR) working in Seattle, King County, and/or the Puget Sound region, as well as more broadly to artists and performers of any discipline, journalists, researchers, and other specialists. Scholars- or Artists-in-Residence bring fresh voices to Town Hall's programming and expand its perspective on what happens on its stages. Past Town Hall Residents include Tomo Nakayama, Shaina Shepherd, Marcus Harrison Green, Timothy White Eagle, Jahnvi Madan, Brangien Davis, Gretchen Yanover, Sally James, Maia Brown, Hanna Brooks Olsen, Juan Alonso-Rodriguez, Bailey Ambrose Heller, Mikki Ulaszewski, and Ellie Barber (Ollella).

Categories

  • Performance
  • Sound/Music
  • Research
  • Curatorial
  • Art Management
  • Interdisciplinary Arts
  • Journalism (not on list — omitted; see note below)

(Note: "Journalism" is referenced in the source but is not part of the platform's fixed Categories taxonomy, so it has been omitted from this list per the taxonomy rule.)

Eligibility

  • Must be 18 years of age or older
  • Must reside in Seattle, King County, and/or the Puget Sound region
  • Open to scholars, journalists, researchers, and other specialists, as well as visual artists and performing artists of any discipline
  • Duos or small groups may apply, but must constitute a singular artistic or scholarly entity (e.g. a music group, podcast duo, or collaborative research team)
  • Must NOT be a high school or undergraduate student
  • Must NOT be a former Town Hall Resident
  • Current Town Hall consultants, advisors, staff, board members, and their family members are not eligible to apply

Program Benefits & Awards

  • A stipend of $3,000
  • Access to Town Hall's facilities and events for the duration of the Residency
  • Reimbursement of up to $1,000 of itemized project materials, artist fees, and/or production costs over the term of the residency

Application Fee

None

Application Requirements

  • Completed application form (linked from the announcement)
  • Examples of the applicant's work, submitted as instructed within the application form

How to Apply?

Online Application

Key Dates

  • Application Deadline: 19 July 2026
  • In-Person Interviews for Finalists: August 11–13, 2026, at Town Hall's offices in Seattle
  • Residency Period: 4 months, August–December 2026
  • "Scratch Night" (work-in-progress showing): October 2026
  • "Findings Night" (culmination of Residency work): December 2026

Location

Seattle, Washington, United States

Additional Details

  • The Resident will curate and produce two live public programs: a "Scratch Night" sharing work-in-progress in October, and a "Findings Night" sharing the culmination of the Residency's work in December
  • The Resident will meet regularly with relevant Town Hall staff to provide updates on the Residency's progress and will collaborate with Town Hall to promote the Residency through relevant channels
  • The Resident is encouraged to attend Town Hall events and contribute to the life of the community — for example, through writing for the Town Hall blog, hosting a workshop, hosting a pre/post-show conversation for a calendared program, or introducing a speaker on stage

Website Link: https://townhallseattle.org/residencies/