Organizer Information

ProjectArt is a national, award-winning arts education non-profit organization dedicated to closing the severe opportunity gap in public arts education. By structurally partnering with municipal public library systems across the United States, ProjectArt transforms civic book stacks into vibrant, free, neighborhood-based contemporary art studios. The organization secures crucial high-quality after-school mentorship for over two million underserved youth who lack visual arts programs in their local schools, while simultaneously funding and supporting emerging contemporary visual artists through structured career development resources.

Title & Description

The ProjectArt Teaching Artist Residency (2026–27 Cohort).

This 9-month dual-focused residency is uniquely designed for local, emerging visual practitioners who want to expand their social engagement with youth, families, and neighborhood networks while systematically advancing their own fine art methodologies. Selected artists act as community mentors, designing customized lesson modules and teaching free weekly art classes for distinct youth groups at a partnered library branch. Far more than a standard employment track, the residency treats public library spaces, digital archives, and hyper-local history catalogs as creative research assets for the resident's personal artistic growth.

Host Cities & Partner Library Branches:

One resident artist is allocated to each listed branch. Final placements are determined by the committee based on portfolio compatibility and neighborhood alignment:

  • New York City (Queens): Broadway/Astoria, Glen Oaks, Long Island City.
  • New York City (Brooklyn): Bushwick, Washington Irving.
  • Miami, FL: North Central, Culmer/Overtown, Shenandoah, Kendall, Naranja.
  • Detroit, MI: Main, Sherwood Forest, Elmwood Park, Lincoln, Duffield.
  • Pittsburgh, PA: Allegheny, Homewood.
  • Cincinnati, OH: West End, Avondale, Bond Hill.
  • Newark, NJ: Main Library.
  • Fort Lauderdale, FL: Broward County Library (BCL) System (Specific branches TBA).

The Dual Residency Commitments:

1. The Pedagogical Track (Teaching & Administration): Weekly Classes / Curriculum Design / Data Logistics / Administrative Submissions.

2. The Creative Track (Artistic & Professional Development): Studio Continuity / Discord Engagement / Internal Artist Forums (IAFs) / NYFA Masterclasses / Culminating Group Exhibition

Categories

Visual Arts, Painting / Drawing, Sculpture / Ceramics, Photography, New Media / Installation, Arts Education.

Eligibility

  • Professional Mandate: Open to emerging local visual artists demonstrating a highly consistent personal studio practice and a deep dedication to youth mentorship. Prior teaching or curriculum design experience in non-traditional learning settings is highly preferred; however, passionate artists lacking formal classroom backgrounds are fully eligible if they express a profound interest in learning community-based instruction.
  • Legal Status: Applicants must be legally authorized to work in the United States and must pass a mandatory, thorough criminal background check prior to formal onboarding.
  • Technical Literacy: Basic technological fluency with PDFs, email communication lines, Google Calendar structures, and a total willingness to actively use Discord daily.
  • Academic Enrolment: Applicants currently enrolled in full-time graduate school tracks (such as MFA or PhD lines) are eligible, but they must provide absolute proof that their course schedules will not conflict with the fixed after-school teaching timelines across both semesters.

Program Benefits and Compensation Architecture

  • Paid Teaching Wage: A flat compensation rate of $75 USD per class session.
  • Material Honorarium: A $500 USD cash stipend dedicated entirely to funding framing, shipping, or material production costs for the final joint exhibition.
  • Classroom Provisions: Free access to an annual budget of classroom art supplies and tools for your library students, along with comprehensive technical planning guides.
  • Resource Priority: Priority artist access to exclusive municipal library assets, specialized computer equipment rows, historical photo archives, and local research catalogs.
  • Paid Professional Onboarding: Compensation for attending three intensive pre-program teacher training blocks conducted in August.

Fees

  • Application Fee: None (Completely free to submit the proposal).

Application Requirements (Four-PDF Zip Package)

All entry portfolios must be compiled into four distinct PDF documents, named precisely following the convention [First Name] [Last Name] [Document Name] (e.g., Jane Smith Resume), bundled together into a single ZIP folder named [CITY] [First Name] [Last Name] (e.g., Miami Jane Smith.zip), and uploaded to the centralized Typeform server. The package must contain:

  1. Professional Resume / CV: Highlighting academic training, past visual arts exhibitions, community projects, and teaching/mentoring markers (Maximum 3 pages max, PDF format).
  2. Artist Statement: Detailing the central conceptual drivers, primary mediums, and themes of your practice, including a reflection on the role that teaching or community interaction plays within your work (Minimum 200 words – Maximum 500 words max, PDF format).
  3. Visual Portfolio Sheet: Fulfill exactly 5 high-quality images of original artwork completed within the past 5 years (including a minimum of 1 image from the current year). Each plate must carry distinct captions tracking title, medium, and year, along with optional short series descriptions (PDF format).
  4. Consolidated Essay Document: Fulfill five numbered essay answers (Between 150 to 350 words per essay prompt), duplicating each exact question text directly above your corresponding response (PDF format):
    • Essay 1: Why is arts education important, and what do you want students to take away from your classes?
    • Essay 2: What is your library branch of choice? Tell us why you are interested in working within that specific neighborhood.
    • Essay 3: ProjectArt serves students across a wide range of ages, learning styles, and abilities, and many of our library sites have unique classroom situations that require flexibility. How do you approach working with diverse students and adapting your teaching to different spaces and environments?
    • Essay 4: ProjectArt residents participate in a final exhibition that reflects the connection between their residency experience and their artmaking. How do you imagine being a library’s resident artist could influence or inform your art practice? Feel free to reference current or upcoming work to illustrate how this experience might shape your process, themes, mediums, etc.
    • Essay 5: Why is the ProjectArt Teaching Artist Residency a good fit for you at this stage in your career? Please include any ongoing or upcoming projects and commitments that may overlap with or align with the residency period (August 2026 – late May 2027).

How to Apply?

Prepare your writing fragments on a local processor, save your four correctly named PDF files into a single unified ZIP directory, access the secure Typeform application gateway link, fill out the basic personal identity forms, and upload your ZIP folder package. Apply to the ProjectArt Teaching Residency 2026/27.

Key Dates

  • Application Submission Deadline: Tuesday, June 9, 2026, at 11:59 PM Eastern Time (ET).
  • Interview Scheduling Window: Commencing June 15, 2026.
  • Onboarding & Cohort Launch: Pre-program training executes in August 2026.
  • Active Residency Performance Block: September 2026 through May/June 2027.

Location

United States (Placements across libraries in New York City, Miami, Detroit, Fort Lauderdale, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, and Newark).

Additional Details

Applications pass through an intensive, multi-tier vetting network: after an initial administrative compliance filter, portfolios are cross-examined at a national level by an elite selection jury—bringing together curators, museum directors, alumni, and head librarians. Shorthanded candidates must successfully complete a three-stage interview matrix comprising a Stage 1 initial qualifications Zoom interview, a Stage 2 two-week engagement trial within a private Discord sandbox, and a Stage 3 live 15-20 minute mock lesson plan simulation presented directly to ProjectArt staff acting as students. Final city cohort decisions are overseen by prominent regional committee chairs, including Hannah Traore (Hannah Traore Gallery, NYC), Cathy Leiff (CEO, Bakehouse Art Complex, Miami), Maria Seda Reeder (Visionaries and Voices, Cincinnati), Jes Alie (Bulk Space, Detroit), Joshua Murphy (Gucci Changemakers, Newark), and Jessie Rommelt (Bunker Projects, Pittsburgh).

Website Link: https://projectart.org/artists/