Zócalo Artist-in-Residence Program

This season, three residencies will be available the following dates:

Full Year: April 1st, 2021 - March 27th, 2022

Six Month (Spring): April 1st, 2021 - September 26th, 2021

Six Month (Fall): October 1st, 2021- March 27th, 2022

Zócalo AiR welcomes emerging to established regional and national individual artists & collaborations who have a strong interest in developing or deepening a community-based creative practice.

Applicants must:

• Be at least 21 years old or older;
• Be a U.S. based artist or artist collaboration;
• Be able to pass a criminal background screening in compliance with Zócalo Apartments housing guidelines;
• Be fully committed and available to live in the provided housing throughout the duration of the residency term.

The ideal candidates for this program are open-minded, multifaceted, progressive artists who are self-directed, motivated, and passionate about creating new work and engaging community throughout that process. They are excited about interacting with the Zócalo and Spring Branch community and working closely with fellow residents and staff. This residency is an opportunity for visual artists and interdisciplinary creatives to make a difference through their craft.

Zócalo AiR warmly welcomes all eligible persons regardless of race, sex, color, ethnicity, religion, spiritual beliefs, national origin, ancestry, age, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability.

If you have questions about our eligibility criteria, contact us at zairinfo@zocaloliving.com

All of our residencies are offered free of charge to awarded residents. The awards for all residencies include fully-funded housing in a private apartment studio, paid utilities, a $250 monthly stipend, and access to all of our community amenities including on-site pool, gym, clubhouse coffee bar, laundry facilities, free weekly fitness classes, a yoga studio, dog park, valet trash service, & easy access to public transportation.

• The one-year artist-resident will reside in an 867 sqft. two-bedroom / one-bathroom apartment which includes basic kitchen supplies, linens, in-unit laundry, and furniture upon request.

• The 6-month artist-resident will reside in a 713 sqft. one-bedroom / one-bathroom apartment which includes basic kitchen supplies, linens, and furniture upon request.

Please know it is required for artist-residents to live in the housing provided throughout the entire duration of the residency. Fully furnished apartments (as pictured below) can be requested if needed.

For more pictures and details about our apartments click here 

Great looking living room with high-end stucco textured walls, brand new baseboards and new outlets for a choice of high-speed cable or fiber access.

The galley kitchen has everything you need including stainless steel spotlights to highlight the apartment's designer finishes and easy clean faux wood flooring.

Ample dining area off kitchen, perfect for a delicious meal, a place to study or work from home in a fresh, tranquil environment. New white ceiling fan with light.

Big comfortable, relaxing bedrooms with plush carpet, high-end stucco textured walls, all new baseboards and a large closet.

Zócalo's colorful exteriors are a wonderful background to the lush landscaping found near the Zócalo's clubhouse and throughout the property.

Sunset view of Zócalo's on-site resort-style pool and central recreational area.

Our community clubhouse balcony where we love to relax and look out over the pool and recreational area. A great place to meet neighbors while having a fresh cup of coffee.

The following expenses are not covered by the residency:

• Food
• Materials – (project funding opportunities are available on a needs basis)
• Personal items & Insurances
• Transportation
• Moving / storage expenses (fully furnished apartments are available upon request to help minimize moving expenses)
• In-apartment WiFi (free WiFi is provided in common areas)
• Renters Insurance (legally required)

Artists are invited and expected to fully commit to the program by establishing a presence at Zócalo and engaging the public with their work throughout the duration of the residency term. This is a long term process-based residency that allows for experimentation and flexibility, therefore no specific quotas are in place. However, artists will be responsible for implementing community-wide, on-site art programs, and creative enrichment opportunities that bring community together.

Our expectations can be summarized by the following items:

• Continued presence & active engagement for the duration of your residency
• Adherence to Zócalo’s code of conduct for the duration of your residency
• Attendance at onboarding orientation & formal ZAIR gatherings
• Maintain regular communication with Program Director & attendance at quarterly review meetings.

This residency is about stepping out of a comfort zone into a new context, pushing oneself to explore and experiment, therefore artists are expected to bring a sense of openness, vulnerability, and energy to this residency.

In return, artists can expect to be provided housing in a clean, safe, and comfortable environment in addition to being fully supported, cared for, and treated with respect and dignity within our community and by our staff.

Applicants are required to apply online through our SlideRoom portal HERE starting September 1st, 2020. The deadline to apply is October 26th, 2020 11:59 pm. No applications will be accepted before or after this timeframe.

In response to COVID-19 and the unprecedented economic impact it has had on the arts sector, the $25 application fee has been discounted and is now $10 to apply.

Required Application Materials

• General Contact Information
• Artist Bio
• Artist Statement
• CV/ Resume
• 60 Second “About Me” Video
• A headshot & up to 10 digital work samples (which may be any combination of still images, video, audio, and writing)
• Five Short Answer Statements
• Two Professional References
• Additional Questionnaire

Artist Team applicants: Collaborations are between two people. Preference is given to artist teams with a history of successfully working together, but new collaborations will be considered. Only one application is required per team and applications must reflect the work of both members.

Before applying, we ask all applicants to consider their own cultural sensitivity, privileges, emotional intelligence, and the ways in which they will personally contribute to and benefit from engaging in this environment.

A $10 USD non-refundable SlideRoom application fee is due at the time of submitting an application which can be paid via credit card or by PayPal.

APPLY NOW

Applications for the 2021-2022 season will open on September 1st, 2020 and close October 26th, 2020 at midnight!

At this time the information sessions have passed. If you missed the sessions, be sure to review the Application Guidelines & Community Info Packet for all the information you need to know about our program.

Once the application period closes, a three-person expert panel of judges will review each application and make recommendations for three artists who best meet the selection criteria. The general scoring criteria includes four key elements:

• Originality & Artistic Merit of Previous & Current Work 
• Demonstrated Experience & Ability to Engage Community 
• Potential for Positive Impact on the Community 
• Potential Impact on the Artists’ Career 

Next, the finalists will be contacted and asked to complete a background screening before final placements are made. Notifications will be sent out mid-December, 2020.

To help applicants better understand the community and who the residents at Zócalo are, we have compiled a few basic demographics to give you some insight.

General Demographics:

• Total Number of Apartment Units: 236
• Total Number of Residents: 329
• Household Size: Single Female, Single Male, Unmarried Couples, and Other Small Family Households (up to four persons)
• Full Age Range: <18-73 years old
• 68% of residents are Millennial-aged individuals between the ages of 22 to 37
• 12% of residents are children under the age of 18
• Average Individual Income: $33,000 | Average Household Income: $58,000
• Geographic/ Ethnic Origins:
  • Residents are from Spring Branch
  • Non-Houston Native (No Neighborhood Affiliations)
  • Multi-ethnic diversity is reflective of Spring Branch's predominantly Latinx, & multi-cultural population
• Most Common Languages Spoken: English & Spanish
• Most Common Occupations: 1) Self-Employed 2) Professional 3) Construction 4) Education 5)Service Industries

General Interests:

• Arts & Culture
• Food
• Health & Wellness
• Community & Socializing
• Entrepreneurship (many of our residents are small business owners) 

Current Issues:

• COVID-19 social isolation 
• Unemployment due to COVID-19 
• Homeschooling Challenges

For more information about Spring Branch, check out our Community Guide HERE

We celebrate how approaches to community-engaged art-making can be as varied as urban interventions, guerrilla architecture, curatorial work, public art, project-based community practice, interactive/innovative media, and performance. Artists who are interested in applying are encouraged to think about how their practice can interact and collaborate with community members and neighborhood public spaces in order to effectively engage our culturally diverse audiences and stimulate social transformation and community building.

Can I host an exhibition, performance, workshop, or event of some kind while in residence at Zócalo?

Absolutely. We are committed to supporting our residents’ creative experimentation, professional growth, and public engagement with our community by offering free spaces to host events and free marketing of these events to help foster interest and attendance of events. In order to best execute these kinds of events, we require residents to submit proposals for consideration by the Program Director at least three weeks in advance of the proposed event. The Program Director will evaluate proposals and help residents navigate project developments.

We invite applicants to consider our 10-acre residential campus as a blank canvas to display your work in unconventional or unexpected ways. While we do have indoor spaces such as our clubhouse, leasing office, and vacant apartments where artwork can be displayed gallery style, we encourage you to think about how you can utilize public space to engage the community with your work.

If you are a muralist seeking large-scale wall space, we are open to offering a wall on our campus. We are also happy to help you find wall space in the Spring Branch neighborhood

Yes! We love pets & welcome family & friends. Artist-Residents are allowed to live with pets, family members, and other chosen individuals following Texas occupancy law and Zócalo Apartment Community Guidelines:

Children, spouses, family members, significant others, and roommates are welcomed with some restrictions. The maximum number of residents permitted to dwell in an apartment may not exceed two (2) persons per bedroom plus a child under the age of 24 months.

Yes, an important aspect of this residency is about community immersion. Living on campus gives artists an opportunity to be a part of the community as opposed to being a guest simply stopping by. 

We are seeking artists who will enjoy and benefit from living rent-free. Artist-residents who are selected and accept the residency will be required to live on campus throughout the entire duration of the residency term. The apartments are non-transferrable and cannot be sublet or rented out.

Site visits are welcome and encouraged. To schedule a time to visit Zócalo and speak with our Program Director, please email zairinfo@zocaloliving.com to set up a date.

You can contact our Program Director by emailing zairinfo@zocaloliving.com