TEACHING ARTIST ROSTER APPLICATION

DEADLINES: MARCH 31ST AT 5 PM AND SEPTEMBER 30TH AT 5 PM

OVERVIEW & GUIDELINES

What is a teaching artist roster? 

ArtsWestchester administers a Teaching Artist Roster. It is an online resource for Westchester-based schools and community agencies who want to work in collaboration with an artist and conduct an artist residency.

What is an ‘artist residency'? 

An artist residency is a highly structured, multi-session workshop that fosters learning in and through the arts. Generally, workshops are sequential, each session building upon the previous ones. Teaching Artists develop and implement residencies in collaboration with educators or, in the case of human service and community agencies, with the site staff. In schools, residencies serve as an instructional tool, helping students to master core curricula content in other subjects as well as addressing the Common Core Standards in the Arts. In day-care centers, after-school programs, mental health facilities, shelters, and other community settings, residencies foster cognitive, developmental, social and individual skills and abilities basic to success in school, in life, and in the workforce.

What criteria must be met?

• Must be an active professional over the age of 18
• Must have independent insurance coverage (health, liability, workers compensation, etc.)
• Must have undergone a New York State Background Check (Fingerprinting)
• Must have current body of recent work
• Must demonstrate the ability to work collaboratively with schools and community agencies
• Must have strong verbal and written communication skills
• Must possess knowledge and understanding of curricula and the needs of particular groups (children, seniors, teens, individuals with disabilities, etc.)
• Must have experience conducting residencies/hands-on workshops

How does an artist apply for the program? 

Complete this Teaching Artist Roster application through ArtsWestchester's Submittable portal.

What is the selection process? 

ArtsWestchester secures an independent panel of professionals in the field to review all applications and recommend artists to the Teaching Artist Roster that are qualified to conduct art programs in schools and community sites. In addition to reviewing the application, the panel convenes 5-6 weeks after the deadline for a brief interview with each candidate. Candidates will be informed in advance of their interview date and time.*  

What kind of remuneration can an artist anticipate? 

It is the responsibility of the artist to negotiate their payment with the school and/or community site. However, based on current industry trends, the Teaching Artist panel recommends the following fee structure: 

• $150 per planning session (1 – 1 ½ hours)
• $350 per full-day session (Between 3 and 5 ½ hours, including set-up and clean-up time),
• $200 per half-day session (1 – 3 hours, including set-up and clean-up time),
• $150 per wrap-up session (1 – 1 ½ hours)

*Note that artist residencies always include a planning session but may not always include a wrap up session.

How will an artist know their status? 

On behalf of the Teaching Artist panel, ArtsWestchester will inform all candidates their status by letter 6 weeks after the interview process. 

What happens if an artist is accepted onto the Teaching Artist Roster? 

After receiving the welcome letter and attending a recommended new artist orientation, the artist now qualifies to be listed as a Roster Teaching Artist for opportunities to partner with schools and community sites.  Many schools and community sites require that an artist has been cleared/fingerprinted by the New York State Education Department in order to conduct on-going programs at their sites. Failure to be fingerprinted can/will result in a lost opportunity to work in a school or community site. Many schools and community agencies administer residency programs in partnership with artists. These entities select the artists through recommendations and other resources, one of which is the Teaching Artist Roster. If selected by a school and/or community agency, artists will have the opportunity to sharpen their teaching skills by conducting educational art programs and supplement their income while continuing their professional growth.

What happens if an artist is not accepted? 

If not accepted into the Teaching Artist Roster, the artist may reapply at a later date. Artists may set-up a consultation with an ArtsWestchester Arts-in-Education staff member to discuss the panel’s feedback on their application.   

* If there are an insufficient number of applications, the Teaching Artist Roster panel reserves the right to rollover all submissions until the next deadline. All applicants will be notified of any postponements.

Who may contact with additional questions?

Please contact ArtsWestchester at 914-428-4220 and ask to speak with an Arts in Education staff member. 

Artswestchester believes that artists are often keen observers of their time and place; they create artworks that respond to the challenges and triumphs of the moment, illuminate complex issues, and inspire dialog around current local and global events. ArtsWestchester invites individual artists to submit existing artworks for an exhibition opportunity that is aligned with its programmatic mission. Our goals of this series, titled The Arts Exchange, is to gain deeper insight into the minds of artists and to provide a public platform for a local creative economy. 

The exhibitions will each be on view in ArtsWestchester’s gallery, a historically landmarked space at 31 Mamaroneck Avenue in White Plains from February to April 2025. 

About ArtsWestchester’s Exhibition Programming:

ArtsWestchester is committed to supporting and promoting regional artists. The organization acquired the former People’s National Trust building in 1998 and converted it into a venue for the arts. As an arts center in the heart of downtown White Plains, the organization plays a major role in raising awareness and inspiring discussion about contemporary local and global issues. ArtsWestchester’s Public Programs department showcases regional artists and advances thoughtfulness about topics that resonate within the community. 

ArtsWestchester’s Gallery program has included Modern Families, a photographic inquiry into an expanded look at who and what constitutes the American family and She, a deconstruction of female identity and reflection of modern womanhood. Past exhibitions for The Arts Exchange series have included group exhibitions by the White Plains Puerto Rican Cultural Committee, Inc., which explored Puerto Rican heritage, and The Ground Glass, a show by a local member-based photography organization. 

Guidelines

ArtsWestchester will look for artworks of all media and content. Artists are encouraged to consider ArtsWestchester’s exhibition history in selecting their works for submission. Additional guidelines and eligibility requirements include:

• Artists must work, reside or maintain a studio in Westchester or Rockland Counties. These artists must have a membership with ArtsWestchester that is current through January 1, 2025. Artists who are not current members may join ArtsWestchester by clicking on this LINK.

• Artists may submit up to three (3) works for review. 

• Artworks cannot exceed 48” in any direction (including the display of multiple units of objects within one work). 

• Deadline to apply is November 1, 2024 through an application on Submittable. Notifications will be sent out by the last week of February.

• Applications will be reviewed and selected by the Public Programs staff in conversation with the ArtsWestchester Arts Committee.

• Artworks cannot have been previously shown at ArtsWestchester
 

Important Dates

Deadline to apply: November 1, 2024

Notifications: November 15, 2024

Loan Agreement signed and returned: November 25, 2024

Dropoff of artwork: January 27 - 31, 2025

Exhibition opens: February 8, 20258

Exhibition closes: April 13, 2025

Artwork pickup: April 14 - 25, 2025
 

Terms and Conditions: 

- Selected artworks must come to the gallery ready to hang/installed with proper hardware. ArtsWestchester has the sole discretion as to location, positioning, lighting, and pedestal selection of artwork in the gallery.

- Regular/Artist/Senior/Student Memberships must be valid through January 1, 2025 to be considered.

- Artworks that contain digital media must include a USB with properly formatted files. ArtsWestchester holds a limited amount of projectors and monitors. 

- Awardee will sign a Loan Agreement, which will include information for artist name, materials used, date of creation, and retail price. Information in the Loan Agreement will be used for wall labels and cannot be changed afterwards. Loan Agreements that are not signed and returned by November 25, 2025 will be excluded from exhibition and artwork will not be received. 

- ArtsWestchester takes a 40% commission on sold artwork. 

- ArtsWestchester will host one (1) public reception and provide basic food/beverage. 

- Gallery hours, subject to change, for public viewing are Wednesday – Friday 12-5pm; Saturday 12-6pm; Sunday 12-5pm

- ArtsWestchester will deinstall artwork within the following week of exhibition closing, during normal business hours. Artwork pickup will be made available during normal business hours two weeks after exhibition closes. Any artwork left after this period will be deemed abandoned and ArtsWestchester will use its discretion for its removal. 

- ArtsWestchester retains the rights to remove artwork that is deemed unsafe or inappropriate. 

Questions for this application can be sent to Adam Chau (achau@artswestchester.org)

The Larry Salley Photography Award

Presented by ArtsWestchester in partnership with the African American Men of Westchester

ArtsWestchester seeks nominations for the seventh annual Larry Salley Photography Award. The award recognizes a Hudson Valley photographer with a significant body of work of high merit, whose artistic practice would be significantly advanced by the award, and who embodies the community spirit of the late Larry Salley. The award recipient will be featured in the 2025 Arts Exchange exhibit at least one work of art at the ArtsWestchester gallery in February 2025, honored at the ArtsWestchester Arts Award in April 2025, and furnished with a $1,500 cash prize.

All nominees will be reviewed by a panel including a representatives of ArtsWestchester, the African American Men of Westchester, the family of Larry Salley, and a guest juror with a deep professional knowledge of photography.


APPLICATION CRITERIA & Eligibility
 

• Nominees should be artists who convey their unique visions through the medium of photography. 
• Artists must live in, maintain a studio, or have strong ties to the Hudson Valley region (Westchester, Rockland, Putnam, Orange, Dutchess, Ulster, and Sullivan Counties). 
• Artists must be actively exhibiting current work in professional artistic venues. ArtsWestchester encourages nominations of artists for whom a cash award would aid them in the advancement of their professional practice.
• Nominees may be at any stage in their photographic career. Artists whose primary source of income is not from their photographic practice are eligible. Nominations of artists who are working to complete a body of work, or towards a specific exhibition are strongly encouraged.
• Nominators/artists should provide a brief statement describing why you think you/the candidate merits consideration for the Larry Salley Photography Award and how the award would help advance your/the artist’s career.
• The deadline for applications is 11:59pm on Friday, November 1, 2024.
• Self-nominations are welcomes, but photographers should provide the name, contact information, and profession of at least one reference.

ABOUT LARRY SALLEY & THE LARRY SALLEY PHOTOGRAPHY AWARD

ArtsWestchester is partnering with The African American Men of Westchester in order to celebrate the life and artistic achievements of Lawrence “Larry” C. Salley who was an active member of both organizations. Larry lived and worked in Westchester County (White Plains) where he assumed the leadership roles of Deputy Commissioner of the Westchester County Department of Planning and Commissioner of the Westchester County Department of Transportation. In his spare time, he was a gifted photographer. His photos were recently featured in an ArtsWestchester exhibition called “The Photographer’s Journey: A Tribute to Larry Salley”. 

TERMS AND CONDITIONS

Funding will be disbursed at the ArtsAward in April 2025, following the completion of any paperwork needed for tax purposes. Artwork to be featured in the Arts Exchange exhibition will be delivered to the gallery at 31 Mamaroneck Avenue by February 3, 2025 with appropriate paperwork. ArtsWestchester holds full curatorial oversight in placement of artwork in the gallery as well as rights for removal if deemed unsafe. Artwork will be available for pickup from April 14-18, 2025 during normal business hours; artwork that is left beyond this point will be considered the property of ArtsWestchester, who will have full discretion in how it is handled thereafter.

For questions, please contact: Adam Chau, Director of Exhibitions, achau@artswestchester.org or 914.428.4220 

The Arts Awards, presented since 1976,  recognize individuals and organizations whose vision, commitment and leadership have enriched the cultural life of Westchester, its communities, and its citizens.
Each spring, Arts Awards are given in the following categories: Arts Patron, Artist, Arts Organization, Community and Education. Please refer to ArtsWestchester's website for descriptions of each category. Awards will be presented at a reception in April 2025.

As 2025 marks ArtsWestchester's 65th anniversary we aim to spotlight the work of individual artists and organizations that provide opportunities to elevate local artists.  We are open to all nominations but we encourage nominations that support artists and artist-driven organizations and initiatives.

Submission Deadline: October 29, 2024 at 11:59pm