The Dresher Ensemble Artist Residency (D.E.A.R.) was established in 2012 to support Northern California artists actively exploring new aesthetic premises and pushing the boundaries of conventional art forms and media. The program provides early to mid-career artists up to four weeks of free and full-time use of our studio and equipment, production & fundraising consultations, and a production stipend as well as fiscal sponsorship to a very diverse group of theater, dance, and music creators whose work is pushing boundaries and challenging assumptions about what the arts can be in our lives and culture.

D.E.A.R. grants 6 to 8 awards annually to individual artists or to groups of artists collaborating on a single project. The lead artist must be a Northern California resident and not a student at the time of the application and residency.

EACH RESIDENCY PROVIDES:
– Full-time access {24/7} of 1 to 4 weeks to the Ensemble’s West Oakland rehearsal studio (40′ x 42′ sprung dance floor with Marley floor covering with 20′ ceilings and one 9-foot concert grand piano) and fabrication shop. Residency weeks may be contiguous or spread out over a period of months.
– A production stipend (currently up to $1500)
– Access to state-of-the-art sound, lighting, projection, and recording equipment;
– Technical, financial, and managerial consultations from professionals on the Ensemble’s staff (providing fiscal sponsorship if needed).
– Performance opportunities

SELECTION CRITERIA / PROGRAM PRIORITIES:
– The artistic quality and potential impact of the project on the artist’s artistic growth and their audiences;
Projects whose realization requires continuous and/or multi-day access to our studio space and our available technologies;
– Artists who work with multiple disciplines and/or from culturally diverse perspectives;
– Preference may be given to artists whose work is not currently receiving significant institutional support.

APPLICATION
Online application for 2024 Residencies opens: October 2, 2023
Applications due Tuesday, November 15, 2023, 11:59 pm PST
Residencies will be announced to artists in January 2024

Info Sessions – RSVP here.

November 1, and November 8 (7 PM Zoom Sessions)

November 11 – Studio visit & Info Session (12 noon)

View the online application  –  Consult our FAQ – Download “How to Prepare your 2024 Application.”