The Wedding Cake House offers short term, project based residencies with a focus on mid-career artists.

 

We are currently offering two different types of residencies that artists may apply for - Group residencies and Duo residencies. Below is info on what each of those entail. It is the same form for both applications, however artists should choose which type of residency they are applying for and only one residency slot will be awarded to any applicant. 

 

We are still in the pilot phase on several of our residency programs (family residency, project commission residency, and work exchange residency). As these programs become available for applicants we’ll add more info here!

 

GROUP RESIDENCY

 

What the opportunity is:
 

• A slightly longer than a week-long group residency at the Wedding Cake House in Providence, RI. Residents also have access to facilities at Dirt Palace Classic - our original & nearby, long term live/work residency space. See FAQ about DP Classic Facilities

• There are no fees for the residency, nor are there stipends or travel budgets. 

• We provide breakfast, lunch and groceries for dinner. Each resident will be in charge of preparing one dinner, and help with prep on another dinner. We will work with each artist in residence on planning

• Time during the day is unstructured - however we ask that residents be focused on their project/creative work in whatever form that takes and to do their best to organize their days to have as few errands, appointments, and regular work as possible. (We totally get that some folks will need to have some elements of all of these things in their residency time) 

• In the evening residents are asked to eat dinner together from 6:30-7:30. After dinner each night there will be an artist talk, presentation, activity or reading given by each of the residents in a rotating order that everyone is expected to attend. This will go until about 8:30/9pm. Some nights may go a little longer if we end up needing to double up presentations on a couple of nights. These talks are a space for residents to share/learn/workshop things with each other, and are not open to the general public. 

• During the end of the residency there will be a public component. The exact form of this will be determined by the various projects artists are working on. Likely it could include a hybrid open-house/ openstudio/talk/screening/performance/with project show & tell.

 

DUO RESIDENCY

 

What the opportunity is:
 

• A slightly longer than a week-long residency in Rooms 7 & 8 at the Wedding Cake House in Providence, RI. Residents also have access to facilities at Dirt Palace Classic, our original & nearby, long term live/work residency space (See FAQ about DP Classic Facilities). 

• Room 7 & room 8 were set up to be a pair of Artist-in residence rooms. They share a wall, a parlor and a bathroom. The other rooms at the Wedding Cake House will be occupied by BnB guests during the course of the residency. Artists are asked to apply together as duos. There is no requirement that they collaborate, though they are welcome to. Preference will be given to duo’s that include one artist from RI and one from elsewhere. There are no fees for the residency, nor are there stipends or travel budgets. 

• There is a complimentary optional light breakfast available each morning. We’ll prepare a “welcome dinner” for your first night in the house and give you the full tour & a farewell brunch, but other than that you’ll pretty much be on your own for meals. There is some kitchen access (see FAQ).

• Time during the day is unstructured - however we ask that residents be focused on their project/creative work in whatever form that takes and to do their best to organize their days to have as few errands, appointments, and regular work as possible. (We totally get that some folks will need to have some elements of all of these things in their residency time) 

• During the end of the residency there will be a public component. The exact form of this will be determined by the various projects artists are working on. Likely it could include a hybrid open-house/ openstudio/talk/screening/performance/with project show & tell. 

 

APPLICATION:

As an artist-run project we think a lot about the hoops that artists are asked to jump through. We value an artist's time and resources and know from experience what applying for things can be like. With this in mind we do not charge application fees, and have attempted to keep the application fairly simple, and ask for materials that we imagine many artists already have. 

 

The flip side of this is there are definite limits to our administrative capacity and ability to review large quantities of applications and manage complicated scheduling needs. 

We ask that if you submit an application that you are certain that the dates you are submitting for are dates that you can make work. If you’re not sure, wait it out for the future! Our plan is to keep at it until the wheels fall off! This is the second open application that we are conducting. If you have questions, comments, or constructive feedback on the application process, please let us know. Email us at weddingcakehouseresidencies@gmail.com 

 

We are currently using GOOGLE FORMS for the application back-end. It will not save writing in the interface unless you use a google email. Applicants are encouraged not to rely on this and to fill it out in one sitting, or write answers elsewhere and paste them in. 

 

We are also asking applicants to use google slides and google docs to provide links to work samples. Please make sure that you set permissions for sharing to “anyone with the link may view”. If you would prefer to link to another platform where you put your work samples, that’s ok, however we’re trying to avoid things like links to entire web-sites or Instagram accounts. We’re not looking for a fancy presentation, just for applicants to use the platform to plunk in some images. If you are not familiar with google slides, there are several tutorials online! 

 

We ask that applicants use restraint in putting together work samples. Your application is better served by having a few well organized high quality pieces. The guidelines are 8-12 images, 5 pages of writing, 5 min of video/audio. These guidelines are for artists working in each media (ie a visual artist can submit up to 12 images and a musician 5 minutes of audio). If your work is interdisciplinary and to show the breadth of your work, you want to submit in all of these media,  Please don’t submit the maximum in all categories. For interdisciplinary work we approximate that would be like 5 slides, 2 min of video/audio and 2 pages of writing. 

 

The reason that we’re using free internet based google tools for submissions is pretty straightforward: budget & efficiency. Proprietary submission software like CAFE or Submittable often ends up costing upwards of $5/submission. As we’ve mentioned before, we don’t want artists to have to pay a fee to apply (as many residencies do). So we ask that you work with us to keep the application process free and simple by using these google tools for now.  We might ramp up to using other platforms someday, but this is what we’ve got at the moment. We’re excited to grow and develop, but this is where we’re at right now. 

 

Sample Application Questions can be found on the "APPLY" page. 
 

HOW COHORTS ARE PUT TOGETHER:

The focus of the Wedding Cake House is to support mid-career artists, however we find that group residencies are greatly enhanced by cross generational experiences. Applications are accepted from artists in all phases of their careers, however we want to be transparent that it is a more competitive field for early career/emerging artists. We define mid-career as artists who’ve been working at their craft or “doing their thing” for about 12 or more years.  

 

Decisions about applications will be made with a number of factors in mind, including the overall makeup of the groups, studio resources available for each residency, demographics, and our mission to support feminist artists and artists historically marginalized within the arts. An artist could submit a printmaking proposal that the panel thinks is super, but if all of the slots for printing are already allocated, we won’t be able to accommodate that proposal at this time. 

 

This is a long winded way of saying that factors other than just the amazingness of the submitted work and project proposal go into programming group residencies. Not being chosen for one of these cohorts in no way means that your work/project is not the best. We will keep applications on file for curators/programmers to consider for future potential opportunities and residencies at WCH.

 

For each of these 6  residencies about half of the slots will be reserved for artists submitting through the open application, the other half will be for artists invited based on referrals solicited and managed by staff. Similarly, about half of the slots will be for artists outside of RI, and half from within. 

 

Each Group Residency has 6 suites. Artists may apply as individuals or as pairs or as groups sharing a suite. Each Duo residency has a 2 bedroom suite that shares a parlor and a bathroom and artists are asked to apply together.

 

Panel: 

The peer review panel is made up of 

• Previous/Current AIR from WCH & Dirt Palace Classic residencies

• Dirt Palace Public Projects board of directors

• Local artists

 

Review panels include practitioners who have the ability to critically consider contemporary practices in: visual art, sound, writing & interdisciplinary practices 

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Frequently asked questions below.

 

FAQ

 

GENERAL ORGANIZATIONAL QUESTIONS

Q - What is the Dirt Palace? 

A: The Dirt Palace is a feminist artist-run space project founded in 2000 in an abandoned library building in the commercial corridor of Olneyville in Providence. The Dirt Palace has grown to include two facilities, and multiple residency and exhibition programs.  

 

In 2015 Dirt Palace Public Projects (DPPP) was founded as the not for profit umbrella for various programs and projects of the Dirt Palace. Dirt Palace Public Projects’ mission is to enhance the cultural life of the city by building relationships between artists and the public as well as creating visibility for feminist artists and people historically marginalized within the arts.

 

Q - What programs fall under the ‘Dirt Palace’ umbrella? 

A: The original Dirt Palace facility located in Olneyville Square (DP Classic) operates as a self organized collaborative that supports feminist artists by providing affordable studio space, facilities, shared resources, opportunities, a culture of cooperation, and maintains visibility in the community through a committed public arts presence and long term relationships. The Dirt Palace is trans-inclusive, strives to be accountable, and works at intersectionality.

 

DP Classic also houses the Storefront Window Gallery. This public arts project is viewable from Olneyville Square 24/7. DP Members curate this space together and each year 8 - 12 artist installations are exhibited in this space.
 

The Wedding Cake House (WCH) facility at 514 Broadway has 2 main programs: a short-term project based residency program for mid-career artists; and a Bed and Breakfast for travelers interested in supporting the creation of new work by artists. Residencies at the Wedding Cake House are generally 1-3 weeks in length. The Bed and Breakfast subsidizes the operations of Dirt Palace Public Projects and all of its programs. Artists in residence at the Wedding Cake House have access to the downstairs work studios at Dirt Palace Classic. 

 

Q - Are there different types of residencies at the Wedding Cake House? 

A: Yes! We gravitated towards the group residency during COVID because it gave us the greatest ability to manage COVID safety. The first of these residencies happened before vaccinations and took the form of a pod with participants quarantining beforehand. When we are hosting Group Residencies all of the rooms of the Wedding Cake House are filled with the participating artists and we are closed for operations as a BnB.

 

In addition to the group residencies, we also host Duo Residencies where two artists are in residence while the BNB is in operation. 

 

We have also hosted day-time only tower residencies, residencies for families, and hope to host funded residencies that are organized around making objects for the Wedding Cake House. A group cohort style residency might not be the best fit for everybody and for every project. We’ll be easing into offering these other kinds of residencies in 2022 & 2023. 

LOGISTICS

 

Group residencies and Duo Residencies are structured differently around meals. Please read below how each residency approaches meals.

 

GROUP RESIDENCY"

Q: What’s the deal with food, what if I’m a picky eater or have allergies/sensitivities?

 

A: Once we solidify the details of the residencies & who’s involved, we’ll survey everyone about food specifics. We try our utmost to accommodate all dietary requirements in planning menus. The breakdown of how meals work is generally: 

• Breakfast: there will be coffee, tea, toast, yogurt (dairy and dairy-free), cereal & hard boiled eggs starting at 8am & left out for self serve till about 11

• Lunch: there will be basic soup on the stove, salad in the fridge, and sandwich fixings for self serve from noon - 2pm 

• Dinner: Each resident will be in charge of preparing one dinner, and help with prep on another dinner. We’ll have groceries here and will work with each artist in residence on planning

• We won’t provide alcohol or chocolate bars, but residents are welcome to bring their own stashes and/or any other food-things that they love to eat daily. 

 

DUO RESIDENCY:

Q: What’s the deal with food/ kitchen usage

 

Breakfast: There is a complimentary optional light breakfast available each morning which consists of coffee, tea, yogurt (dairy and dairy-free), fruit, cereal & hard boiled eggs. There is a form available to BnB guests who want to order breakfast delivered to their room. Artist residents are to fill out this form if they want breakfast the next day. Artists are on their own for lunch & dinner. 

 

Amenities: There is a small mini fridge, toaster, coffee maker, and water boiler set up in the rooms’ 7&8 parlor space for artist resident use. It’s recommended that artists use these amenities for breakfast if they do not order breakfast. There is also some space available in the BnB guest fridge in the dining room for extra groceries and a small pantry space off the kitchen.
 

Kitchen use: 

The kitchen at WCH, is also the location of the washing machines & is located right next

to the Innkeeper suite. It's where a lot of critical functions of running the B&B happen (preparing

breakfast, dealing with dishes, laundry, laundry & more laundry). With this in mind we ask that AIR concurrent with BnB activities be mindful that staff will be “in the work zone” in the kitchen & that it must be kept in a top notch state of cleanliness. 

 

AIR may use it to prepare meals, but we ask that this is kept simple & efficient and that hanging out or eating happens in another location (dining room, room, parlor, outside, etc). Saturday & Sunday mornings are the most high traffic times. 

 

If it is possible to set up specific recurring windows for kitchen use this will help with traffic control (lunch between 12 & 12:30 and dinner between 5p - 6pm  or 7:30 & 8:30 would be ideal). If you would like to have a guest over and cook with them in a social manner on a specific night please run this by the staff on duty. It's likely something that we can accommodate, but it can be helpful to have a heads up and communicate about it with staff beforehand - otherwise it can be awkward to have people in a “hang out social mode” while staff are focused on service, tasks and efficiency. Staff often have kitchen duties from 8:30p -10pm and from 7am - 10am. In general, particularly when staff are staying in the innkeeper room, the kitchen should be quiet after 10pm and before 7am.

 

GENERAL LOGISTICS

Q: What are rooms like and what facilities are available at DP Classic?

 

A: Rooms at the Wedding Cake House also function (when we’re not hosting residencies) as bed & breakfast suites (that is how we fund this operation!). So they’re fairly “fancy”. I.e. they’re not a place to do a lot of materials based work. Each room is unique and has a different set up. We do our best to match up folks with rooms that suit their projects. Every suite has its own bathroom except for rooms 7 & 8 which share a bathroom. Types of work that people have done on site at WCH include; writing and research, audio mixing and recording, video editing, photography, collage, drawing, sewing, durational performance art. If you have an idea for something that you’d want to do in one of the rooms, but aren’t certain if it would cross over the “potential for being too messy” threshold, shoot us an email and ask. 

 

For artists doing more materials-based work, Dirt Palace Classic is an option. DP Classic is about a 7 minute walk from the WCH. There is a “Big Room” where long term AIR’s there have studio bays. Two studios are set aside for WCH residents. If there are more than 2 people looking to work at DP Classic, these bays can be shared. 

 

This space is suitable for larger projects, sculpture, painting (though there is no special ventilation, so paint should be acrylic). There is a screen printing shop, and some basic carpentry/shop tools. There is also a small sound rehearsal space with access to a P.A. for artists interested in working with amplified sound. The sound rehearsal space is small and not best suited for dance or movement projects which require space. Note that the Big Room and Rehearsal space share a wall so sound and silence may have to be scheduled.

Q: Do you accept students?
A: Our focus is on mid-career artists. Our definition of “mid-career” is artists who’ve been working at their craft or “doing their thing” for about 12 or more years. Artists working within degree programs often have access to resources, studio space and community as part of their programs. With this in mind we generally prioritize artists who are not in school and do not have access to these resources. However we value lifelong learning and recognize that people take on higher education for a variety of reasons at many moments in their trajectories, and so do not have a hardline disallowing student applications. 

 

Q: I took part in a Wedding Cake House residency already, can I apply to come back?

A: We love all of our past residents so much and hope that you will come back at some point, but for now we’re hoping to give people who haven’t had an opportunity to take part in a WCH residency a chance. 

 

Q: Can I bring my pet? 

A: At this time we can not accommodate resident guest pets. A staff member does have a dog who comes to work with her occasionally, but generally stays in her room & out of the way.

 

Q: Can I bring my child?

Group residencies at this time are not able to accommodate children. We are planning some family residencies for the summer, please be in touch for information. 

 

Q: Can I bring my significant other? 

If your significant other is an artist/researcher etc, you are welcome to apply together to both participate in the residency. Hosting non-participating significant others isn’t something that we do. 

 

Q: I have specific needs or preferences such as a very firm mattress, a bathtub, ADA lodging, fragrance-free laundry, a preference for less stairs, are these things possible? 

A:  Most of the things on that list are possible! Please use question 4 of the application to notate anything that you’d foresee needing (you can write in anything on the “other” line). 

 

Q: What are the COVID-19 policies and procedures? 

A: All residents must be vaccinated or have a medical exemption. Residents will be asked to be tested the day before coming to the residency or when they arrive in Providence if traveling. Cohort members are free to come and go, but are asked for the safety of others in the group and at DP Classic to err on the side of safety and wear masks in indoor spaces with strangers during the duration of the residency. So long as the case rate in RI is less than 60/100,000 we will have an in-person public component/open house. All visitors attending the open house will be asked to be masked indoors if case rates are over 15/100,000. If case rates sky-rocket we will return to a pod model. If things seem headed in this direction (knock on wood that they won’t be) we’ll communicate early with participants to make sure that this is still a fit for them. 

 

APPLY HERE

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