Artists-in-Residence

Artist Residencies

Contemporary Craft’s Artist Residencies allow artists in any stage of their career free access to fully equipped studios, CC staff support, and the opportunity to interface with the public while creating a body of work.  The program supports artists working in a craft medium that can be supported by our Studios, such as metalsmithing, jewelry, fibers, weaving, wood, encaustics, paper and book arts, small ceramics, and small-scale woodworking.

We offer two types of National Residencies (for artists living outside of a 100 mile radius of Pittsburgh, PA) and two Regional Residencies for artists living near Pittsburgh.

Contemporary Craft’s mission is to engage the public in creative experiences through contemporary craft.  We strive to create an inclusive environment and encourage artists of all backgrounds to apply.

 

National Residencies

Contemporary Craft offers two types of National Residencies (for artists living outside of a 100 mile radius of Pittsburgh, PA).  A Short Term Residency for a period of one month, and a Long Term Residency for a period of six months.  All National Artists-in-Residence will receive free furnished housing in a four bedroom home just a quick three-minute drive from Contemporary Craft, a private work space at Contemporary Craft, and access to our fully equipped Studio spaces.

Applications Due: February 15, 2023 at 11:59pm EST
Notifications Sent: March 7

Short Term Residency

Each Short Term Residency will last for a period of one month during May 2023, August 2023, November 2023, and February 2024 (exact start date flexible within the month).  

Eligibility and Requirements

  • Applicants must be 18 years of age or older and must be non-Pittsburgh residents.
  • Residents will receive free furnished housing in a 4 bedroom home just a quick 3-minute drive from Contemporary Craft.  Residents will have a private bedroom, shared bathroom, full kitchen, living space, laundry, and parking.   
  • Residents will receive a $1,200 stipend, half of which will be given upon arrival and half upon completion of the term.   
  • Residents are responsible for their own travel to and from Pittsburgh.  
  • Residents will receive access to Contemporary Craft’s facility from 9am-9pm daily.  Residents will have a private work space as well as access to the community Studio spaces.  
  • Short Term Residents will be required to select at least one option from the following menu to engage with the Contemporary Craft community during their residency:
    • Teach a half-day or full-day workshop (residents will receive additional compensation for teaching above their residency stipend)
    • Give an Artist Talk about their work and residency
    • Sell work through the store via an artist pop-up feature
    • Engage with youth through CC’s community engagement programs
    • Give an artist demo at a CC event
  • Residents will be required to donate one piece of work to CC’s annual gala auction in the spring.

 

Long Term Residency

The Long Term Residency will last for a period of six months from June 2023-November 2023 or January 2024-June 2024.  

Terms and Conditions

  • Applicants must be 18 years of age or older and must be non-Pittsburgh residents*.
  • Residents will receive free furnished housing in a 4 bedroom home just a quick 3-minute drive from Contemporary Craft.  Residents will have a private bedroom, shared bathroom, full kitchen, living space, laundry, and parking.   
  • Residents will receive a $1,200 monthly stipend, which will be paid at the end of each month of the residency.   
  • Residents are responsible for their own travel to and from Pittsburgh.  
  • Residents will receive access to Contemporary Craft’s facility from 9am-9pm daily.  Residents will have a private work space as well as access to the community Studio spaces.  
  • Long Term Residents will be required to select at least two options from the following menu to engage with the Contemporary Craft community during their residency:
    • Teach a half-day or full-day workshop (residents will receive additional compensation for teaching above their residency stipend)
    • Give an Artist Talk about their work and residency
    • Sell work through the store via an artist pop-up feature
    • Engage with youth through CC’s community engagement programs
    • Give an artist demo at a CC event
  • Residents will be required to donate one piece of work to CC’s annual gala auction in the spring.

To Apply

Artists my apply for either or both of the National Residencies below.  Please have the following documents prepared:

  • Resume (optional)
  • Artist Statement
  • Letter of Interest outlining the body of work you hope to complete during your residency
  • Three professional references
  • Five photos of your work

National Artist-in-Residence Application

 

National Artists-in-Residence

Jason Stein

May 2023

Jason Stein is a jeweler, metalsmith, and sculptor based in Charlotte, North Carolina in the United States. He received his BFA in Metals and Jewelry Design from the Rochester Institute of Technology in 2008 and received his MFA in Metal Design from East Carolina University in 2010. He works full-time as a bench and custom jeweler in Charlotte, NC and taught curriculum classes in jewelry and metalsmithing at Central Piedmont Community College from 2017-2021. His work has been featured in national and international exhibitions such as “Metamorphoses” at the Bayerischer Kunstgewerbeverein (Bavarian Craft Council) in Munich, Germany for Munich Jewelry Week 2022, the exhibitions “DNA”, “Missing Memories”, and “Until Death Do Us Part” with Alliages Gallery in Lilles, France and other European venues from 2020-2023, and Craft Forms 2017 and 2018 in the United States. He has completed artist residencies at the Penland School For Craft, Peters Valley School of Craft, and Pocosin Arts. His work is included in private collections, as well as the Porter-Price collection at the Mint Museum of Craft and Design in Charlotte, NC.

Jason’s Website

Carl Johnson

June 2023-December 2023

Carl Johnson is an artist living in Washington, DC. In 2021 he received his BFA from the Savannah College of Art and Design. He is a Windgate-Lamar Fellowship recipient and a resident artist at the Houston Center for Contemporary Craft. He has also worked at The Peters Valley School for Craft as the fibers studio assistant. He has participated in shows and events such as Art Fields, Ch/Art Art Walk, and the Moving Fiber Show.

Carl’s Website

Adrien Segal

August 2023

Adrien Segal is an artist based in Oakland, California. Drawing from landscape, science, history, emotion, and perception, her interdisciplinary work bridges the gap between scientific rationality and the emotional nature of human experience. Her work has been exhibited internationally since 2007 and is published in several books and journals. She has been awarded Artist Residencies across the US, Canada, and Europe, and was the US-UK Fulbright Scholar at the University of Dundee in 2022. In addition to teaching, she pursues her creative practice out of her studio in Alameda, California.

Adrien’s Website

Yael Braha

January-June 2024

Born in Italy and daughter of refugees from North Africa, Yael was raised in Italy in a visually abundant environment that shaped her love for composition, aesthetics, and visual arts. She received a Bachelor of Arts in Graphic Design from the European Institute of Design in Rome, and a Master of Fine Arts in Cinema from San Francisco State University. Her past multidisciplinary background – from graphics design, to cinema, to metal fabrication and installation – informs her recent focus on ceramic work.
In 2021 she was awarded the Multicultural Fellowship Award from the National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts (NCECA).

Yael’s Website

Sarah Byrd

February 2024

A love of all things “old” led Sarah to collections and preservation of the past in order to understand the present. This passion informs her work at every level.  Her independent research focuses on the history of clothing within American cults and communes and the role of museums in fashion education. Sarah has contributed her research and writing to several publications, guest lectures, and symposia.  As an archivist, she has worked on a wide range of projects for both private clients and large corporations. Her love for the objects and their long-term care is equal regardless of value or size of collection.  She currently teaches graduate courses related fashion and textile history, museum theory, and fashion archives for MA students at the Fashion Institute of Technology, Parsons School of Design, and New York University.  Sarah received her BA from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and MA in Fashion and Textile Studies from the Fashion Institute of Technology. Sarah is also a co-founder of the Fashion Studies Alliance, a New York based network and support system for professionals working in the field of Fashion Studies.

Sarah’s Website

Dongyi Wu

June 2024

Dongyi Wu is a contemporary jewelry artist who fascinates playing with a wide range of materials, and giving them special texture, distinct tactile, and new meaning in the process of her wearable artwork creation. Collecting her ideas from literature books, her own experiences, and researches of psychology, Dongyi lets free imagination and inspiration guide her in designing the object to wear. Dongyi received an MFA from Rochester Institute of Technology in 2018, and a BFA from Beijing Institute of Fashion Technology in 2014. Dongyi has her works exhibited both nationally and internationally, where she received several awards, such as the winner of Preziosa Young 2020 in Italy and the finalist for the LEAP award in the United States in 2019. 

Dongyi’s Website

Regional Artist Residencies

The Regional Artist-in-Residence program at Contemporary Craft allows artists living within 100 miles of Pittsburgh, free access to fully equipped studios, CC staff support, and the opportunity to interface with the public while creating a body of work.  The residency will last between 3-6 months, depending on the mutual availability of the requested Studio and the resident artist interest.  In exchange for the free usage of Contemporary Craft’s state of the art studio space as well as a monthly materials stipend, the artist in residence will be asked to engage with the public while working in the studio.

Benefits

  • Full access to community studio space, equipment, and tools during all public hours
  • Private storage for personal tools and equipment
  • a $100 monthly materials stipend
  • Opportunity to enter into a relationship with CC’s retail Store to sell work
  • Free tuition for 1-2 Studio workshops based on the length of the residency
  • Opportunity to be a paid instructor in the Studio

Responsibilities

The Regional Artists-in-Residence are expected to:

  • Be present in the Studio at least 1-2 days each week for the duration of the residency
  • Volunteer for public events and be available to visitors
  • Give an artist talk/presentation to CC staff at the culmination of the residency
  • Attend a short weekly check-in with Studio staff
  • Maintain overall Studio cleanliness

Sessions

There are four residency sessions throughout the year.  Applicants may request one session or two sessions in their desired Studio.  Sessions are as follows:

  • January 1-March 30
  • April 1-June 30
  • July 1-September 30
  • October 1-December 31

Schedule

Applications are accepted on a rolling basis and will be reviewed approximately 2 months prior to the start of each session.  Applications will be reviewed and notifications will be sent according to the following schedule:

Session Dates Applications Reviewed Notifications Sent
January 1-March 31, 2024 November 2, 2023 November 9, 2023
April 1-June 30, 2024 February 1, 2024 February 8, 2024
July 1-September 30, 2024 May 2, 2024 May 9, 2024
October 1-December 31, 2024 August 1, 2024 August 8, 2024

To Apply

Please have the following documents prepared:

  • Resume (optional)
  • Artist Statement
  • Letter of Interest outlining the body of work you hope to complete during your residency
  • Three professional references
  • Five photos of your work
  • Desired residency session(s) and choice of Studio (Metals, Fibers, or Mixed Media)

Regional Artist-in-Residence Application

 

Regional Artists-in-Residence

Carolina Alamilla

Carolina Alamilla is an artist, educator, and curator, currently residing in Pittsburgh. She is driven by the concept of home, familiarities, and her ever changing cultural identity. Carolina predominately works with clay in creating multiples, grabbing inspiration from her childhood in South Florida, she is interested in developing environments driven by color and playfulness.  She holds a Master of Fine Arts in Ceramics + Transmedia from Texas Tech University and a Bachelor of Fine Arts from University of North Carolina- Chapel Hill.  Carolina is an assistant professor of studio art at Washington and Jefferson College.

Carolina’s Website

Christina Kingerski

Christina Kingerski creates intricate machine and hand-stitched drawings inspired by traditional fiber structures and patterns. After a ten-year career in design education, she abruptly had to find new ways to channel her creative energy due to life-altering medical complications. Through this process, Christina discovered a deep connection to cloth. Collectively her new work takes on a journal-like quality, exploring both technical curiosities and the spectrum of emotions that emerge amidst instability. Christina received an MFA in Graphic Design from the Savannah College of Art and Design. She lives in the Lawrenceville area of Pittsburgh, the third generation in her family to call the neighborhood home.

Sophia Park

Sophia Park is currently teaching Jewelry and Metals at Waynesburg University and previously she taught Metals as an assistant professor at Kutztown University in Pennsylvania. She received her MFA in Jewelry and Metals from San Diego State University and a BA in studio art with an emphasis in Metalsmithing from Southern Illinois University Carbondale. Her work represents adaptation or mutation based on the flexibility of nature. She is drawn to this aspect of nature as a metaphor for human patterns of adaptation in life. Her work has been featured at Fuller Craft Museum, Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art, Ohio Craft Museum and a number of exhibitions internationally.

Sophia’s Website

Past Regional Artists-in-Residence

Dara Etienne, Fibers – April 2023-July 2023
Sarah Sindler, Metals – April 2023-June 2023
Stefanie Zito, Fibers – January 2023-April 2023
Dan Brockett, Basketry – October 2022-April 2023
Amanda Stumpf, Metals and Fibers – October 2022-April 2023
Jamie Boyle, Fibers – January 2022-September 2022
Jennie DiBeneditto, Metals – July 2022-September 2022
Tressa Jones, Wood – July 2022-September 2022
Adeline Kubicsek, Metals – July 2022-September 2022
N.E. Brown, Wood – January 2022-June 2022
Andrew Thornton, Metals – January 2022-June 2022
Corey Drew, Metals – April 2021-July 2021
Taylor Fentz, Metals – November 2020-December 2020