BAX 2026/28 Artist in Residence Application

Eligibility:

You are an artist in dance/movement, theater, performance art, or another multidisciplinary performance practice. (BAX rehearsal studios are designed for embodied practices, and are not suited for visual artists who need space to create fine art works, filmmakers/digital media artists who need access to specialized equipment, etc.)
You share BAX’s commitment to racial justice and cultural equity, and you value being in an inclusive, multigenerational, socially-engaged community of learning.
You are interested in BAX as a process-oriented incubator, and you’re eager to share your work(s)-in-progress with your peers and with the public.
You’d thrive in a cohort-based experience with 2 other Artists in Residence, and you can commit to monthly in-person cohort meetings.
You live in any of the five NYC boroughs. (Artists who live outside of NYC during the time of the residency are not eligible.)
You are not a full-time student in a degree-granting program at a college, university, or institution of higher learning.
Note: If you’re a former BAX Artist in Residence who completed your residency in 2021 or earlier, you’re eligible to apply. (Former Space Grant artists are always eligible to apply, without the need to wait for a specified period of time). Please contact artistprograms@bax.org to notify us of your application as additional information will be required.

BAX Artist Residency Details:

Three (3) performing artists will receive rehearsal space as well as advisory, marketing, and production support to develop their artistic practice and work(s) as a BAX Artist in Residence over an 18-month period (September 2026 to March 2028). BAX will only consider proposals for projects-in-progress that have not already been staged, performed, or shared in their entirety.

The residency includes the artist’s participation in three benchmark presentations that progress over the residency: two open studios (May 2027 and November 2027) and a Work-in-Progress public performance/presentation (March 2028 with documentation & livestream option) at BAX. The Open Studios may range in forms, from an open rehearsal to a public workshop to a practice-based engagement — anything that will advance your research and practice as you develop your work.

Selected artists will have the opportunity to access and exercise the following during their 18-month residency:

Total artist stipend of $8,000.
450 hours of free rehearsal space in any of our four studios during the residency period.
Use of BAX as a fiscal conduit/sponsor.
Building dynamic relationships of peer support and mentorship with BAX key staff members. This includes reflecting together upon work/livelihood issues; goal-setting in professional artistic work; addressing obstacles (personal and systemic); accessing and receiving support in applying to resources like funding, grants, and other residencies; among others.
Being an active member of a cohort with other Artists in Residence, which will meet every month throughout the residency period for 2–3 hour in-person meetings (with flexibility for scheduling as and within the cohort), regular one-on-one check-ins with BAX’s Artistic Director, and as desired, professional development / consulting sessions with BAX Artist Advisors.
Accessing other artistic communities by way of BAX staff, intergenerational education programs and teaching artists, grantees, and artist networks (including AIR, Space Grant, and Practice Lab / EmergeNYC / Drag Performance artists and alumni, among others).
Support for presenting and planning for your projects at BAX and beyond.
Production and administrative support for research and conception, readings, showings, workshops, rehearsals, and productions.
Low-tech/no-tech shared Open Studios among the AIR cohort with invited audiences and BAX staff (no public BAX marketing) in May 2027 and November 2027.
Public performance or practice of work to fit your unique process in March 2028 (with BAX production & marketing support.)

Application Period:

Applications open on Monday, February 9 and must be submitted no later than April 2, 2026 at 11:59 pm ET. BAX staff will be available to answer questions throughout the application period via artistprograms@bax.org until 5:00 pm ET on April 2.

Info Session:

BAX Staff will host an online information session for prospective Artist in Residence applicants. All interested applicants are encouraged to attend. Join us virtually via Zoom on Thursday, February 19, at 5:30 pm ET. Automatically generated captioning will be provided.

Link to register:

https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/b2GlPOMDQeyDvvTVjG-fsA

The information session will be recorded with captions included and made available upon request after the session. Please check out the online application page for more information, including an FAQ section.

Application Accessibility:

Please note that this is a text-based application. If text is not accessible to you and you require an alternative form of application, please reach out to artistprograms@bax.org and we will find a path forward together.

Please direct any questions about the application or the residency to artistprograms@bax.org.

Important Dates for Applicants:

Please take note of these dates for the application period.

February 9, 2026: Applications open.
February 19, 2026 at 5:30PM ET: Virtual information session (Zoom).
April 2, 2026: Applications due.
First week of June, 2026: Finalists interviewed.
Second week of June, 2026: Artists in Residence are selected and all applicants are notified of their application status.
June 30, 2026: First round of studio rehearsal requests are due.
May 2027 (exact date TBD): Open Studio/showing #1 (invitation based; no marketing.)
November 2027 (exact date TBD): Open Studio/showing #2 (invitation based; no marketing.)
March 2028 (exact date TBD): Works-in-progress presentation/performance (open to the public; marketing support.)

We look forward to reading your applications!

Brooklyn Arts Exchange