“It is the grassroots where the essence of art most joyously flourishes.” —Robert E. Gard
Last weekend, I was thrilled to open the inaugural show in the Niche, an IRL space extending from niche.dovetailmag.com. Comprising one side of my small workspace, which sits within a creative complex in a central Wisconsin village, it felt like the perfect way to tie in the launch of Dovetail’s publication Fields.
As I write this, I’m sitting among a display of photographs by southern Illinois-based photographer Nathan Pearce, who participated in a residency in this building nine years ago. I love a full-circle moment, and I also love reasons to gather people together and catch up—especially in a place where it takes no small amount of effort to get to!
Something that came up in a conversation with the wonderful Araceli Zuniga, who is based in Chicago and grew up in nearby Madison—and incidentally drove two hours to visit—was that for decades artists like Agnes Martin or Judy Chicago left the big cultural centers in search of more space and time to devote to their work. And during the pandemic, this became kind of a mainstream (or at least less taboo) thing to do for a lot of people.
But the nature of decentralizing is that you ultimately find yourself in places and among communities where there are fewer likeminded folks around or, at the very least, it takes a lot more effort and time to reach them and you will more often have to explain yourself. This can lead to some fascinating conversations, but it also requires patience.
In my experience, it also necessitates feeling comfortable with a kind of cultural isolation or simply the economy of scale. In smaller communities, cultural offerings are just… small. Sometimes very narrow, maybe even nonexistent. It’s one thing to see on social media how others are also heading out to—or, in my case, choosing to stay in—dispersed places in a similar creative, DIY spirit. But when striking out on your own, how do you connect or stay connected with the people and the energy that drives what you do?
Where in the city there are events on a rolling basis and always plenty of art folks to run into, the relationship is much different in places away from the hubs. It requires slowing down, being intentional, constantly introducing yourself—your approach to your work or even defining what your work actually is—and pretty much incessantly questioning whether it makes sense to be there.
Of course, it’s a compromise. Despite relative remoteness, there is plentiful time and space. It is often much more affordable to both live and work in a small community, and there are basically no constraints on what you can do. Whether or not the people who actually want to participate will be able to get there is another factor. The coin certainly has two sides. But in spite of all of the waffling back and forth, there must be something there… or we wouldn’t work so hard to make it work. Right?
As an aside, I’ve been researching the work of Robert E. Gard, who collaborated on and implemented tenets of the historic and progressive Wisconsin Idea in arts and education in the mid-20th century, producing some fabulous initiatives and books related to art in non-urban areas, like Prairie Visions and the “Windmill Project,” a national plan for art in the small community.
See you next week!
—Kate
P.S. I can’t believe I’ve made 50 of these digests already! Thanks so much for being here and for your support and encouragement. I love the emails I get in response each week. Here’s to the next 50.
Consider becoming a paid subscriber and directly support this newsletter and independent arts writing on Dovetail. You’ll be the first to see new opportunities, with access to the entire list all in one place—updated a few times each week.
What you’ll find below:
Featured project: Revue Collé
Featured artist: Matthew Kirk
Five exhibitions to see in Brooklyn, London, and Los Angeles
Thirteen opportunities for artists with deadlines coming up soon
Sponsor
Featured Project: Revue Collé
A weekly email exploring the world of contemporary collage, Collé highlights artists working in collage, assemblage, appropriation, and alternative photographic methods. Join the community of readers with the free newsletter delivered every Wednesday. Each issue spotlights a new artist, offering a unique glimpse into their creative process through the eyes of our curators and the artists themselves.
Featured Artist: Matthew Kirk
Matthew Kirk is known for reinterpreting building materials into sculptural work, often composed of numerous tiles with glyphic imagery and references to landscape, animals, directionality, and essential geometric abstraction.
Kirk draws on his Navajo heritage to investigate the relationship between found materials, traditional Diné weaving practices, and visual symbols associated with Indigenous American experience. In his show Digging a Hole Into the Sun, he “[exploits] the hackneyed to both embrace and question imposed cultural tropes.”
Digging a Hole Into the Sun continues through October 15 at Halsey McKay Gallery in East Hampton, New York.
Exhibitions
BROOKLYN | ORTEGA Y GASSET PROJECTS
Hannah Parrett: Wooden Gloves
Ornament and architecture emerge as central themes in Hannah Parrett’s sculptural works. The exhibition text describes how the artist’s symbolism “creates a tension between fostering an intimate relationship with a familiar interior world and the need to dissolve its boundaries.” OyG is hosting a closing event on October 12 at 2 p.m., when Hannah Parrett will be in conversation with artist Mark Joshua Epstein.
Runs through October 13
LONDON | 1897
Freedom in Multitudes
The inaugural show of 1897 Gallery, which specializes in Black and African art, opens with work by Afeez Onakoya, Amanda Shingirai Mushate, Anne Adams, Nola Ayoola, Rachel Seidu, Roisin Jones, Sola Olulode, Ousmane Bâ (pictured), and Uthman Wahaab.
Runs through October 14
LONDON | HUXLEY PARLOUR
Lorena Torres: El Milagro es la Pereza de Dios [The Miracle is the Idleness of God]
Colombian artist Lorena Torres presents a suite of paintings deeply rooted in the artist’s upbringing on the her home nation’s Caribbean coast through the lens of miracles, the absurd, and the spectacle of performance.
Runs through October 26
LONDON | HERALD ST
Mathew Cerletty: Bended Knee
Seven of Cerletty’s vibrant portrayals of everyday objects set against flat expanses of color comprise Bended Knee at Herald St.’s Museum Street location. Love this from the exhibition text: “The works quickly escalate in scale from intimate to monumental, at once giving off an air of plastic sterility, triggering a familiar emotional pull, and inciting palpable self-awareness at a bodily level.”
Runs through November 2
LOS ANGELES | PHILIP MARTIN GALLERY
Rema Ghuloum: Atmospheres
Stunning paintings by Rema Ghuloum emerge from multiple layers of color, creating—as the title suggests—atmospheric canvases.
Runs through November 2
Artist Opportunities
Young Space emphasizes fully-funded opportunities with low or no entry fees and programs that focus on creative and professional development for visual artists. Deadlines are coming up soon to apply for these grants, fellowships, residencies, and more.
Paid subscribers, check out the whole list anytime at yngspc.com/opportunities and enter the password you received in your signup email. Can’t find it? Just shoot me a note. Thank your for your support!
Art Omi Residencies
Deadline: October 15
Art Omi: Artists invites artists, critics, and curators from around the world—representing a wide diversity of artistic styles and practices—to gather in rural New York to experiment, collaborate, and share ideas. Each session, two dozen international artists are invited to the program, along with two critics/curators who participate as Critic Emeritus and Critic/Curator-in-Residence. There is no fee to attend, and a variety of fellowships are available.
Submission fee: none
Great Basin National Park 2025 Artist-in-Residence
Deadline: October 15
At the remote Great Basin National Park, artists will be surrounded by the natural beauty of the park from the 13,063-foot summit of Wheeler Peak to the depths of Lehman Caves. The park offers the solitude of the wilderness and provides expansive and renowned dark-sky stargazing. The park selects artists of many mediums and encourages anybody who considers themselves an artist to apply. GBNP is selecting 3 residents from this call:
Winter: a 2-3 week residency during January and February
Summer: a 2-3 week residency during July and August
Fall: a 2-3 week residency during September and October
The selected artists will be awarded housing (either camping or lodging, depending on the season) but no other stipend. The artists must pay for their own travel as well as food and other expenditures.
Submission fee: none
Rhodes Art for Global Impact Residency
Deadline: October 16
The Rhodes Trust seeks artists committed to the values and vision of the Trust, with a practice rooted in social justice and/or addressing the most pressing issues in the world today. This year's theme for proposals is Radical Joy. Rhodes provides £15,000 stipend; reimbursement for travel and project materials up to £3,000; accommodation at Rhodes House in Oxford, U.K., for two visits: one week at the beginning of the residency, January 2025, and one around the launch of the exhibition, September 2025, for which their travel and accommodation will be provided by the Trust; an exhibition at Rhodes House in Autumn 2025; and inclusion in and access to online events.
Submission fee: none
Creative Scotland Bursaries for Visual Artists and Craft Makers
Deadline: October 22
The purpose of these bursaries is to support visual artists and craft makers in their creative and professional development. VACMA is supported by Creative Scotland through funding from the National Lottery, and in 2024/25, VACMA is offering fixed bursaries of £500 and £1000.
£500 Early-Career Bursary is for artists and makers that have been practicing for less than 5 years. This includes recent graduates (2019 or later) and those that have not studied art formally but have been practicing as an artist or maker for up to 5 years.
£1,000 Bursary is for artists and makers who have been practicing for over 5 years, regardless of whether they have gone through formal education or not.
Submission fee: none
National Parks Arts Foundation Saguaro N.P. Residency
Deadline: October 22
This residency runs June 3 to 27, 2025, and is open to artists working in any media—couples and families are welcome. Housing is provided in a spacious house outside the park (without a separate studio), approximately 30 minutes from each of the two Saguaro N.P. districts, Tucson Mountain, and Rincón Mountain Districts. The participating artist receives a $3,000 stipend. Note: This program is not affiliated with the NPS at Saguaro National Park this program year, but participants receive free access to the park.
Submission fee: none
Squeaky Wheel Workspace Residency 2025
Deadline: October 25
The short-term residency is open to applicants from Buffalo, NY, and across the United States who are seeking resources, time, and support for ongoing projects or the creation of new work. The residency runs for two weeks, from April 4 to 19, 2025. Support includes a $900 stipend, up to $300 in artist fees, accommodations, up to $400 in travel support for non-local residents, and up to $900 optional financial assistance for childcare and/or disability support.
Submission fee: none
VisArts Fleur and Charles Bresler Residency
Deadline: October 25
In honor of patrons Fleur and Charles Bresler, VisArts invites applications and proposals from local, national, and international artists for a four-month residency in Rockville, Maryland. The Bresler Residency provides three dynamic individual artists or collaborative artist groups the gift of time, space, and financial support, along with a unique opportunity to create a new body of work, evolve an existing body of work, or develop a project in a stimulating, supportive environment. Bresler Residents present their work in solo exhibitions at VisArts. VisArts provides studio space free of charge, and provides a $2,000 stipend (housing is not included).
Submission fee: none
Gasworks Residency for Artists Based in Brazil
Deadline: October 28
This residency open call is for an early-career artist based in Brazil. The eleven-week, fully funded residency will take place at Gasworks in London from April 7 to June 23, 2025. Gasworks provides administrative, pastoral, and curatorial support throughout the residency but expect residents to be self-motivated and to lead on the research and production of their own work.
Submission fee: none
Morgan Conservatory 2025 Artist-in-Residence Program
Deadline: October 31
The Morgan's Artist in Residence (AiR) Program offers emerging and established artists from around the world who work with papermaking, book arts, and printing to explore focused projects in our facilities. Selected artists receive 24-hour access to Morgan facilities; a stipend funded by the Windgate Foundation; access to intern assistance during winter and summer internship seasons; assigned storage space for materials and work-in-progress; access to need-based instruction in the studios at the rate of $20/hr; the opportunity to instruct a workshop, participate in an artist talk, and participate in a group exhibition; and discounts on supplies in the Morgan's store.
Submission fee: none
Homiens Art Prize
Deadline: October 31
The Homiens Art Prize is an international, non-acquisitive art prize open to all artists and art forms. Each round, 6 winning artists are exhibited by Homiens, receive an unrestricted cash award of $500, are published in an exhibition catalog, receive an optional interview, and feature in the gallery's publication The Homiens 60.
Submission fee: $20 for 1-3 artworks, then $10 each to enter additional 1 to 3 artworks
Paul and Daisy Soros Fellowships for New Americans
Deadline: October 31
Each year, Paul and Daisy Soros invest in the graduate education of 30 New Americans—immigrants and children of immigrants—who are poised to make significant contributions to U.S. society, culture, or their academic field. Each Fellow receives up to $90,000 in financial support over two years, and they join a lifelong community of New American Fellows.
Submission fee: none
Artadia Awards: Houston
Deadline: November 1
Each year, an open call application is made available in each of the seven active partner cities. In addition to an unrestricted grant of $15,000, awardees can participate in the Artadia Network to receive structured opportunities for valuable new connections and resource sharing as well as receive a dedicated webpage on Artadia’s online Artist Registry.
Submission fee: none
See all opportunities
Paid subscribers can access a full list of all current opportunities anytime—updated at least a couple of times each week.
Whether you’re a free or paid subscriber, you can also browse through listings in earlier digests in the archive.
If you are part of an organization or art business that offers opportunities or services you think artists should know about, consider a featured listing or post. Email me at kate@young-space.com or just reply to this email for more info.
Visit on the Young Space Instagram.
Read more on Dovetail.