2013 McKnight Artist Residencies for Ceramic Artists 
The McKnight Artist Residencies for Ceramic Artists Program is designed to provide national and international, mid-career individual ceramic artists an opportunity to be in residence for three months at Northern Clay Center, where they can develop their own work and, at the same time, exchange ideas and knowledge with Minnesota ceramic artists. This program intends to recognize and support ceramic artists whose work demonstrates exceptional artistic merit, who have already proven their abilities, and are at a career stage that is beyond emerging. Residencies will take place during the 2014 calendar year. Two to four 3-month residencies will be awarded annually through a competitive application process; one to two artists will be selected for a 2 - 3-month residencies through a nominative process.

Each resident artist will receive a $6,000 award (for three-month residencies) and will be provided studio space at no cost, and a glaze and firing allowance. At the end of each residency, each artist will present a public workshop, for which he or she will receive a $300 honorarium. Residents' work will also be included in a catalogue and group exhibition featuring other McKnight-funded artists. Artists are required to submit a final report at the end of the grant period.

This program is made possible by the generous support of The McKnight Foundation, Minneapolis.

Eligibility Requirements

  • You cannot be a resident of Minnesota.
  • You must be a ceramic artist. Your work may be either functional or sculptural. Your work may incorporate other materials, but must be primarily ceramic.
  • You must have completed all formal academic training and may not be enrolled either full-time or part-time in school.
  • You must provide evidence of your professional achievements over a period of at least five years, through inclusion in major regional or national museum or gallery exhibitions, or juried or invitational craft shows, or receipt of other awards, grants, or fellowships.
  • Your work must demonstrate a sustained level of accomplishment, commitment, and excellence.
  • You may apply to only one of the organizations per year offering fellowship grants that are supported by McKnight funds.
  • Artists who have previously received an NCC McKnight Artist Fellowship award in any discipline cannot apply again until three years after the date of their award. (A 2012 award recipient cannot apply again until the 2015 grant cycle.)
  • Fellowship staff from any McKnight Artist Fellowship program are not eligible.
  • Northern Clay Center staff and board are not eligible, as well as immediate family members of Northern Clay Center staff.
  • Staff and board of The McKnight Foundation are not eligible, as well as immediate family members of foundation arts program staff.

Schedule

Completed application forms and application materials must be received at Northern Clay Center in hard copy by 5 pm on Friday, April 19, 2013. THIS IS NOT A POSTMARK DEADLINE. No faxed, emailed, or late applications will be accepted.

Applications will be reviewed by a three member panel, that will select recipients on the basis of perceived artistic excellence and demonstrated professional achievement, using artist statement as support material. Applicants will be notified of the outcome of the selection process in May 2013.

For questions, contact Christian Novak at christiannovak@northernclaycenter.org or 612.339.8007 x305.

Application Process

You must submit the following materials. Incomplete applications will not be reviewed.
  • A completed application form.
  • A disc with 10 digital images and a printed copy of a corresponding image list. (Discs will not be returned.) Please do not display your name on the image. Images will be projected on the wall and viewed one at a time. Image files should be labeled with last name, first initial, and numbers, indicating your preferred viewing order (example: doej1.jpg). Do not include any other information in the filename. The image list must include artist name, date of work, dimensions of work, medium, and image orientation. Digital images must be saved as JPEG’s at 96 pixels per inch (ppi) and should not measure greater than 10 2/3 inches (or 1024 pixels) along the image’s longest dimension. For additional information regarding image size and format, please visit Submitting Digital Images.
  • A current resume (maximum of five 8 1/2" x 11" pages), with your name at the top of each page.
  • An artist statement (maximum of two 8 1/2" x 11" pages, unstapled), with your name at the top of each page.
Download 2013 McKnight Residency Application Form (pdf).

2012 McKnight REsident Artists
Northern Clay Center congratulates the recipients of the 2012 McKnight Artist Residencies for Ceramic Artists. Recipients of $6,000 residency awards are Pattie Chalmers, Carbondale, Illinois; Haejung Lee, Baton Rouge, Louisiana; Ann-Charlotte Ohlsson, Bornholm, Denmark and Nick Renshaw, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

Each artist will be in residence for three months at the Clay Center throughout 2013. Each will present a public slide lecture during his/her residency. As part of the grant, the Clay Center will present a group exhibition of the work completed during the McKnight Residency periods.

This program, sponsored by The McKnight Foundation in Minneapolis, Minnesota, reflects the Foundation's interest in supporting outstanding individual ceramic artists who have already proven their abilities and are at a career stage that is beyond emerging. This is the 13th year of the program. Two fellowship grants and four residency grants are awarded annually.