The Dougherty Arts Center (DAC), a City of Austin-run cultural arts space, has launched an open call for applications for its Visual Artist Residency Volunteer Work Exchange Program.
Dougherty Arts Center
DAC supports local artists through a variety of initiatives, including the DAC Theater, the Julia C. Butridge Gallery, artist professional development opportunities, and the Dougherty Arts School. The residency program provides visual artists with studio space and time to dedicate to their art practice. Considered a work exchange program, the selected artists agree to work approximately six to ten hours each week. The residency term is six months with the possibility to renew for up to a total of two years.
Current residents include emerging artists Chelsea Biggerstaff, Chance Ramirez, and Diane Sung. Learn more about the current artists below, via biographies provided by DAC.
DAC is accepting applications from emerging and established ceramic artists living in the Austin area (defined as within Bastrop, Blanco, Burnet, Caldwell, Hays, Travis, or Williamson counties). Eligible emerging artists must be over 18 years old and agree to and be able to clear a Criminal Background Investigation. Established artists must have received a college degree within the field of application, have experience with studio operations, have previous experience leading workshops or classes, and have current representation through galleries or in publications.
Applications will be reviewed by an anonymous panel of judges, including arts professionals, arts administrators, educators, and community members. Applicants will be reviewed based on artist need, community involvement and impact, experience, and artistic merit.
The application deadline is Sunday, September 15, 2024, at 11:59 p.m. To read the full application guidelines and apply, visit the DAC’s Submittable page.
Current Dougherty Visual Artist Residents
Chelsea Biggerstaff. Image courtesy of the Dougherty Arts Center.
Chelsea Biggerstaff
Chelsea Biggerstaff discovered her love of working with clay at age eight when she walked into her first ceramic teacher’s backyard studio. Inspired by her teacher she created a backyard studio and started creating small colorful functional pieces of pottery and creative experiences that spark queer joy and bring people back to that imaginative childhood space. When she is not in her studio or at the Dougherty Arts Center, she manages the Faculty Development Office at Austin Community College where she uses her creativity, educational development background, and positive spirit to inspire and learn from the hardworking faculty at ACC.
Chance Ramirez. Image courtesy of the Dougherty Arts Center.
Chance Ramirez
Chance Ramirez (they/them/she/her) has a background in studio art, craft, and art therapy. Inspired by a career in mental health, they make hand-built works about pleasure, pain, and joyful resistance for people who like getting lost in the details. Using an abundance of textures and colors, Mx. Ramirez invites the audience to reach outward and inward with curiosity. Their work attempts to answer the question, “What does it mean to be human?”
Diane Sung. Image courtesy of the Dougherty Arts Center.
Diane Sung
Diane Sung is a ceramic artist currently based in Austin, TX. She earned her BFA from the Kansas City Art Institute in Kansas City, MO. Her work is driven by the complexities of the human experience with language and she seeks to explore these narratives in her sculptures. Though her practice is primarily based in ceramic sculpture, she also works through drawing, printmaking, and claymation. Having grown up in a bilingual environment, learning about other languages is her greatest passion outside of the visual arts.
