Macon Arts Alliance announces Nationwide Call for Artists for Mill Hill Visiting Artist Program

Macon Arts Alliance seeks two US-based social practice artists for a visiting artist program as part of the cultural planning process for Mill Hill: East Macon Arts Village. Artists with a history of socially engaged work, especially those with experience working on a neighborhood scale, are invited to apply. Complete details are available here.

Mill Hill: East Macon Arts Village is a creative placemaking initiative of the Macon Arts Alliance in partnership with the Macon-Bibb County Urban Development Authority, the residents of East Macon’s Fort Hawkins Neighborhood, and many local stakeholders. The Mill Hill Visiting Social Practice Artist Residency is a 3 to 9-month residency that brings together social practice artists, residents, and local artists.

“Our model envisions building relationships between artists and neighbors as a form of social capital that empowers residents,” said Jonathan Harwell-Dye, director of creative placemaking at Macon Arts Alliance. “Artists and neighbors will work side-by-side as agents of change.”

During their residency, visiting artists will work with local artists to engage the neighborhood in creative projects that will result in a creative assets map and cultural master plan for the neighborhood. These artists will partner with key stakeholders to develop programming that engages residents, families, and youth living in the area.

“The cultural planning process is designed to be a creative platform for community building in East Macon’s Fort Hawkins Neighborhood,” said Harwell-Dye. “By building on local gifts and talents, the cultural plan will reflect a shared vision for the future and empower local residents and artists to work together to realize that vision.”

The Mill Hill Visiting Social Practice Residency Program is open to all US-based artists with a history of socially engaged work. Selected artists will be provided with a stipend of $3,500 per month, paid on the first day of each month, along with a housing allowance to live in a renovated home in the Mill Hill: East Macon Arts Village during 2016. Residencies are 3-9 months in length and should culminate in the public presentation of one or more arts-based, community building projects.

The deadline to apply is December 31, 2015 at 11:59 p.m. EST. Finalists will be interviewed January 10-15, 2016. Selected artists will be notified by January 20, 2016. Interested artists should apply online here.

This project is supported in part by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts and a Community Grant and Neighborhood Grant from the Community Foundation of Central Georgia. To find out more about how NEA grants impact individuals and communities, visit www.arts.gov. Learn more about the Community Foundation of Central Georgia at www.cfcga.org.