Residency Dates: June 26, 2022 - July 16, 2022
Application Deadline: January 21, 2022
Carmelita Tropicana (aka Alina Troyano) has been performing in New York’s downtown arts scene since the 1980s, straddling the worlds of performance art and theater with irreverent humor, subversive fantasy and bilingual puns. She received a United States Artists Fellowship (2021), a Guggenheim Fellowship (2017) for her current project Live Memoir and a Creative Capital award (2016) for Give Me Carmelita Tropicana! a collaboration with playwright Branden Jacobs-Jenkins. Recent works include sci-fi performances Schwanze-Beast (2018) and Post Plastica (2013). Her publications include Memories of the Revolution: The First Ten Years of the WOW Café Theater (2015) edited with Holly Hughes and Jill Dolan published by the University of Michigan Press and Carmelita Tropicana: Performing Between Cultures (2000) a Beacon Press publication.
Residency Statement:
I discovered something important during the pandemic. Being in a room, even on zoom, full of artists talking about work and their art practice made me happy, gave me solace, helped me endure. That is why I’m excited to be part of the Atlantic Center for the Arts mentorship program.
I consider myself an intuitive artist whose path to a life in the arts was circuitous. In practical terms, I bring my experience as a mentor to this program, one that includes writing and performing for over three decades, teaching performance composition at various universities, and lately leading professional development workshops for LatinX artists.
My aim is to create a safe space where we can be open minded, share work, entertain questions, voice doubts, give respectful feedback. We will speak, listen, and engage in dialogue acknowledging the importance of making art with a sense of play.
The time we spend together will include prompts from artists in multiple disciplines from writers to choreographers and taking a cue from Cervantes who said: “all sorrows are less with bread” there will be shared meals to enjoy a collegial arts salon.
I welcome artists of all disciplines to apply and whether you have a formed project that needs further development or are looking to create something new and have just a hunch or an idea, I invite you to apply.
Lastly but most importantly, I’d like us to consider how the work we are making reflects and or responds to the many problems of the world today.
I hope you will join me as we venture into the unknown to discover new possibilities.
Application Requirements:
- Bio and CV
- 5 images of your work and video of work. Video can be online link YouTube, Vimeo, website, etc. and no more than 10 minutes.
- A letter of intent that includes answers to the following: What made you choose a life in the arts? What has been a major change in your life? How have you coped with the pandemic? Who are your artistic influences? What do you want to get out of this residency?
Residency Fee: Waived for this Residency (Includes a weekday meals and housing; does not include artist materials, transportation, or weekend meals.)
For details, please visit the mentoring artist details page.
Application fee: $25