2025 APPLICATIONS OPEN JULY 2024.

2024 RESIDENCY APPLICATIONS ARE CLOSED.

This Residency takes place fifty miles south of Dallas, Texas in the historic downtown of Corsicana. Two oil booms in the 1890s and 1920s produced an exuberant setting which declined in care and use by the late-20th century, to the general compromise of small-town America. Since 2012 alongside downtown rejuvenation, founders of this project have established a collection of sites – 100 West, Storefront, Anteroom, Writers House – and the Corsicana Artist & Writer Residency supports international creative work inside this architecture and narrative bridging the cultural and geographic American South and West. The Residency shares this work in programs for education, exhibition and publication to develop transformative dialogue with audiences near and far.

100 WEST is a former Odd Fellows lodge virtually unaltered since its 1890s construction, preserved and minimally furnished for intensely focused studio and living space, with pieces designed and built by founding artists in the first-floor wood shop. Across the street is ANTEROOM for window-front exhibitions, and two-blocks south is the Residency’s STOREFRONT for books and art. The WRITERS HOUSE accommodates alumni ten-blocks west in the Carriage District neighborhood.

RESIDENCY OUTLINE

2-Month Terms in 2024. Writers may opt for 1-Month Residency.

• WINTER: January 8 - February 27

• SPRING: March 4 - April 30

• FALL: October 14 - December 10

Residents are granted private studios with complete lodging at 100 West.

2 Artists and 1 Writer hosted each term.

Video documentation is granted to encapsulate each resident’s work.

Residents connect with Dallas’ art and literature communities at openings and special visits.

Residents connect with Corsicana’s community of support at downtown and Storefront events.

Residents participate in the these public programs:

• Open Studios: last Saturday of residency term from 12 - 4 PM.

• Presentation: 20-minutes, Artists deliver projected image / video / slideshow of past, current work. Writers deliver readings.

• High School Workshop: 40-minute presentation / workshop in the classroom setting. Details tailored to resident's interest and experience with the Residency Coordinator.

Studio focus and productivity is the residency’s first priority; social programming is second.

Residents are self-directed and self-sufficient in the studio without technical or production assistance from the residency.

APPLICATION

6 artists and 4 writers (approximately) accepted for residency in 2024.

Applications open to artists and writers from the United States and international origins.

Collaborative applications welcomed, maximum 2 residents / studio. Submit one application.

Alumni residents not eligible to reapply (contact residency director for off-season use and Writers House retreats).

Ceramic and aerosol-based work not accommodated.

Performance and sound-focused applicants should inquire before applying by contacting residency director to ensure the residency can support their practice successfully.

Artist Applicants submit 5 examples of work.

Writer Applicants submit 2 examples of work, max 2000 words each.

References (2 required) may submit recommendation letters (optional) up to one week past Sept. 1, by Sept. 8.

Application Fee $30.

Applicants notified of acceptance, waitlist or decline by October 1, 2023.

Accepted applicants confirm their 2024 residency dates in the first week of October.

Applicants must review details below before submitting an application.

FUNDING

Funding covers all studio and lodging accommodations and public programming. Accepted applicants who commit to a residency term are responsible for a one-time, non-refundable $200 Administration Fee paid to the residency by November 1, 2023. No additional costs to attend. Travel, meal, material and research expenses are not funded and are the resident's responsibility.

100 WEST STUDIOS

Constructed as an Odd Fellows Lodge in the 1890s, this unaltered building offers a third-floor artist studio in the original Encampment Hall, a third-floor writing studio in the Encampment Hall’s ante-chamber, and a second-floor artist studio in a former community meeting hall. A kitchen, dining and living room are shared on the second-floor. A laundry room with machine washer and dryer is on the first-floor. Two digital projectors (4500 and 6000 lumen) available for studio use. The building is furnished with period and artist-made pieces produced in the first-floor wood shop in the monastic tone defining 100 West.

Expectations for residents’ care of studios do not tolerate any lasting trace of a resident’s practice or work. Drop cloths and underlayment are provided. Expenses to repair damage from negligent use apply to residents. Residents are expected to return their studios in the same condition as provided.

SECOND-FLOOR ARTIST STUDIO

THIRD-FLOOR ARTIST STUDIO

• 2400 square-foot studio (222 square-meters)

• Wood floor, 13' ceiling, concrete walls

• Two 3 x 6’ worktables, two moveable stand-alone 8 x 8' work walls, easel, desk

• 500 square-foot bedroom, extra-long twin bed, bath attached to studio

THIRD-FLOOR WRITING STUDIO

• 400 square-foot studio (37 square-meters)

• Wood floor, 13’ ceiling, drywall

• Two large desks

• Spiral staircase to rooftop

• Extra-long twin bed, full bath attached to studio

IMPORTANT NOTE for WRITING STUDIO: the third-floor is shared by one artist and one writer. True to the original floor plan, the Writing Studio is still a hallway on one side of the room to access the Artist Studio. An 8’ tall, floating wall with doors on either side spans the full-width of the Writing Studio for privacy of bed, workspace and bathroom. A second writing desk beneath the window is in the hallway area. Resident writers must be comfortable with the sound of a fellow resident passing through the hall. Follow this link to view more studio photos and details of the writing studio layout.

ACCOMMODATIONS

Bed and bath accommodations include an extra-long twin bed, pillows, sheets, blankets, bath towels, and closets for clothes and personal belongings. Each resident has a personal bathroom with sink and lavatory. Writing Studio bathroom includes a clawfoot tub. The shower room is shared on the second-floor and cleaned weekly.

Kitchen is shared and furnished with standard appliances - refrigerator, oven, cooktop, microwave, blenders - with dishes, utensils, basic spices.

Laundry room with machine washer and dryer with supplied detergent is available on the first-floor.

Wi-Fi Internet is available throughout 100 West.

100 West remains private to residents, with locked street-level doors accessible only to residents and staff.

Visitors may book brief stays at accommodations in the Carriage District 10-blocks from 100 West.

Families are not accommodated.

Pets are not accommodated.

TRANSPORTATION & ACCESSIBILITY

Cars are not necessary. For residents bringing a car to Corsicana, parallel parking spaces are located alongside 100 West.

Bicycles with baskets are available for use downtown and to the neighborhood.

Grocery stores are accessible on foot / bike within five blocks of 100 West.

Café’s, restaurants, post office, tailor, hardware shops, copy center, YMCA (fitness center) are within a five-block radius.

Air-Travel to Corsicana: nearest airports are Dallas-Love Field (1-hour north) and Dallas-Fort Worth International (1.5-hours north).

Car-rides to and from the airports to Corsicana are complimentary upon residency term arrival and departure dates. Rides to and from airports outside of these dates or for visits in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex can be scheduled with a local ride service for approximately $80 - $100 round-trip.

Corsicana’s downtown is largely walkable for general, everyday needs and life.

100 West is accessible only by steep staircase, without elevator. Please contact residency director for mobility concerns.

CLIMATE

100 West is heated adequately for Fall and Winter terms with 1940s Dearborn gas heaters.

No central air-conditioning exists. For warmer Spring days in April, residents may use portable air-conditioning units that exhaust through the window. Generally, no air-conditioning is used and windows are cracked for cross-breeze.

Fans are available throughout 100 West.

Summer heat and limited access to air-conditioning forces annual hiatus May 1 through October 15.

LOCAL COMMUNITY

This Residency connects intimately with downtown Corsicana – the shops, restaurants, services, and people living here. Corsicana represents many expectations of a small town in rural Texas with a southern culture of hospitality. Corsicana’s population of 26,000 is predominately Christian (Baptist, Protestant, Catholic), socially and politically conservative, and combines approximately one-third each of African American, White and Hispanic races. This Residency welcomes all nationalities, races, gender identifications, and sexual orientations into an accepting environment, surrounded with generous local support that we expect to welcome differences from their own identity generalized above. Part of this residency’s mission is to engage residents with locals, through residency events, downtown programs, and invitations from locals to their homes for meals. Residents are expected to respect the ranging composition of values, beliefs and politics encountered in Corsicana. The residency’s priority is to provide private and focused studio space and time without interruption for self-directed work in a safe and welcoming environment.

Artists and writers come to Corsicana to pursue extensive studio work within a two-month frame. It's quiet here with a focus stimulated by small-town atmosphere and massive windows. Residents generally prepare meals individually, with a tendency to cook dinner together several times per week. A taco shop, Mexican restaurant, and lunch café neighbor 100W for affordable and delicious meals. The rooftop is ideal to watch sunsets and storms roll-in. Freight trains pass three blocks away with horns sounding regularly. The local Opry hosts country bands on weekends. Occasionally guests from Texas’ creative community, galleries, museums and friends are invited for studio visits and dinner. Community extends across the street from 100W with several private live-work studios of this residency’s founders.

WRITERS HOUSE retreats for alumni

WRITERS HOUSE is a 1912 Arts and Crafts home for non-funded writers, with preference to returning alumni, to pursue self-directed work in quiet focus, in close proximity to 100 West, the Storefront and Historic Downtown. Opened in late 2022 after three years of careful preservation, restoration and updating, this beautiful American Four-Square with a huge wrap-around porch retains the character and detail of its original design.

CORSICANA ARTIST AND WRITER RESIDENCY advances the production and presentation of new work and ideas by an international community of artists and writers by providing an arena of generous support and historic space enriched by Corsicana’s legacies, fifty miles south of Dallas, Texas.