Family Residency Program

I-Park is pleased to announce that it will be hosting a Family-Friendly Residency from August 1 to August 14, 2016. Four artists and their families (a spouse/partner and up to three children) will be selected for this experimental program.

The residency will be multi-disciplinary, with each selected artist provided with a private studio appropriate for their discipline. The living arrangements within the residence facility, to which three of the four families will be assigned, will be communal, and could be snug. The house has six bedrooms and three and a half bathrooms. Each family will be provided with two bedrooms and a bathroom: one bedroom for the artist and their spouse/partner (or, if there is no spouse/partner, the person responsible for child care) and one bedroom for the child/children. The fourth family will be assigned to the Pond Studio, which is a much more rustic setting. The Pond Studio is about a 10 minute walk from the main facility, which is where the bathroom and shower facilities are located. The Pond Studio is a heated/air-conditioned 200 square foot space with a cloth divider in the middle for visual privacy. While the camp-like living conditions in the Pond Studio will not be as refined as for those living in the residence facility, the setting by the pond is exceptional and the space is very private and quiet.

One of I-Park’s artist’s studios will be set aside as a shared Children’s Studio – where the artists may wish to expose their children to artmaking during the residency. Some basic art supplies will be provided in this space. The children using this space must at all times be supervised by an adult family member or the childcare provider assigned to the particular child.

I-Park will offer a free local summer camp option for those parents wishing to send their children off-site during the day so they can spend uninterrupted time in the studio. For those parents who do not wish to send their children to camp, the artist’s spouse/partner or childcare provider can utilize the Children’s Studio and/or explore the trails and the rich natural setting that exists at I-Park.

I-Park staff will be available to assist with coordination of activities. However, I-Park will not be providing on-site child care. Child care at all times will be sole the responsibility of the artists/spouses/partners.

The program is limited to children between the ages of one and seventeen.

I-Park has partnered with the following to provide off-site summer programs. Each program runs Monday through Friday and will be free of charge:

• East Haddam Park and Recreation Camp (indoor/outdoor camp), East Haddam, CT: ages 4 to grade 8, 8am to 3pm
• Little Noises Care and Preschool Center (indoor center/outdoor facility), East Haddam, CT: ages 1 to 12, 8am to 4pm
• 9 Town Transit will provide transportation to and from the off-site camping programs Monday through Friday

Key Elements of the Program

• This program is offered free of charge to accepted/invited artists and their families, though there is a $30.00 application fee that helps defray the cost of the selection panel. The only major artists’ expenses are for personal art supplies/materials and transportation to and from the area. A complimentary pickup at a Connecticut airport or bus/train station at the beginning of the session, and a drop-off at the end, is offered.

• The format is self-directed, non-judgmental: you decide what you’re going to work on and when.

• Free off-site camp for children.
• In addition to the amenities outlined above, a meal program as well as shared amenities will be provided: artists’ kitchen, Common Area, library, wireless internet.
• Application materials are processed through a convenient online submission system.
• I-Park supports mixed-discipline residencies and this session will be made up of some combination of individuals from among the following creative fields:

• Visual Arts, including sculpture, environmental art, installation, photography
• Music Composition/Sound Art
• Architecture
• Creative Writing
• Landscape/Garden/Ecological Design
• Moving Image, including video and film art, new media, documentary, animation, virtual reality