An Opportunity for Emerging Artists to Collaborate and Produce New Work!
Work from the 2022 Arts Interchange Exhibit. Foreground by Eric Hess and Derrick Helphenstine. Background by Inique Harris and Whitney Tates.
Program Overview
The North Louisiana Arts Interchange (NLAI) is open to visual artists in North Louisiana and surrounding areas. Over the course of the program, participants will have the opportunity to collaborate directly with other artists from outside their respective locations eventually partnering into pairs to produce new work for an exhibition at the culmination of the program.
Details About The Program
The NLAI as a whole will occur from March 9th - August 31st, 2024. For the first 12 weeks, from March 12th through May 28th, the participants will meet online once a week via Zoom for about an hour during which they will explore internet based collaboration through play, dialog, and guest speakers. At the end of each week’s meeting, the participants will be placed in pairs to work on assignments to complete before the next meeting. These assignments are designed to encourage dialog, creativity, and exploration between the partners. Each assignment is accesible for artists of all experience and backgrounds. This pattern of discussion topics and assignments will continue for the first 8 weeks until each artist has worked with one another. The weekly meetings will be held on Tuesdays at 6pm CST.
During week 8’s meeting, the participants will rank-choice vote who they would most enjoy being paired with for a larger project. RLCF will assign pairs based on the votes. The pairs will then be given their artist stipends for the project ($200 per pair) and begin work developing their new art for the exhibition. For the remainder of weeks 8 through 10, the regular group meetings will continue with the pairs reporting their project progress and direction to the group for comment and feedback.
After week 12, the weekly meetings will end with the pairs working on their projects for the next 8 weeks. By July 31, 2023, the artists pairs will deliver their work to RLCF in Ruston. The exhibition of the project will be hosted in Ruston at Creatives At Work from August 5th - September 2nd. All works exhibited must be for sale with at least 20% of proceeds going to RLCF.
Past Arts Interchange Artists
2023
Cullen Breaux | Rodrecas “Drék” Davis | Seth Guerra | Clifton Haacker | Daniel Myers | Jessica Ray | Jennifer Robison | Callan Thornton
2022
Derrick Helphenstine | Kendall DeShea | Inique Harris | Chris Wicker | Whitney Tates | Eric Hess | Keldrick Dunn | Jessica Ann
2021 (North Louisiana Virtual Residency - precursor to the Arts Interchange)
Beenish Ahmed | Ayesha Ali | Eman Fatima | April Fitzpatrick | Robyn Gibson | Chris King | Cristina Koutsolioutsou | Shannon Moriarty | Oluwakayode Moyosade | Sangram Mukhopadhyay | Sarah Nguyen | Kinnari Saraiya | Eden Radfarr | Mami Takahashi | Emily Tironi | Ally Zlatar
2020 (North Louisiana Virtual Residency - precursor to the Arts Interchange)
Renee Allie | Thom Bennett | Julie Crews | Christiane Drieling | Nicole Duet | Wendy Dulaney | Frank Hamrick | Kate Hilburn | Nick Hobbs | Raluca Iancu | Andi Moran | Nick Peña | Bethany Raybourn | Monty Russell | Jennifer Sheuer | Joey Slaughter | Esther Sullivan | Patricia Tait Jones | Akeylah Wellington
Weekly Zoom Meetings help make this opportunity more accessible for artists from all backgrounds.
Each year’s cohort is made up of artists from various locations and stages of their art journey. It is the unique mix of individuals that makes the experience impactful.
The program culminates in a month long exhibit of the works produced by the participants. The exhibti is hosted in the Creatives At Work Gallery in Downtown Ruston, Louisiana.
Timeline
January 12th - February 29th Applications Open
March 2nd Notification of Acceptance
March 9th Arts Interchange Launch @ Lynn Farms Commissary
March 12th - May 28th Weekly Meetings via Zoom & assigned collaborative
mini projects (first 8 weeks specifically)
April 30th Artists are paired with partners & begin work on project
May 28th Weekly meetings end, pairs continue work on projects
June 25th Monthly Check-in
July 16th Monthly Check-in
August 3rd Community dinner for artists @ Gilbert Center in Ruston, LA
August 3rd Work drop off deadline to Gilbert Center
August 5th - August 31st Exhibition of projects at Creatives At Work Gallery
August 10th Exhibit Reception
Program Total Duration:
March 9th - August 31st 2024
Eligibility
The North Louisiana Arts Interchange is open to all U.S. based emerging visual artists. Special emphasis is being given to North Louisiana artists and those from surrounding areas (East Texas, South Arkansas, Central Mississippi, and South Louisiana).
Application Process
Complete the Application Process by 11:59pm CST February 29th.
Applications will be reviewed by RLCF staff and board members
Artists will be considered based on their work submitted and stated interest in the program
All artists will be notified of acceptance/rejection by March 2nd.
Your Application will include:
Head shot and bio/artist statement
Resume including related experience and website information (if you have a website)
A statement (max 2 pages) about your desire to participate in the North Louisiana Arts Interchange
In your statement, please explain what you hope to gain or learn in this experience
Submit images/videos of 5-10 examples of your artwork, file names should include title and creation date for each work submitted
Agreement to pay the $30 commitment fee, if accepted
Criteria used for determining eligibility
Quality of existing body of work
Evidence that this program is a natural fit in the artist’s existing work and intentions
Alignment between the artist’s intentions for the program and RLCF’s goal of cultivating community and collaboration between artists
Applicant must be over 18 years of age, be able to speak English, and have reliable internet access