CATS+ Spring 2024 Residency Open Call
| Name | CATS+ Spring 2024 Residency Open Call |
| Application Opens | Feb 7, 2024 |
| Deadline | Feb 21, 2024 |
| Type | Residency · Educational · Open Call · Community |
| Link |
Residency Details
The CATS+ (Collaborative Art + Technology Situation) Residency is a 3-month collaborative program at The Museum of Human Achievement for artists + tech wizards that is grounded in critical thought, experimentation, and care.
Residents participate in weekly gatherings to learn collaboratively, share their processes, and co-create projects to show at MoHA!
We offer a $1,250 stipend, cohort-based learning, visiting mentors, 24/7 access to MoHA equipment and workspaces including the IRL tech studio, and a platform to share your work.
We ask that residents:
- Attend weekly Computer Club sessions. Make full use of the time and resources for the creation, exploration, research, and development of collaborative, creative projects.
- Be open to learning from each other, sharing, and growing together.
- Work with process-sharing in mind. Lead a demo and contribute to 1 or more wiki articles to share techniques, processes, or ideas related to a project you're working on.
- Contribute to a final showcase or other public event, as determined collaboratively by staff and residents.
If you have questions, please read our FAQs or reach out to Rachel Stuckey, Director of Digital Arts at rachel@themuseumofhumanachievement.com
Timeline
Feb 15 - Applicant support workshop
Feb 21 - Application deadline
Feb 24 (Updated to Feb 26!) - Notification date
March 13 - June 6 - Residency dates
About CATS+
CATS+ (Collaborative Art + Technology Situation) is a residency and community program at The Museum of Human Achievement that encourages thoughtful, critical, and creative engagement with technology. The CATS+ Residency Program groups cohorts of artists and tech wizards together to learn, make new projects, and share their process. We host collaborations, artist-led workshops, hangouts, public showcases, and a wiki to remove the mystery from tech and make magic together.
CATS+ creates access for underrepresented artists and under-resourced community members to critically incorporate technology and digital media into their practices through one-on-one mentorship, tool access, skill-building workshops, and community. It offers technologists the opportunity to share knowledge and explore artistic, cultural frameworks.
Eligibility
Must live in the Austin area.
Applicants at all skill and career levels/fields are welcome. We encourage applications from individuals who have experienced barriers to and are seeking access to media and tech tools, knowledge, and community.
Expected time investment is 6-10 hours per week.
Not for full-time university students or previous CATS+ residents.
Application
Tell us about you, what you're interested in learning and sharing, and include some links or a PDF of work samples. Don't sweat it - we don't need anything fancy. ;)
FAQs
How many residents are selected? Six residents per session. There is additional space for drop-in participants and mentors.
How often does CATS+ happen? Twice per year. The spring session is open-ended, and the winter session is part of the MoHA Holiday Play.
What are the weekly Computer Club sessions like?
The first few meetings are for getting to know each other and playing around with small collaborative projects. The majority of sessions are for resident and guest led demos, collaborating on ideas, and troubleshooting in-progress projects. The final weeks are for preparing, holding, and wrapping up the final showcase.
Do I need to pitch a project idea?
Nope! It’s helpful to have some directions you’re interested in pursuing, but due to the collaborative and exploratory nature of the residency it works best to be open to new ideas. This is a process oriented residency, so we’re most interested in hearing about what you’d like to try out, explore, or learn more about.
How do the projects and collaborations work?
Collaborations can look like duo or small-group projects, large explorations everyone contributes to, solo projects with support from other residents, or something else. Past residents have explored numerous small projects, iterated on one larger project, or anything in between.
Does participating as a drop-in or mentor disqualify me from being a full CATS+ resident in the future?
Absolutely not! We recommend it as a way to start getting involved and building community.
Is there a big bang event at the end?
We aim for a medium bang! The focus of the residency is on process. The final showcase is designed to give residents a deadline to work towards, share residents’ tech art processes with the public, and grow the media art community in Austin. We encourage residents to continue developing their projects for future exhibitions or events in Austin, elsewhere, or back at MoHA.
Ethical Considerations
While we understand that resident projects are creative in nature, we still ask that Residents honor digital ethics and take responsibility to avoid causing social or environmental harm. MoHA does not endorse projects that involve NFTs, cryptocurrency, or microtransactions. We ask that you consider the broader impact of your project, especially if it can be accessed out of context. All projects are required to prioritize data privacy and user security.
Other Ways to Participate
You can become a drop-in participant or a mentor. Let us know you’re interested by signing up on our Wizard Registry.
Drop-in participants attend when they can and are eligible for the final showcase by attending 3+ sessions. Drop-ins can receive mini-stipends for wiki contributions, demos, and show participation, plus IRL Studio and MoHA facility access during Open Hours.
We are also always looking for mentors in a variety of skill areas for this and other of our digital arts programs. We reach out to mentors that fit the interest areas of our current residents, but also love having folks around who enjoy troubleshooting in general.
