donate
subscribe

Alembic Parent Residency 2026 | Visiting Artist Call

PWNW || LAD invites parent artists from outside the Portland metropolitan area (U.S.-based only) whose work is based primarily in contemporary dance and/or movement investigations to apply for our 2026 Alembic Parent Residency. One parent will be awarded a live-in residency of 7-12 days in August or November 2026.

Note: Currently the visiting and local parent residencies take place in alternating years. The next Portland-area parent residency will take place in 2027.

  1. DEADLINE
  2. VISITING PARENT RESIDENCY (U.S. only)
  3. OUR GOALS
  4. HOUSING AT PWNW
  5. ELIGIBILITY
  6. HOW TO APPLY
  7. APPLICATION QUESTIONS (preview only)
  8. CRITERIA FOR SELECTION

DEADLINE

INTENT TO APPLY
ASAP, but preferably by Monday, January 26, 2026
(We like to get a sense of how many applications to expect.)

APPLICATION DUE
Monday February 9, 2026 at 11:59pm

NOTIFICATION:
On or before March 1, 2026

VISITING PARENT RESIDENCY (U.S. only)

  • One visiting U.S.-based parent artist will be awarded an intensive residency of 7-12 consecutive days (up to 90 hours) at PWNW. Dates TBD in conversation with the artist, choosing from the following dates: August 1-18, 2026 OR November 9-22, 2026
  • Lodging for parent and up to two children or collaborators will be provided onsite. See below for housing description.
  • The artist will receive a stipend of $1800 to assist with travel, food, and childcare costs. If child or children accompany the artist, we will assist with finding camp opportunities and/or sitters.
  • PWNW will arrange for opportunities to engage with the community as desired, e.g. a meal, talk, showing, workshop, etc.
  • PWNW will offer support for connecting to local artists and family-friendly events as desired.

OUR GOALS

PWNW wishes to address the barriers that prevent parent choreographers and dance artists from the ability to engage in an intensive residency by offering a residency that provides studio time plus a stipend to help defray expenses of being away from home, with or without children. .

PWNW seeks to engage a more diverse and inclusive participant body and strives to recognize individuality and create equal opportunities for all, regardless of race, class, gender, ability, ethnicity, sexuality or age. The demographic survey that is part of the application is a tool we hope will help us evaluate our progress towards this goal.

HOUSING AT PWNW

You will be housed at PWNW in the back area (which for 25 years was the home of founders Linda & Jeff!) There is a kitchenette with a refrigerator, microwave and an electric countertop cooktop. For sleeping, there is:

  • one queen-size murphy-type cabinet bed that can remain opened out during the residency.
  • one queen-size trifold mattress than can be used in the studio space or the living area
  • one twin-size futon

There is no washer or dryer, but Linda and Jeff’s condo is a 3-minute walk, and you will be able to do laundry there.

ELIGIBILITY

  • Your work is primarily rooted in dance and/or the body, though it may involve other disciplines.
  • Your work has a focus on experimentation.
  • You are a parent/primary caregiver of at least one child under the age of 18
  • You and your attending children or collaborators are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and agree to adhere to any studio protocols implemented in the studio.
  • You are not enrolled in an academic program during the course of the residency.
  • Visiting Artist: You are a U.S.-based artist from outside the Portland metropolitan area and are able to be in residence at Performance Works NW in Portland, Oregon for 7-12 days during one of these two time periods: August 1-18, 2026 or November 9-22, 2026.

HOW TO APPLY

  1. Send intent to apply:
    Send us a quick email to let us know you are applying.
  2. Preview application questions and criteria
    The application questions and criteria are below.
  3. Fill out our online application form by the deadline January 20, 2026. If you prefer to submit the answers in spoken form via video or audio, please contact us.
  4. Fill out our online demographic form*, also by the same deadline, January 20, 2026. This information, kept anonymous, is used to evaluate the reach and access of our programs and in reporting to our funders.
  5. If you have any questions, email us here.

    *Please note: This information will NOT be made available to the Alembic Parent Residency Panel as a part of your application. The Panel will be provided anonymous aggregated data of the full applicant pool.
click here to apply

APPLICATION QUESTIONS (preview only)

1. Your name, pronouns, and contact info including email, mailing address, phone and websites/social media handles, if any.

2. Bio (200-350 words, or up to 3 minutes spoken)

3. Artist Statement (Please also look at the Criteria for Selection)
Think of the following questions as possible prompts—not as a list of things to tick off. We want to hear about your approach to making work and how it might align with our mission.

  • What does “experimentation” mean in relation to your process and work?
    You might include any interest in the questioning of artistic form or content, hybridity, open-endedness, exploration, how your process addresses the unknown.
  • What are your artistic interests desires and/or goals, especially for the residency period? 
    Other ways to think about this question: What moves you to make the work you make? What are the concepts, materials, processes, structures, or questions that you are investigating?
  • What kind of impact do you want this opportunity to provide you? What do you want to get out of it?

4. Work Sample + Info

Prepare 1 or 2 samples from previous or in-progress work, 5-7 minutes total. You can submit finished work(s), work-in-progress, or a video sketch of work in the studio.

Avoid short clips as in promo or highlight reels. Please make sure each cut or section is at least 2 minutes continuous, not jumping around from high point to high point.

We cannot guarantee that the panel will watch more than 2 minutes of each sample. So choose cue point(s) with that in mind. However, having a longer section available—in case the panel wants to view further–can a good idea!

YouTube or Vimeo links preferred–or possibly some other online platform. The work should as best as possible represent your current areas of investigation.

INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION WITH EACH LINK

  • Title
  • Year of Premiere + Year of Performance, if different
  • Credits, including your role in the production
  • Viewing points if needed – For example: “Please watch minutes 8-11 of this sample.
     →HINT: See how to link to a specific starting point on your video on YouTube and Vimeo
  • Length of sample & length of complete piece, if an excerpt. Also where in the piece this was. For example: “This excerpt begins 30 minutes into a 55 minute piece.”
  • How does this video relate to or support anything you have written about in your Artist Statement?

CRITERIA FOR SELECTION

  • The artist meets eligibility requirements
  • The artist’s work aligns with PWNW’s mission to advance experimentation in contemporary performance and media arts
  • The artist demonstrates a keen investigative spirit and a self-aware intelligent questioning of her or his own process.
  • The artist is specific about areas of exploration, concepts, starting points etc.—even if the form of a final product is not envisioned at this time.
  • The time spent at PWNW has potential for significant impact on the growth and process of the artist.
click here to apply
contact us

,