StudioWorks Artist-in-Residence Program
The StudioWorks Artist-in-Residence Program at the Tides Institute & Museum of Art (TIMA) offers residency opportunities to visual artists from the U.S. and abroad to deepen and develop their practice within a community setting. Our studios, museum and housing are located within the historic downtown and working waterfront of Eastport, Maine and overlook the U.S./Canada boundary. TIMA’s downtown StudioWorks building contains private studios, common work areas, and a ground floor printmaking and letterpress studio.
The StudioWorks program mission, supported by two national awards from ARTPLACE and many additional funders, is to place the arts in the center of the community, utilizing the arts and artists to foster, engage, and create a vital and vibrant downtown. A StudioWorks residency provides an artist with a unique experience to play an active role in our creative community and region through socially engaged projects, educational outreach or public programming. So far, 71 artists from 18 different states and three foreign countries have participated in the program.
43 Water Street
Eastport, ME 04631
United States
Residency Program Information
Residency Program Summary
Application Information
The StudioWorks artist-in-residence program is open to professionally established and/or emerging visual artists and craftspeople from anywhere in the world. Students who are enrolled in an undergraduate or masters-level degree program at the time of the application deadline are not eligible for a residency and should not apply. Proposals from collaborative teams of two will be considered, but StudioWorks cannot consider proposals from larger groups/teams due to housing and studio limitations. Collaborative pairs must apply separately to the program, and indicate in their proposals that they wish to work together. Please include evidence of collaborative work, if possible/applicable, and specify housing needs (separate or shared). Artists-in-residence may overlap with other artists-in-residence, artists working as museum guests, lecturers, or community members using printmaking/letterpress studio during scheduled times. Private studios and/or live/work spaces will be designated for artist-in-residence use only
Accessibility
In the StudioWorks building, private studios are both located on the ground floor and there is one ground-floor, ADA-compliant bathroom. Both studios are storefronts, with their own door to the street. One studio has a single step up to the entry, and the other one is ramped. Once you enter the building you can get to both studios through interior doorways and both studios have access to the ground floor ADA-compliant bathroom.
There is a second floor to the studio building, which has a kitchenette, open work space, second bathroom, washer/dryer and storage. The flight of stairs is long, with two landings, and there is a handrail.
We have two housing options. One is a ground floor private apartment that is accessed by a wooden ramp from the yard and driveway area. This is a large open plan apartment, with a small but fully furnished kitchen and small bathroom. The bathroom is not ADA-compliant as the interior space is small, and it has a low-threshold, small shower.
Our other accommodations are in a house that is accessed by exterior steps and a step up from an enclosed porch. There is a handrail on the entry steps. There is a ground-floor bedroom with attached bath (also small, with a low-threshold shower) and a shared kitchen with washer/dryer. There are two second-floor bedrooms, and a second-floor bath with a cast-iron tub with shower attachment, and a handrail on the staircase.
Lastly, there is a somewhat steep hill on Dana Street in Eastport, which connects Water Street (studios, museum, downtown) with Green Street (housing). The distance between Water Street and Green Street is about a city block long.
The facilities are partially accessible. Public-access spaces on campus that are not fully accessible are the second floor of the studio building and the second floor gallery space of the Tides Institute & Museum of Art. StudioWorks housing is partially accessible, as described above.
Public-access spaces on campus that are not fully accessible are the second floor of the studio building and the second floor gallery space of the Tides Institute & Museum of Art. StudioWorks housing is partially accessible, as described above.
Housing & Accomodation
Studio & Facilities
StudioWorks Facility (Year-round):
Ground-floor private studio and separate print studio: each approx. 450 sq. ft. Ground floor shared accessible bathroom. Second floor common area, shared kitchenette and laundry and second bathroom.
Studios may be equipped, as needed/desired, with stainless steel or folding tables, folding chairs, stools, portable desk lamps, clip-on lights. A sink is in each studio. Studio walls are sheet-rocked and primed, but not finished with final paint coat and some walls have white-painted fiberboard panels (Homasote) for pinning work. Wireless internet and landline telephone is provided. Both studios have private entrance doors and screened transom windows.
Nina Bohlen Print Studio equipment:
Custom-designed etching press (Peter Lindenmuth/Hyman Bloom) (24”x 48”); Vandercook No. 4 letterpress; Ettan etching press (12”x 24”); Sigwalt tabletop letterpress (6”x 9”); Line-O Scribe tabletop letterpress; Nolan tabletop proof press. Miscellaneous collection of wood and metal type, inks, screen printing frames, and other printmaking- related tools and supplies. Full inventory list available to accepted artists.
North Church Project Space Facility (seasonal):
Ground-floor private studio, approx. 500 sq. ft. Studio is equipped with folding tables, wood workbenches on casters, shop sink. Studio has concrete floors and plaster walls, and south-facing screened windows.
Tools, Equipment and Supplies Available:
The StudioWorks Artist-in-Residence Program has basic shop and hand tools for artists to use, including a jigsaw, circular saw, portable drill, hammers, etc. Other tools and supplies include an iron, ironing board, studio blender, studio hot pot, hot plate, sewing machines, portable electric 2-burner stove and extension cords/power strips. Supplies may need to be shared with other artists-in-residence.
A general office all-in-one b/w copier/scanner/printer is available at StudioWorks. Other equipment at is also available to use at the Tides Institute main building: Epson Expression 10000XL (17” x 22”) photo scanner; Epson 3880 (17”) color printer; general office printers (b/w, and color toner).