2025 Call for Applications

The Caribbean Digital Virtual Artist’s Residency program supports Caribbean artists working in digital media. The residency is offered in conjunction with the annual Caribbean Digital (TCD) conference, an international event hosted annually at locations in the United States and the Caribbean since 2014, and in partnership with Alice Yard, a contemporary art collective based at Granderson Lab in Belmont, Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago. The Mellon Foundation sponsors this program.

Key Facts

• Deadline for applications: April 1, 2025, at 11:59 pm (Eastern Standard Time)
• Announcements: May 31, 2025
• Residency period: June 15 to Dec 15, 2025

About the Virtual Residency

Beginning in 2022 and for a period of four years, TCD and Alice Yard are partnering to create an annual virtual residency program for artists of the Caribbean and its diasporas who work in digital media. The residency aims to facilitate the development of new artworks in digital media that investigate ideas and practices in Caribbean Digital Humanities and engage with scholars in the TCD network and community.

The successful artist will be announced by the end of May 2025, and the residency will run from June 15 to December 15. The recipient will present the work during the residency at The Caribbean Digital’s annual conference in December 2025.

The 2025 TCD artist residency consists of the following:

• a cash stipend of US$5,000 to support six months of part-time research and creative work, to begin in June 2025;
• curatorial mentorship by artist and Alice Yard co-director Christopher Cozier;
• two virtual studio visits by professional curators or critics;
• the commissioning and online publication of a critical text by a professional art writer to document the artist’s work and process;
• arranged travel and accommodation to present the resulting work at Caribbean Digital (TCD) annual conference in December 2025;
• an installation allowance to cover the cost of the artist's presentation at TCD.

During the virtual residency, the artist will remain based at their usual location, interacting with the administrators, mentor, and TCD community members via traditional online media and tools, with the understanding that the artist will maintain regular contact through scheduled meetings and check-ins.

Eligibility and application guidelines

The Caribbean Digital Virtual Artist’s Residency seeks to support the development of “born-digital” creative work primarily based on digital media and tools rather than analog work digitized for presentation or storage. Artists may work in any digital media, including but not limited to images, sound, and text. Also integral to the residency is the artist’s engagement with Caribbean Digital Humanities, a multidisciplinary field of study that brings digital technologies into the research, analysis, visualization, and application of the traditional humanities. During the residency, the artist is expected to engage in dialogue with Caribbean Digital Humanities scholars to enrich their creative and research practices.

Looking for inspiration? Check out the work of our previous artists-in-residence, Marinna Shareef, Ruben Cabenda, and Zoe Osborne.

The Caribbean Digital Virtual Artist’s Residency is open to artists from the Caribbean and its diasporas, with a preference for applicants living and working in the Caribbean region. Applicants must be over the age of 18 on April 1, 2025.

To apply, complete the online form and upload an application package (PDF) containing the following:

1. a description of the work the artist proposes to develop during the residency. This may be a new project or an extension of existing work in progress (max. 400 words);
2. a short statement explaining how the artist’s proposed work would benefit from dialogue and engagement with TCD’s Digital Humanities network (max. 200 words);
3. a short description of the digital tools — whether software or hardware — and methods the artist expects to use in the development of their work (max. 200 words);
4. a CV, including a short biographical statement; a list of exhibitions, publications, or other forms of presentation of recent work; and the artist’s website and relevant public social media accounts, if applicable (max. two pages);
5. a portfolio presenting a sample of the artist’s recent work: not to exceed 10 sample pieces with descriptive captions (embedded still images, links to short videos or sound work, etc).

NB: the artist’s application package must be saved as a PDF, and the five elements listed above must be in a single file. Please do not attach multiple files or use other file formats.

The application deadline is April 1, 2025, at 11:59 pm (EST). Late applications will not be considered.

A jury comprised of the Alice Yard collective and TCD members will assess applications. The artist will retain the ownership and copyright of their work, but they must grant TCD non-exclusive rights to present and archive the work on their website and in other media.

For any queries about eligibility requirements or the application process, please contact the residency administrators at thecaribbeandigital[at]gmail.com.