Fana Fraser at Movement Research at the Judson Church. She faces away from the camera and coils thick wires around er body and head. Photo by Rachel Keane.
ID: Fana Fraser at Movement Research at the Judson Church. She faces away from the camera and coils thick wires around er body and head. Photo by Rachel Keane.

What is the Movement Research Artist-in-Residence (AIR) program?

A residency program providing commissioning support, rehearsal space, performance and related opportunities designed to support the individualized creative process of movement-based artists.

Six (6) artists will be selected to participate in the 2024/2025 Movement Research Artist-in-Residence program via this application process. Applications will be reviewed and selected through a peer artist review process.

Selected artists will be invited to participate in the 18 month long 2024/2025 residency which will begin on September 1, 2024 and conclude on February 28, 2026.

Artists selected through the panel review process will receive residency fees supported through The Jerome Foundation and additional resources supported by the Davis/Dauray Family Fund, and the Harkness Foundation for Dance; and by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, and The New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.

Through the Artist-in-Residence Program, Movement Research supports rigorous and wide-ranging artistic investigations that are movement-based, but that may incorporate other disciplines and collaborations, with a focus on experimentation. Artists who reflect a range of directions and approaches to making work such that there is an interesting confluence of artistic ideas being explored over the course of the coming years.

Movement Research continuously 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, disability, ethnicity, sexuality, immigration status or age. MR is committed to maintaining a strong connection to an existing diverse community of experimental artists and audiences, while at the same time expanding its definition of experimentation to more broadly include working within and pushing the boundaries of all movement-based forms. Movement Research recognizes the incredible need to diversify the range of aesthetics, cultural and socio-economic backgrounds represented on NYC stages and strongly encourages applications from individuals aligned with this vision.

Who is eligible to apply? 

Artists must apply as individuals. Movement based artists who are working collaboratively in an ongoing collaborative or collective structure should contact apply@movementresearch.org for eligibility consideration as a collaborative team on a case-by-case basis.

Applicant must be a resident of New York City. Resident means that your permanent mailing address is in New York City/one of the 5 Boroughs and have been a resident for at least one year prior to applying for the program.

Applicant must be working in the field of dance or other movement-based forms.

Applicant must identify as an early career artist as defined by the Jerome Foundation. Please see below for further information on what constitutes an early career artist for the Jerome Foundation**.

Applicant must not be enrolled full-time in a school or University program.

Past Movement Research Artists-in-Residence are not eligible to apply for this opportunity.

Eligible applicants must be considered to be early career — artists with some track record of creating and presenting full work (not beginning artists), and artists who are NOT at a point in their careers where they receive consistent development and production opportunities and significant recognition, awards, and acclaim (not mid-career or established artists).

The Jerome Foundation’s criteria for eligible artists is as follows: 

  • are in the early stages of their creative development
  • have a focused direction and are actively creating new work in their chosen artistic discipline(s)
  • have yet to be substantially celebrated within their field, the media, funding circles or the public at large
  • are vocational (as opposed to avocational, academic, amateur or educational) artists
  • are not participating in any degree-granting programs (K-12, undergraduate, graduate) in any field

For further information on The Jerome Foundation definition of an early career artist, visit this link: https://www.jeromefdn.org/participating-artist-eligibility-requirements

Application and demographic information form must be submitted online by 11:59pm EDT on Wednesday June 3rd, 2024.

Application Process

Please note that at Movement Research, we collect and review submissions via Submittable. The first step of the submission process is to create a Submittable account, or sign into your existing account. When creating an account, you will be asked for your name, your email address, and a password of your choosing.

Individuals for whom access to an internet or wifi enabled device and/or a reliable Internet connection should contact Movement Research at (212) 598-0551 (voice only) for guidance.

For accessibility purposes, if Submittable is not accessible to you, your application can be sent to Movement Research as an attachment via email. Acceptable file types: .doc, .docx, .pdf. The full list of application questions is below, but if for accessibility reasons you need them sent to you, please send an email to apply@movementresearch.org. Please note that the deadline for submitting the application as an attachment is the same as the deadline for submitting your application.

If you have questions regarding accessibility, please email accessibility@movementresearch.org, subject line “2024/2025 MR Artist-in-Residence Application.”

Application Questions

Be prepared to provide the following information when submitting your online application. You may not save applications in progress. Once applications are submitted they cannot be edited. Movement Research will accept only one application per artist.

  • Contact Information
  • Artistic statement (400 words or less) expressing both personal artistic goals and goals for the residency period.
    • Include any motivations, intentions, or inspirations that are a critical part of your artistic process as a whole or for the proposed residency.
    • Describe any concepts, materials, subjects, processes, structures, or questions central to your work.
  • Artistic CV or Resume (must be formatted as a PDF document)
    • Include artistic projects, residencies, awards, performances, etc.
  • Relevance of Residency (150 words or less). Which resources and activities provided through the Movement Research Artist-in-Residence program are most relevant to your current artistic process? Please refer to the list of Residency Resources and activities below.
    • How will you engage with these resources and activities?
  • 1 Work Sample (REQUIRED) that represents your artistic process.
    • Please provide a link to a URL of your online work sample – YouTube, Vimeo or other. Vimeo is preferred.
    • Sample may be footage from a performance, rehearsal, or in-process showing. When possible, choose a sample that unfolds in “real time”, as opposed to multiple clips edited together. Please do not submit “promo videos,” “teasers,” or “choreography reels”.
    • Include one cue point to a representative 3-5 minute section of the sample. Please include as much of the full work as possible should the panel want to view further.
    • Work sample description (150 words or less). Please explain the relationship between the work sample and the goals articulated in your artistic statement. If there is no direct relationship, please tell us why you chose this specific work sample. Please provide a list of collaborators.
  • 2nd Work Sample (OPTIONAL) that will offer the panelists additional context around your body of work or artistic process. This work sample is OPTIONAL and will only be viewed if your application is considered in the final round of the panel process.
    • Please provide a link to a URL of your online work sample – YouTube, Vimeo or other. Vimeo is preferred.
    • Sample may be footage from a performance, rehearsal, or in-process showing. When possible, choose a sample that unfolds in “real time”, as opposed to multiple clips edited together. Please do not submit “promo videos,” “teasers,” or “choreography reels”.
    • Work sample description (150 words or less). Please explain the relationship between the work sample and your artistic statement. If there is no direct relationship, please tell us why you chose this specific work sample. Please provide a list of collaborators.
  • Demographic Information Form
    • Movement Research collects demographic information for internal use only. This information is used to evaluate the reach and access of our programs and in reporting to our funders. Internal demographic evaluation and reporting with funders will be done anonymously. We acknowledge the complexities inherent in this type of information collection and are committed to the ongoing examination of the language used around demographics.
    • We request that the Demographic Information Form be completed and submitted to consider your application complete.
    • This information will NOT be made available to the Selection Committee as a part of your application. The Selection Committee will be provided anonymous aggregated data of the full applicant pool.
    • Please select “Artist-in-Residence Applicant” when asked to specify your present engagement with Movement Research.
    • We realize that you may have filled out this form before, but we ask that you take a moment to complete it again at this time. It is important that we collect this information each time that you engage in a Movement Research program in order to evaluate this information in relationship to specific programs.

Residency Resources

Resources provided by Movement Research during the residency:

  • A residency fee of $5000;
  • 125 hours of free rehearsal space in Movement Research Studios;
  • Access to free and reduced rates for classes and workshops;
  • Consultations with Movement Research Staff in individual and group settings;
  • Engagement with Movement Research Artist-in-Residence program’s Artist Advisor.

During the residency each AIR is required to participate in the following activities:

  • Show work on the Movement Research at the Judson Church series. Artists will receive a $500 performance fee.
  • Engage in Artist-in-Residence cohort meetings every 6-8 weeks on topics determined by the artists.
  • Submit a final report at the end of the residency detailing activities throughout the year.

2024 Artists-In-Residence


2023 Artists-In-Residence


2022 Artists-In-Residence


2021 Artists-In-Residence


2020 Artists-In-Residence


2019 Artists-In-Residence


2018 Artists-In-Residence


2017 Artists-In-Residence


2016 Artists-In-Residence


2015 Artists-In-Residence

Application Status

Application Opens Wednesday May 1,2024

Deadline: Applications must be submitted online by 11:59pm EDT on Monday June 3, 2024.

Notification: Applicants will receive notification by the end of June 2024.

Residency Dates: October 1, 2024 – February 28, 2026 with additional opportunities from July 2026 – June 2027.