How the BOLT residency works

BOLT focuses on helping artists advance their career in an environment that allows for expansive thinking and opportunities to engage with co-residents in a group setting. Each of the six (6) selected residents will create artwork in a professional studio space at the Chicago Artists Coalition. CAC studios are an open-plan to foster connection and exchange between co-residents.

Additionally, residents have access to influential artists, curators, and educators through individual studio visits. All residents work towards the mounting of their solo exhibitions, which will be on view for six weeks.

BOLT residency provides:

• Six (6) professional open-plan onsite studios
• 400-square-foot gallery space for a solo exhibition
• Monthly studio visits by outside curators, artists, writers, and others
• The program is non-residential: no room/board is offered.

BOLT studios are accessible 24 hours/7 days a week to BOLT Residents who have keys. It is the responsibility of the artists-in-residence to clean surfaces upon entering and exiting the studios and to remove trash.

Apply to BOLT

The BOLT Artist Residency Application is now closed.

COVID-19 Safety Measures for BOLT Residents

Six residents can be in the studios at the same time, if they are working in their studio or standing socially distanced. Given that everyone’s comfort level is different, BOLT residents must collectively agree on the number of guests or residents who could be in the studios at a given time and schedule.

CAC takes the following precautions to minimize the spread of infection: in accordance with our building’s regulations, masks covering the nose and mouth must be worn at all times, including but not limited to: CAC’s galleries, studios, offices, and multi-use space; and the building’s corridors, bathrooms, lobby, loading dock and outside the building near the entrances.

If you are experiencing any symptoms of COVID-19, we ask that you stay home:

• Fever or chills
• Cough
• Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
• Fatigue
• Muscle or body aches
• Headache
• New loss of taste or smell
• Sore throat
• Congestion or runny nose
• Nausea or vomiting
• Diarrhea

CAC will utilize air purifiers in the studios, galleries, and offices to adequately cover the square footage and will regularly replace filters. Hand sanitizer pump bottles and masks will be available for use, while supplies last. However, it is the responsibility of the visitor to bring a mask and they must use hand sanitizer upon entering the space and submit to a temperature check. Surfaces will be disinfected before and after visits to the space.

BOLT Studio Visitors

• Alison Cuddy, former Marilynn Thoma Artistic Director at the Chicago Humanities Festival
• Anastasia Tinari, Director at the Richard Gray Gallery
• Asha Iman Veal, Curatorial Fellow at the Museum of Contemporary Photography
• Candida Alvarez, Artist and Educator, 2021 recipient at the Helen Frankenthaler Award for Painting
• Carla Acevedo-Yates, Larry and Marilyn Fields Curator at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago
• Deborah Stratman, Professor of Art of the University at the Illinois-Chicago
• Dieter Roelstraete, Curator at the Neubauer Collegium for Culture and Society
• Edra Soto, Artist, Educator, Curator and Co-Director of The Franklin
• Elliot Reichert, Curator of Contemporary Art at the Eskenazi Museum of Art
• Faye R. Gleisser, Assistant Professor of Art History at Indiana University Bloomington
• Hamza Walker, Director of LAXART
• Harold Mendez, Los Angeles-based Artist
• Hendrik Folkerts, Dittmer Curator of International Contemporary Art at Moderna Museet
• Ionit Behar, Assistant Curator at DePaul Art Museum
• Karsten Lund, Curator at The Renaissance Society
• Janet Dees, Steven and Lisa Munster Tananbaum Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art at the Block Museum of Art
• Janine Mileaf, Executive Director and Chief Curator at The Arts Club of Chicago
• Jefferson Godard, Curator at Salina Art Center
• John Neff, Artist, Curator, and Educator
• Jordan Carter, Curator at Dia Art Foundation
• Jacob Proctor, Gilbert and Ann Kinney New York Collector at Archives of American Art
• Karen Irvine, Chief Curator and Deputy Director at the Museum of Contemporary Photography
• Kristin Korolowicz, Director at Patron Gallery
• Lorelei Stewart, Director and Chief Curator at Gallery 400
• Maria Gaspar, Artist and Educator
• Mario Ybarra Jr., Los Angeles-based Artist and Educator
• Mark Jeffery, Associate Professor of Performance at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.
• Mary Coyne, Research Associate of Contemporary Art at the Art Institute of Chicago
• Megha Ralapati, Residency and Special Projects Manager at Hyde Park Art Center
• Michael Darling, Cofounder and Chief Growth Officer at the Museum Exchange
• Myriam Ben Salah, Writer, Curator, and Executive Director and Chief Curator at the Renaissance Society
• Naomi Beckwith, Deputy Director and Chief Curator at Guggenheim Museum
• Nathaniel Mary Quinn, New York-based Artist
• Risa Puleo, Chicago based Independent Curator and Writer
• Roberto Sifuentes, Artist, Educator and Cofounder of La Pocha Nostra
• Robyn Farrell, Associate Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art at the Art Institute of Chicago
• Sabina Ott, Artist and Professor of Fine Arts at Columbia College Chicago
• Steven L. Bridges, Senior Curator and Director of Curatorial Affairs at MSU Broad Art Museum
• Tricia Van Eck, Founder and Artistic Director at 6108North
• Yesomi Umolu, Director of Curatorial Affairs and Public Practice at Serpentine Galleries

If you have any questions or concerns contact: Erol Scott Harris II at erol[@]chicagoartistscoalition[.org]