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JUSFC/NEA
US/Japan Creative Artists Residency

Program Description

Each year leading contemporary and traditional artists from the United States spend five months in Japan as part of the United States/Japan Creative Artists Program. They go as seekers, as cultural visionaries, and as living liaisons to the traditional and contemporary cultural life of Japan. The outlook they bring home provides an unparalleled opportunity to promote cultural understanding between the United States and Japan.

Cultural understanding is at the heart of this program. It provides funds for up to five artists to complete the residency in Japan. Artists are free to interact with Japanese artists anywhere in the country and to pursue activities of greatest relevance to their creative process. While many artists chose to remain in Tokyo, others have undertaken their residencies in Kyoto or other cities, and still others have worked in rural settings or have visited a number of sites relevant to their work.

While artists will be predominantly on their own upon their arrival in Tokyo, International House of Japan provides in-depth orientation materials, expert advice and professional contacts, as well as logistical support during the residency period.

The Japan-US Friendship Commission works cooperatively with the National Endowment for the Arts to sponsor this program.

Grant Award

Each artist will receive:

Because of the limited number of awards, only one residency will be supported for artists who apply as a collaborative team. In addition, while artists may wish to apply for other grants concurrently with the application to this program, selected artists may not hold a second award for financial assistance during the period of support of the US /Japan Creative Artists�EProgram.

Review Criteria and Selection Process

The US/Japan program is extremely competitive; only five artists are selected to go to Japan. Applicants should anticipate a highly rigorous review of their artistry and should have compelling reasons for wanting to work in Japan. Their work must exemplify the best in US arts. Generally this means that only those artists who have demonstrated expertise and established professional recognition (e.g. awards, featured shows, publications, etc.) in their field either regionally or nationally or who have shown truly exceptional promise at the local level are likely to be competitive. Proficiency in the Japanese language is not required.

Preference will be given to those applicants for whom this will be a first-time opportunity for in-depth creative work in Japan. Applicants must be able to begin their five-month residency within the period between January 1 and December 31 of the year following the application deadline.

Applications are judged by the following review criteria:

Applications will be reviewed by a panel convened jointly by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Japan-US Friendship Commission. The panel will include previous recipients of US/Japan Creative Artist Residency, as well as other arts professionals with expertise in Japanese culture.

Eligibility

Candidates must be citizens or permanent residents of the United States.

Candidates must be professional creative artists (contemporary or traditional) working as: architects, choreographers, composers, creative writers, designers, media artists, playwrights, visual artists and solo theater artists who work with original material (including puppeteers, storytellers and performance artists). Artists who create original work in a multidisciplinary form are also eligible.

There are additional eligibility requirements for creative writers, librettists and playwrights. Please see below.

Creative writer applicants must meet specific publishing requirements. Online publication and self-published work will not satisfy this eligibility requirement. In the last 10 years writers must have published at least one of the following:

Librettists and playwrights must have had a full-length work professionally produced and/or published in the United States at least once in the last 5 years.

Application Deadlines and How to Apply

The next deadline is February 1, 2010 for the 2011 program.  Residencies may begin any time between January 1 and December 31 of 2011.

Notification: By June 30, 2010.

Two collated copies of the following material must be received by the deadline.  Please use clips to collate.  Do not staple or use a folder or binder.  Send to:

Japan-US Friendship Commission
1201 15th Street, NW, Suite 330
Washington, DC 20005

There are numerous components to the application. Please number as outlined below.

  1. The application cover sheet. (For a collaborative team please include both names.)
  2. Answers to each of the following questions (two pages maximum in total, minimum of 12 point type):
    • Why do you want to go to Japan?
    • What do you propose to do in Japan?
    • What resources do you need?

    3. When answering the questions, keep in mind that you will benefit from a focused description of your planned residency. Be as specific as possible in outlining why you wish to work in Japan at this time. If you have made preliminary contacts with Japanese counterparts, please include documentation that indicates their interest in your work.

    We recognize that each artist's experience may prove to be profoundly different from what he or she anticipated as an applicant. However, applicants who demonstrate serious prior thought about how they plan to achieve their artistic goals in Japan have in the past proven to be the candidates most likely to benefit from the international experience. Successful residencies reflect a balance between expectations of accomplishing specific goals and being open to new processes and opportunities for collaboration.

  3. Work sample information. On a separate sheet titled �Work Sample Information Sheet," provide the following information:
    • Artist's name
    • Title of work
    • For samples of performances: site, date and length of work; for visual samples: title, media, size, year
    • As relevant, identify track(s) to be heard or viewed on any CDs or DVDs.
    • As relevant, provide a context for the panel to understand the segment, i.e. description of scenes immediately preceding or following the selection (one paragraph maximum)

    Include any additional information requested in Instructions for Submitting Work Samples.

  4. Two letters of recommendation from professional colleagues (if necessary, the letters may be sent separately from the application.) Letters should address each of the following:
    • The artistic quality and evolution of your work
    • How your work would benefit from interaction with Japanese arts and cultural life
    • How you would adapt to the challenge of living and working in another culture

    5. Applications without letters of recommendation will be rejected. If letters are in Japanese, please provide a translation. Do not send reviews or articles. They will not be considered.

  5. Resume (two pages maximum).
  6. For creative writers and playwrights, proof of publication or play production as follows:
    • For creative writers to establish eligibility submit a copy of the title, copyright page, table of contents, or front cover of a magazine, novel or book of poems.
    • For librettists and playwrights to establish eligibility submit one copy of the title or copyright page of a published work, or a copy of the production program.

Instructions for Submitting Work Samples:

The work sample is a critical factor in panel deliberations. Given the large amount of material and the limited amount of time available for panel review of work samples, please prepare a well-organized presentation. Your application will benefit by including recently created work (within the last three years, five years for manuscripts) that is related to the activity you plan to undertake in Japan.

Please determine the type of sample(s) that best represents your work. Collaborative artists should present work that reflective of the collaborative process. Do not submit work created as a student and do not send critical reviews, promotional materials, or original artwork.

Work samples will be returned only if a self-addressed stamped return mailer is provided by the applicant.