contemporary performing arts research residency

Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay invites artists, curators, programmers, writers, researchers and practitioners across all disciplines in the performing arts to apply for the Contemporary Performing Arts Research Residency, taking place in Singapore between April and June 2024. In its second cycle, the Contemporary Performing Arts Research Residency is an artistic research development programme by Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay, supported by the National Arts Council, Singapore.

The fully funded residency aims to support creative research in contemporary performing arts by providing its residents the time and space for artistic inquiry, experimentation, development, research activities and opportunities for interdisciplinary and transcultural dialogues. The residency welcomes various manners and methodologies of enquiry, embracing a pluralistic approach towards research that unfolds not only through the written word, but also includes forms of experimentation with the body, performed moments, and other non-traditional systems of knowledge.

There is no commitment for residents to create a production during or after the residency. Instead, residents will be asked to present at least one public programme of their choosing, developed in conversation with the Esplanade Team.

The residency is a duration of between one month to three months long and residents will receive a stipend (S$2,000 per month), an allowance of up to S$1,000 for research materials or support (subject to approval), access to a shared-working space, studios when required, as well as accommodation and international travel to or from Singapore, if from abroad.

In 2024, the residency presents the thematic focus Decentring Access, which aims to engage the term’s multiple definitions and usages in all contexts and facilitate nuance in access-related discussions. Engaging with the dynamics of inclusion and exclusion, the residency seeks to support research projects that employ performativity as a lens to examine pertinent issues today. These topics are not limited to equity, inclusivity in physical and digital worlds, movement, ownership, climate crisis, power relations, age, gender, race, disability, language and knowledge circulation.