research and production residency program

Research and Production Program

Wave Farm welcomes proposals from artists, researchers, and tinkerers for up to 6 open call research and production opportunities in 2027. The transmission art residency supports the development of new transmission artwork. The spatial sound residency specifically supports the development of transmission artwork for a spatial sound environment. The fellowship program offers two different tracks: research and community engagement. All residents and fellows will have the opportunity to engage with Wave Farm Radio: WGXC 90.7-FM.

Residency: Transmission Art

During a 10-day residency at Wave Farm, the artist-in-residence will develop a new transmission artwork, informed by access to a research library, equipment, unique workspace resources, and on-site staff support. Projects at any stage are eligible and are not required to be completed by the end of the residency. Residents are encouraged to give an artist talk, presentation, or performance at Wave Farm or in the WGXC Catskill studio for a live audience. A stipend of $1,000 will be provided to the artist.

Transmission Art residencies are meant specifically for the development of transmission art. Transmission art encompasses works in which the act of transmitting or receiving is not only significant, but the fulcrum for the artist’s intention. The genre involves a multiplicity of practices that often engage aural and visual broadcast media. In some instances, works for traditional broadcast are created, and at other times artists harness preexisting broadcast signals as source material manipulated in live performance, installation, and public interactive networks and tools.

Residency: Spatial Sound

During a 10-day residency at Wave Farm, the artist-in-residence will develop a new spatial sound project within the genre of transmission art. The resident will have access to a dedicated 8-channel spatial sound studio, as well as a research library, equipment, unique workspace resources, on-site staff support, and engineering support. For full technical specifications on the studio, click here. While projects at any stage are eligible, this opportunity is best suited for artists who have prior technical experience with creating work for a spatial sound environment. We will consider projects in which transmission, radio, and/or broadcasting are a significant component. Residents are encouraged to give an artist talk, presentation, or performance at Wave Farm or in the WGXC Catskill studio for a live audience. A stipend of $1,000 will be provided to the artist.

Radio Art Fellowship: Research

During a 2-month engagement, the fellow will research and select radio artworks by historical and contemporary artists to add to Wave Farm’s Broadcast Radio Art Archive. The Archive is a research tool that comprises historical and contemporary international radio artworks created specifically for terrestrial AM/FM/Shortwave broadcast, whether it be via commercial, public, community, or pirate transmission. The Fellow will additionally produce a 2- or 3-episode special series featuring these archival selections to be broadcast on Wave Farm’s WGXC 90.7-FM.

The fellowship will commence with a 10-day visit to Wave Farm, where the Fellow will have full access to Wave Farm’s research libraries and resources. The rest of the fellowship will take place remotely. Fellowship Mentors will be available for consultation, leads, and feedback. A stipend of $2,000 will be provided to the fellow.

This fellowship is meant for projects that specifically engage radio art and radio artists. Radio artists explore broadcast radio space through a richly polyphonous mix of practices, including poetic resuscitations of conventional radio drama, documentary, interview and news formats; found and field sound compositions reframed by broadcast; performative inhabitations/embodiments of radio’s inherent qualities; and much, much more. Wave Farm continues to expand its working definition of radio art through the Wave Farm Radio Art Fellowship program.

Radio Art Fellowship: Community Engagement

During a 2-month engagement, the Community Engagement Fellow will develop and conduct a public workshop that critically engages the technology and conceptual specificities of radio. The workshop will be held in-person in the WGXC Catskill Studio or at Wave Farm, with an option to hold a second remote iteration over Zoom for a broader audience. A stipend of $2,000 will be provided to the fellow.

This fellowship has three stages:

• The first part of the fellowship is conducted remotely with scheduled staff and mentor meetings to develop the workshops.

• The second part consists of a 10-day onsite residency period at Wave Farm; the in-person workshop will take place during this time.

• The third part consists of compiling documentation to be published on the Wave Farm website.