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Celebrate the 'A' in STEAM with the Artist in Residence Program

Like science, art is everywhere we look and in everything we do. Art helps tell the scientific story by bringing visuals to life. At Imagination Station, art is a part of the scientific process and why encouraging STEAM education is so valuable in our community. 

Imagination Station is celebrating STEAM in our 2024 Artist in Residence program by inviting artists to create artwork that combines science and art. This exciting opportunity is designed to encourage artists to explore the wonders of science, create new work and directly engage with our visitors. 

Artists will be awarded a stipend for time and materials commensurate with the proposal's complexity. We welcome projects of all scales and sizes. 

The 2024 Artist in Residence Program runs through June and interested artists are to select one of the following time slots to complete their project: 

  • April through May 15, 2024
  • May through June 15, 2024
  • June through July 15, 2024

Responsibilities: 

  • Create new artwork inspired by STEAM experiences at the science center
  • Spend 6-8 days within 30 days at the science center producing work and/or engaging with families explaining the process
  • Work should inspire young creators with what is possible
  • It is advantageous for artists to demonstrate a commitment to creating artwork related to science, technology, engineering, art and math.

Encouraged in your proposal but not mandatory: 

  • Teach the Imagination Station team and guests how to utilize the tools and techniques used in your work
  • Work directly with the Imagination Station team and visitors to create new artwork at the science center

Project Proposal Ideas:

Imagination Station is seeking artists who work in a variety of mediums. This is by no means an exhaustive list of proposal topics, and you are not required to create a proposal around one of these topics. 

  • Textiles Fiber Arts
  • Fashion Design
  • Sewing
  • Weaving
  • Costume Design
  • Quilting
  • Birds
  • Weather
  • Water
  • Plant life
  • Kinetic or movement-based projects
  • Cardboard

Residency Period

Artists will typically complete their projects within 30 days. The amount of time spent at Imagination Station will vary depending on the project.

Saturdays offer the most potential for interacting with our visitors if that is part of your project. A typical day consists of 5 hours of visitor interaction and or art production for days you work onsite.

Submission Requirements

We look forward to welcoming talented and visionary artists to our team and exploring the exciting intersections of science and art. Please provide the following information in your application via email to: artist@istscience.org

  • Artist name, address, phone number and email address
  • A project proposal that outlines the overall scope of the project 
  • A timeline for the execution of the project 
  • A budget that details the time and materials needed to complete the project
  • A brief artist statement (150 words or less) explaining how your work relates to science
  • A portfolio of recent work (up to 10 jpg images) with descriptions
  • A CV or artist's resume 

Background checks will be completed on artists awarded this opportunity. 

Application deadline: March 22, 2024
Notification: March 29, 2024

For more information, please contact:

Mark Leasor
Experience Development Manager
mleasor@istscience.org
O: 419-214-9117

Imagination Station's Artists in Residence is supported in part by The Arts Commission, the City of Toledo and Lucas County.