International Summer Program
July 12 - August 15, 2010
Application deadline has been extended to Wednesday, March 31, 2010, 10 am (Eastern Standard Time)
For the past 17 years, the principal activity of the Watermill Center has been the International Summer Program led by Artistic Director, Robert Wilson. This program focuses on new projects that he is developing in all areas of the arts. Each summer approximately 65 artists from over 25 countries gather at Watermill for 4 - 5 weeks of intense creative exploration and artistic development. The Summer Program provides a unique opportunity for emerging artists to learn from established professionals in a laboratory environment. The free interaction of students, artists, and scholars in a secluded, natural setting makes the Center unique among the world's art institutions.
The program consists of daily workshops with Robert Wilson and his collaborators, based on new projects they are developing in theater and opera, installation and exhibition design, furniture and fashion design, film and video, landscaping, architecture, and urban planning. Lectures are given by leading artists, scholars, scientists, and authors, and Watermill participants themselves complement the workshops by leading classes for their peers in yoga, dance, theater, and their own specialized skills.
The workshops that will comprise the 2010 Summer Program are currently in development. Please check back later for a comprehensive list of confirmed workshops, or sign up for our mailing list to receive event announcements.
In addition to workshops, all participants share in the responsibilities of daily life: housekeeping, cooking, cleaning, and maintaining the Watermill grounds and gardens. Daily physical labor, including landscaping and the construction of site-specific installations, is an integral part of the Summer Program. This live/work environment reflects the Watermill idea that an artist works differently in an environment that (s)he has helped to create and maintain.
The Summer Program 2010 marks the third program to take place inside the new Watermill facility. All participants are lodged in shared rooms in either the Center's dormitory or summer houses rented by the Foundation. Vans are provided for transport to and from the Center. All participants spend the entire day (from 9am to 10pm, seven days a week) at the Center. All meals are cooked and served at the Center.
Admission
An admission committee, which includes Robert Wilson, selects participants according to their artistic ability, achievements, and creative potential, as well as their cultural and professional background. Selection is also partially determined based on the needs of the particular year's workshops, while aiming to ensure a balance between new and returning participants from varying disciplines, countries, and backgrounds. In 2009, more than 100 artists and students between 17 and 65 years of age from around the world participated in Watermill's Summer Program. The majority of the participants are young professionals or students between 20 and 30 years of age. The online application process is now open for the 2010 program. The deadline is Wednesday, March 31, 2010, 10am.
Program Fee
Beginning in 2008, the tuition for each Summer Program participant is provided in full by the Byrd Hoffman Watermill Foundation. It costs the Foundation approximately $8,000 for each person, which covers housing, food, local transportation, materials needed for work in the Program, and the operating cost of the facility. The Foundation raises these funds through sponsorships from other arts foundations, as well as individual benefactors who support the mission of the Center by joining the Watermill Mentor Program. Participants are required to pay the costs of their own travel to New York and the Watermill Center and for items for their personal use, and are encouraged to find funding individually, if needed, through scholarships, foundations, and grants.
Check out our Flickr page for images from the 2009 International Summer Program!