Artist Opportunities
Over the course of the year, the Museum works with artists and invites them to participate with Museum staff and visitors in a wide variety of ways to generate interactive fine artworks.
Tough Art Residency Program
Tough Art @ Home 2020
Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh (CMP) is dedicated to fostering the talent and innovation of artists as experience makers. The Tough Art Residency Program, that began in 2007, was approaching its 14th year of existence this summer. Unfortunately, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the residency had to be canceled for 2020 season.
In light of that, we began to consider how we might engage our audience while the Museum remains closed. The Museum is always committed to working with artists to present excellent contemporary art to our visitors. Every year artists are invited to work with the museum through a multitude of programs and projects, and the Museum is committed to continuing this mission throughout the closure.
Thinking about the possibilities during this age of online engagement, the fact that we aren't having in-person residencies, or even open to the public for visitors to interact with our current art installations, we were inspired to find a way to connect artists with our audience, and vice versa.
This has prompted a call-for-artists who are interested in making their work accessible to CMP’s audience. The challenge is for artists to create an art making activity related in some way to their artwork/process that would inspire a do-it-yourself project for people to create wherever they may be.
About the Program
Created in 2007, the Tough Art artist residency program connects artists from across the spectrum of all the arts to the resources and visitors at the Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh. The residency looks to expand the skills of established and emerging artists, giving them the ability to create work for one of the toughest venues for art: a children’s museum.
Selected artists generate and implement interactive, immersive and/or collaborative projects and connect the art-making process to the larger museum context and the museum visitor. Artists are tasked to make a direct impact on the visitor experience by creating an entirely new piece to be displayed in the Museum. Throughout the residency, artists prototype and evaluate their process to achieve the desired outcome.
Additional information and application information can be found here.
2019
Ryder Henry
Eunice Choi
Owen Lowery
2018
Isaac Levine
Miranda Miller and Lumi Barron
Neil Mendoza
2017
Arvid Tomayko and H. Gene Thompson
Megan Flod Johnson
Shohei Katayama
Robert Zacharias
2016
Nicholas Hanna
Anne Lilly
Stephen Malinowski
Nobuho Nagasawa
2015:
Danny Bracken
Rachel Buse
Ann Tarantino
2014
Jenna Boyles
Jesse Kauppila and Dakotah Konicek
Lindsay Packer
Stephanie Ross
2013
Chris Beauregard
Katie Ford
Scott Garner
Isla Hansen and Luke Loeffler
2012
John Peña
Scott Andrew & Jonathan Armistead
Jeremy Boyle & Kevin Clancy
Will Schlough
2011
Felipe Castelblanco
Jennifer Myers and Daniel Luchman
Zach Dorn
Christina Zaris
2010
Agnes Bolt and Arthur Jones
Nova Jiang
Amanda Long
Blaine Siegel
2009
Anneka Herre
Ian Ingram
Matt Mets
Jennifer Van Winkle
2008
Ben Bigelow
David Butts
Rick Gribenas
Wendy Osher
2007
Eileen Maxson
Joey Hayes
Greg Witt
Mat Barton
F.I.N.E. Art Residency
Fresh - Innovative - Nonstop - Expression
The F.I.N.E. Artist Residency series invites artists to exhibit their work and lead programs that introduce new and exciting art and art-making techniques to Museum visitors, staff and educators.
Previous F.I.N.E. Artists:
2019
O'Ryan McGowan-Arrowroot
Asaf Elkalai
Kirsten Ervin
2018
Merav Kamel
Felicia Lane Savage
2017
Michael David Battle & Ada Rajkovic
Emily Newman
2016
Crystal Worl
Eric Lennartson
Alexandra Bodnarchuk
Slow Danger
Iris Gottlieb
Cecilia Ebitz
Telma Schultz
2015
Brandt Wild
Hiromi Katayama
Felicia Cooper
Veronica Simmonds
2014
Dalia Shevin
Zena Ruiz
Zany Umbrella Circus
LUMiNS
2013
Zach Dorn
Steffi Mayer-Staley
Tugboat Printshop
Attack Theatre
The Drift Crew
2012
Stacy Innerst
Bob Ziller
Kathryn Carr
Jennifer Myers
Tsawa Monks of Gaden Jangtse Monastery
Sister I’Asia
Kate Pfeil & Mark Barlow
2011
Wade Kramm
La Verne Kemp
Dick Esterle
Petra Falluaux
Laura Jean McLaughlin
Michael & Jade Corle
Sibel Deren Guler
2010
Joana Ricou
Bovery Lee
Schmutz Company
Ron Donoughe
John Miyazawa
Amisha Gadani
Scott Andrew, Adam Atkinson, and Michael McParlane
Mayumi Matsuo
2009
Amanda Long
Amy Johnson & JULIACKS
Cara Lynn Kleid
James Maszle
The F.I.N.E. Art Residency is supported by the Fine Foundation. Thank you!