Selection Process and Criteria | Application Requirements | Application Checklist | Application Deadlines | FAQs
Selection Process and Criteria
Selections are based on:
- the quality of the proposed project
- how innovative the project is and how likely it is to have broad impact or influence
- the ability of the applicant to articulate the project’s purpose and goals
- the professional qualifications and achievements of the applicant
- the feasibility and value of the Center for the proposed activity
In addition, reviewers will consider:
- the match between the project and the Foundation’s mission
- personal qualities that are likely to make an applicant a contributing member of an international, interdisciplinary community — curiosity, breadth of interests, ability to honor other viewpoints and sensitivity to other cultures
Because the Center aims to host an international mix of residents, the geography and nationality of those invited may be taken into account.
Program Policies
- Applications must be completed online in English and submitted by the published deadline. Applicants from developing countries who have trouble accessing the online form may contact bellagio_res@iie.org to discuss alternative ways to submit the application:
- Bellagio Center Residencies cannot be used to do work or doctoral dissertations or to work on textbooks
- Children, even adult children, are not allowed to accompany recipients of residencies.
- Applicants who are not invited must wait two years before reapplying. Applicants are not allowed to re-submit the unsuccessful proposal, but they are permitted to submit a revised version of it.
- Unsuccessful applicants may apply no more than three times.
- Former residents (and spouses/partners who accompanied them) must wait 10 years before reapplying. Third residencies, even for those who were the accompanying spouse/life partner, are not offered.
Application Requirements
- All materials must be submitted together.
- Your application will not be sent until you hit the Submit Button. After you have submitted, you will receive an e-mail notifying you that your application has been received.
- Once submitted, no changes are allowed. Please print a copy of your application before you submit.
- Attachments must not exceed 4 MB.
Collaborative teams of two or teams of three to four may apply following these the instructions below.
Collaborative teams of two:
Each team member must:
- fill out the online form
- provide the same project summary
- Team should submit work samples that are the product of previous collaborative work. However, if you are a new collaborative team, separate work samples may be submitted.
- Collaborators may list the same references only if the references are familiar with each applicant, but the referee must write separate letters for each applicant.
Collaborative teams of three or four: In addition to the instructions above, attach a separate Word or PDF letter stating your intention to apply as a collaborative group and list all team members.
Online Application Form
- Each page of the application form must be completed before you move to the next page.
- Applications do not need to be finished in one session. The online form allows you to save it and return to revise, edit or add additional information later. After you start your application an access code will be sent to your preferred e-mail address.
- Choose the appropriate category in the arts.
Choreographers, multi-media artists, performance artists, and artists doing experimental work combining more than one genre or art forms, should select the category video/filmmaker.
- Provide the names of your three references and their e-mail addresses. Your references will be contacted immediately after you submit your application. You will receive a copy of the e-mail.
- Prepare a project summary written for a general audience that describes the purposes and goals of your time at Bellagio, and the artistic and global context of your work. It should also indicate the specific output of your residency, the planned outcome of your project, the target audience and the planned means of dissemination and evaluation of success. The project summary should not exceed 5,000 characters including spaces.
Project Statement
- Visual artists and composers – An artist’s statement of 500 words or less that provides additional details about the planned work. It should be specific about the stage of the project and plans for exhibiting, performing, or publishing the work.
- Applicants in the literary arts (novelists, non-fiction, poets and playwrights) and video/filmmakers – A detailed description of the project, not to exceed 1,250 words, indicating its purpose and goals. If relevant, please include a draft chapter or brief outline (Note: this will be included in the 1,250 word limit).
- Abbreviated CV (no more than four single-spaced pages) with career highlights, including exhibitions, performances, publications and awards.
Other application materials
In addition to the application form, applicants must submit a project statement, an abbreviated CV, and work samples. The project statement and abbreviated CV must be prepared in 12-point type with 1” margins and be submitted as Word or PDF attachments.
Work samples as appropriate to the art using the indicated submission procedures.
- Composers: Three CDs and one score of the same work completed in the past three years. Scores must be on 8 ½ x 11 (or A-4) paper and unbound to facilitate photocopying or submitted as a PDF file. Or, CDs and scores can be sent via post. Applicants who would like the reviewers to listen to something other than the first five minutes of a submitted work sample should clearly mark the score and indicate the track where the excerpt begins.
- Non-Fiction Writers, Novelists and Poets: A selection from a book published in the last five years (maximum 35 pages). Must be submitted online as either a Word or PDF document.
- Playwrights: A selection from a play produced in the past five years (maximum 35 pages). Must be submitted online as either a Word or PDF document.
Literary artists - If published work is not in English, two recently published reviews in English (no more than three) must be submitted.
- Video/Filmmakers: Three DVD copies of two different videos/films produced in the past five years (If running time exceeds 20 minutes, you should include a 5 minute excerpt from each selection). Should be sent via post.
- Visual artists: There are several options for submitting the indicated materials—electronically or by post.
- Electronically: Send ten images created in the past five years (maximum height or width 1240 pixels, file format must be .jpg or .gif, 300 dpi resolution, file size should be no larger than 1.2 MB). Please include a list with image number, title, size, medium and date of work.
- By post: Three copies of a universal read CD (for Mac or PC) with ten images created in the past five years (maximum height or width 1240 pixels, file format must be .jpg or .gif, 300 dpi resolution, file size should be no larger than 1.2 MB). Please include a list with image number, title, size, medium and date of work. Must be submitted electronically. OR Three copies of a published catalog.
- Other Creative Artists: Send three DVDs by post showing the same work which can be played on a PC or Mac, clearly labeled with a brief description of the work and date produced by post.
Former Bellagio residents must also submit a 250-word (approximately one single-spaced page) summary of what was accomplished during the previous residency, indicating the specific outputs and/or outcomes, the critical response and what has been accomplished since then.
- Published reviews - Applicants may submit up to three published reviews in English of their work.
Any materials submitted by post should be sent to the program administrators at:
Institute of International Education (IIE)
Bellagio Competition
809 United Nations Plaza, 7th Floor
New York, NY 10017 USA
All materials must be received by the application deadline.
References
- Reference letters are a significant part of an application and are read by all reviewers. It is mandatory within the provisions of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code for The Rockefeller Foundation, as a private foundation, to seek independent, objective opinions for each applicant.
- References should know your work and be knowledgeable about the project you propose to work on at Bellagio.
- Contact references in advance to ask if they are willing and available to write on your behalf.
References should:
- Evaluate your professional work and your standing in your field
- Evaluate the substance, merit and feasibility of your project. Be sure to send them a copy of your Bellagio proposal.
- Comment on your ability and willingness to contribute to the intellectual and social community of scholars and artists at Bellagio.
- List only one person from the same university or institution.
- References should not be editors or others with a financial interest in your success in being invited for a residency
- References must be submitted no later than two weeks after the application deadline. Applicants are responsible for follow-up to ensure timely submission.
Application Checklist
- Online application form
- Writers (novelists, non-fiction, poets and playwrights) and video/filmmakers: a project statement of up to 1,250 words
- All other creative artists: an artist’s statement of up to 500 words
- Curriculum vitae (maximum: four single-spaced pages)
- Three references with knowledge of your project. They must be able to respond via email.
- Work samples (per directions for different types of arts found in the application instructions)
Application Deadline
The next deadline for the Bellagio Center competition for scholars and creative artists will be December 1, for a possible residency between mid-August and November 30, 2011. The application process will open on October 1, 2010.
Practitioner applications are accepted on a rolling admissions basis.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: I can only stay for two weeks. Can I apply for a residency?
A: Yes. While most residencies are for four weeks, two-and three-week residencies are considered. Please include a brief statement with your application describing why you are asking for a shorter residency.
Q: My spouse/partner and I each have projects and are both applying for a residency; does this mean our chances are better?
A: Each application is considered on its own merits. If only one individual is invited, the spouse/partner may accompany the invitee, but will not be considered a Bellagio resident. While studies and studio spaces are reserved solely for the use of residents, the Center offers plenty of common space for spouses/partners to work on their own projects.
Q: I am not sure which category I should select for my proposal, since my work cuts through several areas.
A: If you have questions about the appropriate category in which you should apply or other questions about the application or the process, please call or email: 212-984-5537 or bellagio_res@iie.org
Q: Will my materials be returned to me?
A: It is not possible to return materials.
Q: If I live in a country where I have difficulty accessing the online application form, how can I submit my application?
A: Contact the program administrators to discuss alternative ways to submit the application: bellagio_res@iie.org or 212-984-5537.
Selection Process and Criteria | Application Requirements | Application Checklist | Application Deadlines | FAQs
