Please contact us at arts@jackstraw.org or 206-634-0919 if this application format is not accessible to you for any reason.

Jack Straw Cultural Center is now accepting applications for the 32nd year of the Jack Straw Artist Support Program, which helps artists of many genres and disciplines to create and present new work. Up to eight artists/teams are awarded 20 hours of free recording and production time with an engineer at Jack Straw Cultural Center; an additional 10-12 artists/teams receive matching awards. The Artist Support Program is open to artists of all disciplines whose project proposals include sound as a major component. Such projects might include recording a music album, producing radio programs, oral histories, audio literature, sound for a gallery installation or public art project, film, music and sound design for dance and theater, digital media work, etc. Completed projects are publicly presented at a Jack Straw artist event. 

Selection Process:
Artist Support Program applications are evaluated and awarded by a multidisciplinary selection panel. The panelists change each year, and are all established artists and arts professionals invited by Jack Straw staff. The names of the panelists will be made public after the selection process has been completed. All applicants will be notified of the results in writing. Please allow at least twelve weeks after deadline dates for the review and notification process to be completed.

Selection Criteria:
The process can be highly competitive depending on the number and range of applications. Panelists will base their selections upon the excellence of the work represented in the support materials provided by the applicant; the artistic merit of the proposed project; the feasibility of the proposed project; and the subjective response of the panelists to the applicant’s proposal/work in comparison to the other submissions received.

Covid-19 Advisory
Our studios are currently operating at close to pre-pandemic capacity. However, given the overall uncertainty around the pandemic's progress, we may need to impose more restrictions in the future.

For artists located outside of the area who are unable to travel the Jack Straw, we may still be able to work with you, as long as your physical presence is not required in the studio. We are able to work with artists remotely for recording, editing, mixing, and training, with the lead artist providing direction remotely as needed.

QUESTIONS? Please carefully read the Frequently Asked Questions on our website.

Please contact us at arts@jackstraw.org or 206-634-0919 if this application format is not accessible to you for any reason.

Jack Straw Cultural Center is now accepting submissions for the 27th year of the Jack Straw New Media Gallery, a unique venue in Seattle where artists from various disciplines can present works in which sound is an integral or exclusive element. This program enables artists to experiment with audio and other technology and to develop new skills and ideas in a supportive setting. Up to four artists/teams are selected to receive up to 20 hours of free studio time with an engineer, which they may use to realize the sound component of their project, with training as needed. Artists’ new work is presented in our gallery in the following year. Gallery exhibitions include an opening reception, artist talk/workshop, podcast/interview posted on our web site, youth and family engagement programs, and other events.

Selection Process:
New Media Gallery applications are evaluated and awarded by a multidisciplinary selection panel. The panelists change each year, and are all established artists and arts professionals invited by Jack Straw staff. The names of the panelists will be made public after the selection process has been completed. All applicants will be notified of the results in writing. Please allow at least twelve weeks after deadline dates for the review and notification process to be completed.

Selection Criteria:
The process can be highly competitive depending on the number and range of applications. Panelists will base their selections upon the excellence of the work represented in the support materials provided by the applicant; the artistic merit of the proposed project; the feasibility of the proposed project; and the subjective response of the panelists to the applicant’s proposal/work in comparison to the other submissions received.

Covid-19 Advisory
Currently our exhibits are open to the public, but viewable by appointment only.  Opening receptions and artist talks are being held in person, with artist talks available to stream online. The projects selected for the 2025-2026 year of the Jack Straw New Media Gallery will be scheduled to show no earlier than fall of 2025, so we are hopeful that we’ll be able to present them as planned. However, given the level of uncertainty due to the coronavirus pandemic, it is possible there may be unexpected changes in the schedule or details of this program.

 QUESTIONS? Please carefully read the Frequently Asked Questions on our website.

Please contact us at arts@jackstraw.org or 206-634-0919 if this application format is not accessible to you for any reason.

Jack Straw Cultural Center is now accepting applications for the 29th year of the Jack Straw Writers Program, with Curator Kathleen Alcalá. To date, the program has included more than 300 writers from the Pacific Northwest and beyond who represent a diverse range of literary genres. Each year, an invited curator selects 12 fellows.

The purpose of the Jack Straw Writers Program is to introduce writers to the medium of recorded audio; to develop their presentation skills for both live and recorded readings; to encourage the creation of new literary work; to present the writers and their work to the public; and to build community among writers.

Participating writers are presented in live readings, in the printed Jack Straw Writers Anthology; and on the web and radio. Each year an invited curator selects the participating writers from a large pool of applicants based foremost on artistic excellence. Among past curators are program co-founder Rebecca Brown, Anastacia- Renée, Matt Briggs, Stephanie Kallos, Jourdan Imani Keith, E.J. Koh, Donna Miscolta, Nisi Shawl, and Shawn Wong. Writers receive training in vocal presentation, performance, and microphone technique to prepare them for public readings, interviews, and studio recording. Their recorded readings and interviews with the curator are then used to produce programs for SoundPages, our literary podcast, and for selected radio broadcast.

The Writers Program requires participants to be on-site at Jack Straw Cultural Center for a number of small-group activities, such as an introductory orientation, workshops for microphone/voice technique and live performance, in-studio interview session with the program curator, and live readings - pending any necessary adjustments due to COVID-19 or other emergencies. Most of these activities take place between January and June. Additional Writers Program readings will take place around the community throughout the year, including a final reading with all of the writers in November. Work appearing in the Jack Straw Writers Anthology may not be previously published material, and any subsequent publication of this work must acknowledge the Jack Straw Writers Program.

Selection Process
 Writers Program applications are evaluated and awarded by an invited curator. The curators change each year. All applicants will be notified of the results in writing. Please allow at least eight weeks after deadline dates for the review and notification process to be completed. The first Writers Program mandatory meeting will take place in January 2025.

The 2025 Writers Program Curator is Kathleen Alcalá. A two-time Jack Straw writing fellow, Kathleen was born in Compton, California to Mexican parents. She is a graduate of Stanford University, the University of Washington, and the University of New Orleans. A graduate of the Clarion West Science Fiction and Fantasy program, her work embraces both traditional and innovative storytelling techniques. She is the author of six books that include a collection of stories, three novels, a book of essays, and most recently, The Deepest Roots: Finding Food and Community on a Pacific Northwest Island, from the University of Washington Press. Forthcoming is Why Stars Burn from Rosarium Press. Her audio work was recently added to the PALABRA collection of the Library of Congress.

Recognitions include the Western States Book Award, the Governor’s Writers Award, two Artist Trust Fellowships and two Jack Straw Writers Program fellowships. Kathleen has been a guest professor at Seattle University and the University of New Mexico, as well as a writer in residence at Hugo House in Seattle and a Whitely Scholar in Residence at the Helen Riaboff Whitely Center in Friday Harbor, Washington. For eight years, she taught at the Northwest Institute of Literary Arts, a low-residency MFA program. Kathleen lives on an island near Seattle, Washington, where she has been designated an Island Treasure. 

Selection Criteria
 The Writers Program typically receives more than a hundred applicants, from which 12 writers are selected. Curator selections will be based primarily upon the excellence of the work represented in the support materials provided by the applicant, with the goal of curating a demographically and stylistically diverse group of writers who will work together well as a group.

Covid-19 Advisory
 We may need to adapt the 2025 Writers Program to fit the safety requirements of the current situation, as we have been doing since 2020, with minimal adjustments to the 2022-2024 years. Some elements – such as workshops, readings, and meetings – may be converted to hybrid or online formats, and some may need to be adjusted to minimize the number of people sharing space. 

It is impossible to know exactly what the situation will look like next year, so we are requesting your patience, flexibility, and adaptability in advance. Know that we will do whatever we can to help you get the most out of this program and find community with your cohort and curator.

QUESTIONS? Please carefully read the Frequently Asked Questions on our website.