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 34th 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.

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 29th 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.

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 31st year of the Jack Straw Writers Program, with Curator Harold Taw. To date, the program has included more than 350 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, Claudia Castro Luna, 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 five weeks after deadline dates for the review and notification process to be completed. The first Writers Program mandatory meeting will take place in January 2027.

The 2027 Writers Program Curator is Harold Taw. Harold is a playwright, novelist, and multi-form writer. A 2011 Jack Straw Writing fellow, his debut novel was Adventures of the Karaoke King (Lake Union Publishing 2011). His short stories, essays, and plays have featured on NPR, in a New York Times bestselling anthology, in literary journals and podcasts, and in The Seattle Times; his screenplay Dog Park was a 2023 LA LGBTQ+ Film Festival winner. With The 5th Ave Theatre’s Writers Group, Harold wrote the book for two musicals: Persuasion (2015), based on Jane Austen’s final novel; and original one-act The Missed Connections Club (2014). Persuasion had its world premiere at Taproot Theatre Company in 2017 and its California premiere at Lamb's Players Theatre in 2018. He wrote the book and lyrics for In a Better World: a Multiverse Musical, which had a staged reading funded by 4Culture, and the original play C[Y]PHER, which had a staged reading funded by City of Seattle and presented by Infinity Box Theatre Project. C[Y]PHER will have its world premiere produced by Pork Filled Productions in August 2027.

Selection Criteria  The Writers Program typically receives a hundred or more 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.

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