Providence RI USA 2025
Application | Previous Residents | FAQ
Apply now for the CTRI Innovations Residency, an artists residency program offered by Mothers News / Rhododendron Festival / Jacob Berendes. This limited residency takes place at a coffee shop in Providence RI during business hours and lasts for as long as it takes to have a cup of coffee (or tea). The focus of this residency is conversation. Any topic is viable but "so, what are you working on?" is to be considered baseline conversation. Coffee or tea will be provided. Fancy coffee drinks (latte et al) are not an option, sorry. Iced coffee OK. For a rough idea of what the experience is like, please read an account of a previous residency: [link]. CTRI stands for "Coffee/Tea Rhode Island".
The cost of this residency is $250, and complete scholarships are available with a 100% acceptance rate, bringing costs to the artist down to zero. There are no application fees.
There is no deadline to this application, but if you need to have a deadline to get anything done than consider the deadline as one week from the day you last looked at this website-- that would be midnight on .
I tend to book about a month in advance, but if you're coming from out of town and have a very tight schedule I can try to accommodate a rushed booking. If you don't have a firm date available immediately or in mind, it's totally ok to say like "I can't do this until 2 months from now", then we'll work out the details as the time approaches. No problem.
The residency can occur at any coffee shop in Providence except Starbucks, which I reject on ideological grounds. Dunkies ok. The default coffee shop is Seven Stars on Broadway, because I'm usually near there and usually on foot, though it is not my favorite. You are free to recommend a coffee shop.
To apply, copy the form below into an email, fill it out completely, and send to jacob@fujichia.com with the subject heading "COFFEE RESIDENCY". Then we can hash out the details. If you have elected not to get the scholarship, I will send you an invoice via Paypal or Venmo. Please note: the only ways you can get denied this residency are by filling out the form with goofball answers, or by failing to indicate in the space provided "I'm cool". Again: if you don't say "I'm cool", or you give me a joke answer about what your pronouns are, your application will be rejected and you will not be invited to apply again. If you have any questions not answered in the FAQ, feel free to ask before you apply. All questions are practical concerns and not value judgements-- it's OK to need "good" coffee.
For more info see our Frequently Asked Questions list: [link], or read this interview from ARTNews: [link].
Previous residents are welcome to reapply via the alumni program application: [link].
"CTRI Innovations Residency" is an anagram for "ORDINARINESS CONNECTIVITY".
Thank you!
NAME: PRONOUNS: FIELD: SCREEN NAME / BAND NAME / COMPANY / COMMON PSEUDONYM: WEBSITE IF YOU HAVE ONE (NO FACEBOOK) : COFFEE SHOP PREFERENCE / PLACE YOU WANT TO TRY (OK TO SAY "NO PREF"): ZONE PREFERENCE (delete ones that don't apply) : EAST SIDE / WEST SIDE / SOUTH SIDE / OTHER / ANY ZONE LIST DATE RANGES YOU ARE OR MAY BE AVAILABLE: IDEAL TIME (delete ones that don't apply) : MORNING (9-10AM) / NOONISH / COFFEE II (4PM) / ACTUAL MORNING (7AM) HOW YOU HEARD ABOUT THIS RESIDENCY PROGRAM: PERSONAL MESSAGE / EXTENUATING CIRCUMSTANCE / RELEVANT CONCERN / NOTE: DELETE ANY OF THE FOLLOWING THAT *DON'T* APPLY FOR YOU: • I'M PROBABLY GOING TO GET A TEA • I NEED, LIKE, "GOOD" COFFEE • I WOULD LIKE THE COMPLETE SCHOLARSHIP • I DON'T NEED THE SCHOLARSHIP, $250 IS NO PROBLEM • I'M COOL
more info:
influences for this residency program include:
Sponsors for the CTRI Innovations Residency include:
Annie Koyama, Tony Morse, and Jo Dery :)
If you're interested in sponsoring this residency, click the donate button and enter any amount. A donation of $20 would sponsor 2 residencies.