Research and Production Program

Wave Farm welcomes proposals from artists, researchers, and tinkerers for up to 6 open call research and production opportunities in 2027. The transmission art residency supports the development of new transmission artwork. The spatial sound residency specifically supports the development of transmission artwork for a spatial sound environment. The fellowship program offers two different tracks: research and community engagement. All residents and fellows will have the opportunity to engage with Wave Farm Radio: WGXC 90.7-FM.

Review this page for program specifics, eligibility guidelines, information about the review process, and the application form. This page additionally contains a video tour of our Study Center workspace and accommodations for visiting artists and researchers. Questions? Email info@wavefarm.org.

Apply by December 1, 2026 at 11:59 p.m. EST.

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Residency: Transmission Art

During a 10-day residency at Wave Farm, the artist-in-residence will develop a new transmission artwork, informed by access to a research library, equipment, unique workspace resources, and on-site staff support. Projects at any stage are eligible and are not required to be completed by the end of the residency. Residents are encouraged to give an artist talk, presentation, or performance at Wave Farm or in the WGXC Catskill studio for a live audience. A stipend of $1,000 will be provided to the artist.

Transmission Art residencies are meant specifically for the development of transmission art. Transmission art encompasses works in which the act of transmitting or receiving is not only significant, but the fulcrum for the artist’s intention. The genre involves a multiplicity of practices that often engage aural and visual broadcast media. In some instances, works for traditional broadcast are created, and at other times artists harness preexisting broadcast signals as source material manipulated in live performance, installation, and public interactive networks and tools.

Residency: Spatial Sound

During a 10-day residency at Wave Farm, the artist-in-residence will develop a new spatial sound project within the genre of transmission art. The resident will have access to a dedicated 8-channel spatial sound studio, as well as a research library, equipment, unique workspace resources, on-site staff support, and engineering support. For full technical specifications on the studio, click here. While projects at any stage are eligible, this opportunity is best suited for artists who have prior technical experience with creating work for a spatial sound environment. We will consider projects in which transmission, radio, and/or broadcasting are a significant component. Residents are encouraged to give an artist talk, presentation, or performance at Wave Farm or in the WGXC Catskill studio for a live audience. A stipend of $1,000 will be provided to the artist.

Radio Art Fellowship: Research

During a 2-month engagement, the fellow will research and select radio artworks by historical and contemporary artists to add to Wave Farm’s Broadcast Radio Art Archive. The Archive is a research tool that comprises historical and contemporary international radio artworks created specifically for terrestrial AM/FM/Shortwave broadcast, whether it be via commercial, public, community, or pirate transmission. The Fellow will additionally produce a 2- or 3-episode special series featuring these archival selections to be broadcast on Wave Farm’s WGXC 90.7-FM.

The fellowship will commence with a 10-day visit to Wave Farm, where the Fellow will have full access to Wave Farm’s research libraries and resources. The rest of the fellowship will take place remotely. Fellowship Mentors will be available for consultation, leads, and feedback. A stipend of $2,000 will be provided to the fellow.

This fellowship is meant for projects that specifically engage radio art and radio artists. Radio artists explore broadcast radio space through a richly polyphonous mix of practices, including poetic resuscitations of conventional radio drama, documentary, interview and news formats; found and field sound compositions reframed by broadcast; performative inhabitations/embodiments of radio’s inherent qualities; and much, much more. Wave Farm continues to expand its working definition of radio art through the Wave Farm Radio Art Fellowship program.

Radio Art Fellowship: Community Engagement

During a 2-month engagement, the Community Engagement Fellow will develop and conduct a public workshop that critically engages the technology and conceptual specificities of radio. The workshop will be held in-person in the WGXC Catskill Studio or at Wave Farm, with an option to hold a second remote iteration over Zoom for a broader audience. A stipend of $2,000 will be provided to the fellow.

This fellowship has three stages:

• The first part of the fellowship is conducted remotely with scheduled staff and mentor meetings to develop the workshops.
• The second part consists of a 10-day onsite residency period at Wave Farm; the in-person workshop will take place during this time.
• The third part consists of compiling documentation to be published on the Wave Farm website.

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Eligibility

Wave Farm's Research and Production Program application is an international open call. Applicants should make a compelling argument in support of their proposed project, and either possess a significant body of past transmission-related work or demonstrate the aptitude and capacity to develop the proposed project. Full-time students are ineligible; however, exceptions may be made on a case-by-case basis for career artists and writers who may have returned to school for post-graduate work. DJ sets are not eligible projects. Past Wave Farm residents and fellows are eligible to apply.

Review + Notification Process

Applications will be evaluated in a peer review panel composed of transmission artists, engineers, past residents and fellows, program mentors, and Wave Farm staff. For the residency and fellowship opportunities, the panel will prioritize proposals that deeply consider the medium of radio, including the act of transmission and reception, and proposals that are both conceptually and technically feasible. Applications are due by December 1, 2026, at 11:59 p.m. EST. Finalists will be contacted for Zoom interviews and final notifications will be made in late February.

Application

A single application is used for all of the 2027 Research and Production opportunities. Applicants may submit to as many of the opportunities in the application as desired. Successful applicants will receive an offer for a single opportunity. Women, gender non-conforming people, and people of color are encouraged to apply.

Click here to apply.

Wave Farm Study Center Tour (2021)

Video by FusionLab.

Wave Farm Environment

• Grounds: The Wave Farm Study Center is situated on 5 acres in the northern foothills of the Catskill Mountain Park. The property features meadows, walking paths, and a small pond. Wave Farm is also home to active bee hives.
• Accommodations: Residents and Fellows are housed in the Wave Farm Study Center, which hosts one artist-in-residence or fellow at a time, or on occasion, more than one individual working as a collaborative duo or collective. Accommodations in the Study Center include two bedrooms (one full-sized bed each), studio workspace, kitchenette, lavatories upstairs and downstairs, a shower, as well as the Study Center research library, WGXC 90.7-FM Acra broadcast studio, and Wave Farm offices. Please note: day visitors are welcome. Overnight guests (including family members) and pets are not permitted. Expect Wave Farm staff to be on-site working at various times during the residency.
• Transportation + Meals: Residents and Fellows must pay for their own travel expenses, as well as expenses related to meals during their stay. Wave Farm can provide transportation from the Hudson Amtrak station, the Kingston bus station, or the Albany airport, as well as local transport for groceries and supplies. On a case-by-case basis, an advance portion of the artist fee or fellowship stipend will be made available to help offset travel expenses.
• Social Atmosphere: Residents and Fellows should expect plenty of focused work time. Staff is available for questions during business hours, but often working remotely. Residents and Fellows should anticipate a rural setting in upstate New York. Note: While visitors to the area might see signs and symbols of pride and inclusivity, be aware that contrasting imagery supporting Trump, Blue Lives Matter, and the Confederacy is present in the local area.

Returning Residents Invitation

Once an artist participates in the Wave Farm Residency or Fellowship Program, schedules permitting, they are invited to return to Wave Farm for short-term overnight visits. This opportunity is available on a case-by-case basis, and artists are encouraged to make a request as far in advance as possible. To request a visit please emaill info@wavefarm.org.

Wave Farm’s Research and Production Programs are made possible, in part, by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature, The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, and the Greene County Legislature through the Greene County Cultural Fund.