Rural Performance Production Lab
(RPPL)

The RPPL application process consists of two rounds:

1. An online application (closes April 3, 2024) with a panel process to select finalists. 
2. An interview process for selected finalists. 

Finalists’ interviews will take place in May 2024.   

All individual/group applicant requests and personal information will be kept confidential. The cumulative data may be shared anonymously to help us garner more resources for the RPPL program, or as data in advocacy efforts. 

Application Timeline 

Application Opens – February 23, 2024 

Info/Technical Assistant Call – March 13, 2024 at 4pm CST VIEW RECORDING HERE

Application Closes – April 3, 2024 

Finalists Interviews – May 20 – May 24, 2024

Final Award Notifications – June 5, 2024

• Eligibility – 20% 
  • Artist must be:
    • 18 years or older
    • Resident of Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, or Tennessee
    • Able to attend a consecutive three-week residency in Utica, Mississippi

• Alignment with program goals – 20%
  • Is the applicant a rural artist(s) creating work telling their communities narratives regionally or nationally?  Is the artist shifting those narratives via artistic expressions using media and any range of performance and/or production including film, live performance, writing, visual arts, music, etc.?  (not limited to the listed disciplines)

• Applicant’s creative body of work and approach to the work – 20%
  • Is the artist’s work and approach to the work in alignment with Sipp Culture’s mission. What is the artist’s approach to the work? Who do the artists create and do their work with?
• Project proposed for residency – 20%
  • What is the project the artist(s) wants to work on during the residency? Who would attend the residency? What stage is the work in and is the work appropriate for a residency at Sipp Culture?

• Impact on the career trajectory of applicant  – 20%
  • At the juncture of the applicant’s career, would the residency support the artist to transition to a new place in their career, artistically, financially or otherwise?

If you have applied to RPPL before, but not selected for a residency, you are eligible to apply again.

Preference will be given to rural artists and artists who have not received a residency with Sipp Culture before. Rural community is defined as 50,000 people or less in your residence municipality.

View the White Oak Residency Gallery

RPPL will provide a limited number of residencies, which provide three consecutive weeks of housing and retreat space for the artist to dream and manifest their work. Additionally, some artists that apply may be offered the opportunity to come for a week. Each RPPL residency offers travel support and a food stipend, as well as fresh seasonal produce available from the Sipp Culture Community Farm. 

We are selecting artists from this process to be in residence with Sipp Culture during the following seasons:

Open Residency Dates

Fall 2024 – September 8, 2024 – November 23, 2024

Winter 2025 – January 19, 2025 – March 29, 2025 

Spring 2025 – April 27, 2025 – May 24, 2025

Summer 2025 – July 6, 2025 – August 30, 2025

Fall 2025 – September 7, 2025 – November 1, 2025

What is an artist residency?

Artist residency programs offer the artist(s) an opportunity to live and work outside of their usual environment, providing them with dedicated time to reflect, connect, produce work, research, rehearse, rest, pontificate and maybe even showcase an excerpt of one’s work during their stay. 

When will my residency take place? Do I get to help choose the date?

The selection of the actual residency dates are part of a conversation between the artist and RPPL programmatic staff. We ask that you select dates within the following windows of time that you are available. Although this is a conversation, Sipp Culture will make the final decision. Please see residency date options below.

Residency Date Options 

Fall 2024 – September 8, 2024 – November 23, 2024

Winter 2025 – January 19, 2025 – March 29, 2025

Spring 2025 – April 27, 2025 – May 24, 2025

Summer 2025 – July 6, 2025 – August 30, 2025

Fall 2025 – September 7, 2025 – November 1, 2025

Do I need to fulfill all week(s) of the residency time awarded?

Yes. If you are applying to this program, then it is presumed you are seeking to apply for an on-site three-week residency with space and time located at the Sipp Culture Office and White Oak Artist Residency space in Utica, MS. The primary design of the RPPL program is to provide an opportunity for artists to have access, as well as, experience the benefit of what committing to taking advantage of dedicated space and time, along with funding support can offer to the development of one’s project and creative body work.

Should the artist choose to accept the RPPL award, whether the artist is awarded a one-week(1) or a three-week(3) residency, the artist is expected to fulfill the entirety of the residency time awarded. 

Categories*

Artist In Residence – direct funding plus Three (3) weeks residency

Visiting Artists – direct funding plus One (1) week residency

Next Up Artists – direct funding only

Special Category – Community Impact Artist – direct funding plus ongoing residency activities across the RPPL residency cycle

*The RPPL category determines the residency award.

Does the 3 week residency time need to be consecutive?

Yes. The White Oak Artist Residency operates year-round and the RPPL program is one of many programs that are housed at the Sipp Culture Office and White Oak Artist Residency space. We have created dedicated windows of time to offer RPPL residencies while also honoring the various needs of the space for organizational programming. 

How many people can the residency accompany in the living quarters?

The White Oak Artist Residency can accommodate up to 6 people depending on the configuration of the group (ex.: meaning if it is a couple/family working together and/or potentially if members of the group approve rooming together, etc.). We have a total of three bedrooms (2 rooms with 2 twin beds, 1 room with a queen bed). Lodging arrangements and programming on Sipp Culture properties must be curated with designated Sipp Culture staff through consultation prior to RPPL artists’ arrival.

Where will I live? Describe the place?

The Sipp Culture Office and Artist residency are housed together in an adequately-sized, two-story 1920s renovated home, located in Utica, MS on approximately 1.5 acres of rural land, 32 miles southwest of Jackson, MS. The house has 3 bedrooms & 3 full baths, 2 lavatories, a fully furnished kitchen, access to 500 sq ft of raised garden beds (produce available throughout  the growing season). This space also has a lovely wrap around porch, washer/dryer, Wi-Fi, parking and access to media lab and studio space. 

Though we are located in a rural environment, this quaint home is located in a neighborhood near our town’s center and within a ½ mile of our community farm. Should artists have accessibility needs, require additional technical support and/or need access to alternative space, these needs should clearly be articulated and included in your application, as well as, coordinated during each artist’s residency design sessions. Sipp Culture’s artist residency space is a shared space with Sipp Culture’s main office located on the first level of this two-story home.

VIEW White Oak Residency Gallery

What if I am not comfortable doing an in person residency due to Covid-19?

The Rural Performance / Production Lab is a residency program. Each potential applicant should determine for themself if a residency experience is what one is seeking. Additionally, each RPPL artist’s residency time will be designed in collaboration with the resident artist, advisors and Sipp Culture staff. As part of the design, all necessary factors will be considered and safety protocols will be implemented. 

What does it mean to apply as an individual or a group? 

Individual applicant – You are applying to be the only individual related to the project submitted, housed as an occupant during your approved residency time. 

Group applicant – You are applying on behalf of multiple individuals related to the project submitted to be housed together during the group’s approved residency time. As a group applicant, Sipp Culture will communicate with group members where appropriate, including finalist interviews, residency planning, and logistical details.

Specific details informing group application process expectations are outlined in the application. 

This important distinction of whether you are applying as an individual or a group helps the panel review team best understand the ways in which the artist is thinking about their proposed project as it relates to the artist(s) residency needs. Your selection initiates what type of engagement process is necessary to collaboratively help design residency time at the Sipp Culture Office and White Oak Artist Residency.

If my project is not solely a solo project through all of its phases (concept to completion), how do I know whether to apply as an individual or a group in my application?

While this is something that the applicant will need to determine for themself when applying to the Sipp Culture RPPL program, here are just a few questions to be considered: 

What type of residency experience am I seeking through applying to the Sipp Culture RPPL program? 

Do I need to be in residency by myself or do I/we want to be in residency with my creative collaborators?

How do I/we want to utilize this dedicated time with this residency?

What preparation will I/we need to do in order to be ready to attend and be fully present for the residency?

What is my ideal requested residency date? What are my secondary and third residency date options? 

What phase of my project do I think I will be at during my requested residency dates?

If it is a group application, does the award amount change?

No, the award amount does not change.