Public Artists in Residence (PAIR) 2025 Open Call: Mayor's Public Engagement Unit (PEU)

Public Artists in Residence (PAIR) 2025 Open Call: Mayor's Public Engagement Unit (PEU) Ends on Monday, June 30 at 11:59PM 

OPEN CALL FOR ARTISTS: PUBLIC ARTISTS IN RESIDENCE (PAIR) 2025
NYC Department of Cultural Affairs & the Mayor's Public Engagement Unit
 The NYC Department of Cultural Affairs (DCLA) is seeking three (3) artists to join the Public Artists in Residence (PAIR) program in 2025. One (1) selected artist will be placed in residence with each of the following City agencies/offices: Office of Housing Recovery Operations, Small Business Services, and the Mayor's Public Engagement Unit. This application is for a residency with the Mayor's Public Engagement Unit (PEU).
 

About PAIR
 PAIR is based on the premise that artists are creative problem solvers. To that end, DCLA embeds socially engaged artists in New York City municipal agencies to utilize their creative, collaborative art practice to offer innovative solutions to pressing civic challenges. Launched in 2015, the PAIR program takes its name and inspiration from the pioneering work of artist Mierle Laderman Ukeles, the City’s first official artist in residence (1977), with the NYC Department of Sanitation. Since establishing the program, DCLA has embedded 24 artists in 15 agencies, including Kameron Neal at the Department of Records and Information Services, Tania Bruguera at the Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs, Yazmany Arboleda at the Civic Engagement Commission, among others. For a full list of PAIRs to date, click here. All of the PAIR partnerships—some of which are still ongoing—vary greatly in concept, scope, duration, and populations engaged, and their successes are driven by the openness of the partner agencies and the artist-led, collaborative process that the PAIR program framework provides. Artists who are able to be flexible, adaptable, and can maneuver through different situations and populations are encouraged to apply.  
 

Residency Structure
PAIR residencies begin with a required half-day orientation session, which kicks off a four-month Research Phase. This Phase is a time for the artist and agency to establish mutual trust through shared exposure to each other’s work and process—the artist shadows agency staff and attends meetings, trainings and site visits, and in turn the agency hosts an artist talk and visits the artist at their studio. The Research Phase ends with the artist proposing a project, designed in collaboration with the partner agency, to produce during the remaining months of the residency. The Implementation Phase of the residency is marked by approval of the project proposal and initiation of the work. The proposed project must be collaborative in nature and include at least one (1) public-facing event or component. Both DCLA and the partner agency will continue to provide the artist support during the project’s production for the duration of the residency. Throughout the residency, the artist, partner agency, and DCLA have biweekly virtual or in-person check-in meetings to assist in project development. Additionally, the artist will have monthly meetings to share process updates and receive support from outside arts professionals.
 

Artist Fee and Materials
 PAIR funding per residency is $40,000: $20,000 for the Research Phase and $20,000 for the Implementation Phase. All funds are paid directly to the artist, who is responsible for managing their own project budgets and submitting invoices on a timely basis. NOTE: DCLA advocates strongly for fair artist wages. Given that PAIR awards are fixed, we strongly encourage individual artists to apply for PAIR rather than artist collectives that would have to share the award. Collectives are still welcome to apply, knowing the financial restrictions. In addition to the $40,000, the artist receives:  

• A desk at the partner agency, with office access based on regular building hours  
• Access to materials/supplies at DCLA’s Materials for the Arts 

Artist Agreement and Intellectual Property Rights
 DCLA understands the importance of artists’ intellectual property rights. Prior to the start date of each phase of the program, the selected artists will be required to sign two (2) Public Artist in Residence Agreements (one for the Research Phase and one for the Implementation Phase). These agreements include fixed provisions regarding intellectual property and make the following distinction: artist(s) own and maintain rights over artistic works developed during the program (such as visual art, performances and literary materials) that are not intended to be used by a City agency or program, subject to certain restrictions and the City’s license to use such artistic works. Materials developed specifically for City purposes (such as reports, promotional materials, and campaign content) will be owned by the City. Selected artists are strongly encouraged to review the Agreements with trusted legal counsel as soon as they are received to avoid delays.
 

PAIR 2025 

PAIR 2025 will launch three (3) new residencies with the following partner agencies:  

• Office of Housing Recovery Operations 
• Small Business Services 
• Mayor's Public Engagement Unit 

This is an open call for a Public Artist in Residence with the Mayor's Public Engagement Unit. The other 2025 PAIR Artist Open Calls can be found here. Artists may apply to multiple open calls but can only be selected for one position. A separate application must be submitted for each agency.


About the Mayor's Public Engagement Unit
The NYC Public Engagement Unit (PEU) was created to develop a new model for government outreach, using community organizing principles to re-envision how the City provides services to its most vulnerable communities. Rather than expecting constituents to navigate a complex City bureaucracy to get the help they need, PEU adopts grassroots tactics to meet residents where they are – at their doors and on their phones, in their social media feeds and in their communities. We marry this proactive outreach with comprehensive case management to provide New Yorkers with personalized, passionate care. PEU is comprised of four teams:

The Tenant Support Unit (TSU) provides free information on tenants' rights, assistance navigating housing-related issues, and connection to a range of resources, including the Tenant Resource Portal, anti-eviction legal assistance, the home repairs program, and rent freeze and homeowner tax exemption programs.

The Home Support Unit (HSU) conducts outreach to rental owners and brokers in order to identify vacant homes for voucher holders living in shelters. HSU supports owners and brokers throughout the lease-up process, improving their experience with rental subsidies so that they continue to provide units to voucher recipients in the future.

GetCoveredNYC provides free assistance for New Yorkers seeking to enroll in health care, regardless of immigration status or income. Our Specialists speak more than 20 languages and conduct outreach to proactively identify uninsured New Yorkers and help them get access to health care and other health-related benefits.

The Special Projects team works full-time to support all PEU units, while remaining flexible enough to take on the coordination of new projects based on the City's most urgent priorities. PEU's Special Projects Team leverages interagency resources, City staff volunteers, and technology in agile and creative ways to design and implement new outreach strategies for the City's most pressing initiatives. With the addition of a dedicated field team, we are expanding our scope of work to provide New Yorkers with comprehensive benefits eligibility screenings.

For more information about PEU, visit nyc.gov/mayorspeu 

The Opportunities and Challenges
As we reflect on ten years of PEU, we are hoping to amplify the day-to-day experience of our strategic outreach initiatives while continuing to look for new ways to better connect New Yorkers to government services. We hope to bring attention to the New Yorkers who benefit from PEU programs and the dedicated civil servants at PEU who are on the streets engaging with communities across the city every day. As we look towards the next ten years, we believe that greater reflection on the contemporary experience of our work will helps us address the ongoing challenge of distrust in government, especially among immigrant communities. This distrust is due to systemic inequities, misinformation, and language barriers which prevent access to resources and services while also limiting connection between communities.

PEU believes that artmaking can address these challenges by centering the diverse stories and experiences of the New Yorkers we serve who are at the heart of our work. It will introduce a platform where all New Yorkers are heard and seen, regardless of status. A Public Artist in Residence at PEU would help strengthen our mission of connecting with NYC residents, through public art and storytelling. The Public Artist in Residence would be supported by staff across all four of our teams. This would engage New Yorkers and allow them to share their views and stories in creative ways. By welcoming an artist to PEU, we will celebrate our past, elevate our present, and inspire our future. Together, we can achieve our goal of empowering NYC residents and achieving equity in NYC.

The Call
  Interested artists must submit all of the following application materials: 

1. Framing Question or Area of Inquiry (100 words) Based on the background information provided by the Administration for Children Services, what resonates with you, and what framing question or area of inquiry would you hope to address during the residency? Please note that this open call is not a request for project proposals or predetermined projects; we expect questions and areas of inquiry to evolve during the residency. 
2. Statement of Interest (250 words) How does your previous work and process of collaboration relate to your framing question or area of inquiry? Using examples from your past work, explain how your practice has intersected with the agency’s constituents and/or areas of focus. Describe a challenge that you previously faced during this work and how you addressed it. Please be specific. 
3. Artist Statement (250 words) Provide a statement describing your artistic practice. 
4. Resume or CV. Provide a resume or CV, highlighting artistic excellence and any community engagement work, foreign language skills, teaching experience, experience working with multiple stakeholders, and/or any experience related to the specific agency or challenge set forth in this call. 
5. References. Provide the names, phone numbers and emails of two (2) professional references. Please indicate your relationship to each reference. 
6. Work Samples. Provide up to 10 digital images of recent works and/or up to 3 links to video or audio with maximum lengths of 5 minutes. For literary projects, submit samples no longer than 2-3 pages of scripts, poetry, prose or other relevant materials. 
7. Work Sample List. Provide a list of submitted work, including title, date, materials and dimensions, or running times. Include 1-2 sentence descriptions as needed. 

Selection Process and Evaluation Criteria
 Artist applications will be reviewed by a panel of representatives from DCLA, PEU, and invited professionals with expertise in contemporary art. The panel will review applications for completeness, eligibility, and quality, as well as:  

• Clarity of framing question or area of inquiry to address during residency.  
• Quality and relevance of the applicant’s prior work.  
• Evidence of experience creating socially engaged art and working collaboratively with communities.  
• Evidence of experience working at the intersection of art and politics and/or using art for social or political change.  
• Evidence of experience developing and engaging in a collaborative process with multiple partners with a high level of competency.  
• Evidence of flexibility, adaptability, and ability to maneuver through different situations and populations.  

   Finalists will be asked to interview with the panel prior to final selection.  

Applicant Eligibility
 The selected artist should be deeply interested in NYC’s physical landscape and/or neighborhood planning and development, have demonstrated experience with social interventions through artistic practice, and have a desire to work specifically within government systems. In addition:  

• Applications will be accepted from individual artists or artist collectives only (artists cannot apply for or receive funds on behalf of a non-profit organization or a for-profit entity).  
• Artists can apply directly without a fiscal sponsor.  
• Artists must be 18 years of age or older and residents of New York City.  
• Artists must be eligible to work in New York City.  
• Artists must not be enrolled in an academic program during the residency.  

Timeline 

• Application Deadline: Monday, June 30, 2025, 11:59pm. Applications must be submitted online via Submittable.  
• Artist Finalist Interviews: Beginning of August. Interviews will be conducted virtually and selected artists will be notified shortly thereafter. 
• Residency Start Date: Start of September 2025. In person kick off meeting. 
• Residency End Date: August 2026  

 This open call does not represent any obligation or agreement whatsoever on the part of the City. The City is under no legal obligation to select an artist for the residency, and the City reserves the right to reject any or all applications, amend or withdraw this open call in whole or in part, and negotiate with one or more artist(s). If you have questions about the application process or residency structure, please contact us at PAIR@culture.nyc.gov.