In case you missed my earlier posts, I’m applying to artist residencies this year, and posting about the experience. The number above is the amount I’ve spent applying to TWO residencies: I-Park and MacDowell. It breaks down thus:
$25.00 = I-Park application, which is thankfully all electronic
$20.00 = MacDowell application, which is electronic, BUT…
$15.84 = 6 copies of work sample at Kinkos (.11/sheet), which must be mailed physically, along with a print out of the electronic app…
$12.52 = cost of 3-Day Air FedEx for all the stuff
I know I could have reduced this cost by using my own printer, and sending Ground instead of 3-day Air, but A) my printer is running super low on ink, so I’d have had to buy another cartridge ($20+ bucks), for which I would have had to run around town, spending roughly $4.00 on the subway, etc., and B) I didn’t want to risk the application getting there late (they don’t guarantee sooner than 10 business days).
Anyway, I think this is a fair assessment of the “true” costs of this kind of thing, which is always more than you think it will be for a variety of reasons–these may be different depending on the circumstance, but they always seem to accumulate. Thank goodness I have to wait until next month before applying to the next one on my list! (I’ve decided against applying to either Hambidge or Ragdale, because I don’t want to pay anything out of pocket but travel expenses.)
reasons for why i’ve considered getting a job at Kinko’s in the past;) and the trees, the TREES !
Well, they’ll return the work samples if you request it. But then there’s the environmental impact of shipment. There’s no real good solution except to “go digital.” It would be both easier and cheaper on artists, and on the environment. But it would (gasp!) require judges to read t-t-t-t-text on the c-c-c-c-computers!
Shya,
Thanks for the heads up on I-Park. I can’t get my app in this year, but I’m definitely going to shoot for next year on this. Looks great.