The 9-month residency welcomes a mid-career Des Moines-area visual artist into the Ballet Des Moines studio to create new visual artwork inspired by movement and dance. With dedicated time onsite at Ballet Des Moines’ Lauridsen Campus for Arts & Education, the goal is for the resident artist to develop a deep understanding of ballet while also becoming a part of the BDM creative community.

At the conclusion of their time with Ballet Des Moines, the AiR will have produced a finished work, inspired by movement and dance. Their piece will be publicly presented in tandem with a new contemporary dance piece by the selected choreographer from the Ballet Des Moines Choreographic Institute.

The selected Artist-in-Residence will receive a $5,000 stipend, 2 complimentary tickets to every Ballet Des Moines production, access to studio rehearsals, and invites to special events. The residency also covers up to $2,000 in material costs.

Artist-in-Residence

Since education and community engagement is a cornerstone of both Ballet Des Moines and the Greater Des Moines Public Art Foundation, the AiR will engage with youth at Des Moines Public Schools. Under the guidance of the Ballet Des Moines Team, the 2025-26 AiR and selected Ballet Des Moines Company Dancers will engage elementary school students that highlight specific elements of each art discipline while illustrating the value of interdisciplinary collaboration.

EDUCATIONAL & COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT

In addition to the in-school engagement, Ballet Des Moines and the Greater Des Moines Public Art Foundation will host at least one community session that will provide insight into the resident artist’s process as well as the process of selected BDM choreographers. The open rehearsal and studio visit will provide an accessible, behind-the-scenes look at creative collaboration and the art-making process.

This opportunity is for mid-career and established artists–professional creatives who have accumulated a body of work that reflects their creative perspective and are accustomed to successfully completing projects under a deadline. This is a collaborative residency, intended to connect a local professional artist to an emerging professional choreographer.

ARTIST PROFILE

This residency is for visual artists, including but not limited to painters, costume designers, digital or multimedia artists, and sculptors. Eligible artists are residents of Polk County and the seven neighboring counties: Story, Jasper, Marion, Warren, Madison, Dallas, and Boone.

Eligibility + Considerations

Artists must be:

18 years or older
able to attend evening performances and events
able to present their work (both in-process and final) to the community
able to work with small and large youth groups
able to collaborate across disciplines and uphold a high standard of excellence

Timeline and Important Dates

Submission Deadline: Monday, July 28, 2025 at 11:59 PM
Selection Notification: Friday, August 1, 2025
Orientation onsite at Ballet Des Moines: Week of August 11, 2025
Deadline to Complete New Work: Monday, February 9, 2026
Visits to Des Moines Public Schools: March-April

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Submission Requirements
Interested artists must complete the application form by July 28, 2025. Late, incomplete, or ineligible submissions will not be considered. APPLICATIONS ARE NOW CLOSED.

Questions?
For questions or additional information, please contact Beau Kenyon, Director of Education and Outreach, Ballet Des Moines at beau@balletdesmoines.org.

FAQs

No. While we encourage our Artist-in-Residence to spend time at the studio and will help you to connect with the Professional Company and staff (all of whom also have their own artistic practice), we will not have space for you to store in-process work.
No. This program is designed to support artists who are already living and working in the Des Moines area.
This is a flexible residency, designed to support the creative process while providing intentional points for a new artist to develop authentic relationships with the professional artists at Ballet Des Moines. Rather than requiring attendance at every event, performance, and rehearsal, we will work with you and the BDM Artistic Team to find the best times to observe ballet classes and rehearsals and advise you on the best events to attend. We will provide 2 complimentary tickets to all Ballet Des Moines performances for you and a guest. The goal of this time is to help you feel like you are a part of this vibrant community. In the week of August, we will look at the entire season and help you understand which days/times will be best for observation and participation.
In addition to the time spent making art and mining inspiration from the dance studio, the AiR can expect to spend approximately 15-20 hours preparing for and presenting their work to youth in the schools. This will occur after the creative work is complete.
The Artist-in-Residence will receive 50% of their payment upon completion of their contract. The reminder will be paid after their work is completed.
This depends on the discipline and idea from the artist. The medium and inspiration for the this work will also steer how, when, and where the work is presented. The final work will be (in part or completely) inspired by the selected choreographer from the Choreographic Institute. The AiR may decide that they want to create a work that is included in the February production. The artist may decide to create an installation or 2D work that is installed at the BDM Studio or travels to different locations. The final artwork could live digitally online. In short, the selected AiR will work with our artistic team and staff to understand how and where to present that work.
Do not be discouraged or assume that this opportunity is not for you. If you are curious, intrigued, or inspired– please apply and note in your application what you hope to learn from this experience and how it will affect your creative practice.
You will not be required to attend performances, studio rehearsals, or events. However, we are thinking about this as a residency and a way to offer intentional and organic collaboration between our professional dancers and the professional artist community. If you are not interested in attending performances or rehearsals, this might not be the right fit for you.

Greater Des Moines Public Art Foundation (GDMPAF) is a tax exempt 501(c)(3) educational organization which, as a public charity, funds and administers a program to advance public art and public art education throughout Greater Des Moines.

GDMPAF is the “go to” resource, the lead organization and advocate for “advancing public art” in Greater Des Moines. It is dedicated to envisioning, developing, advancing and promoting public art projects in the community. GDMPAF recognizes that art belongs in streetscapes, parks, buildings and infrastructures of a thriving community, not just in galleries and museums. Thus, it actively seeks opportunities for art integration throughout the community with the goal of establishing a world-class destination for public art.

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HISTORY

In June 2016, InstaIlation Artist and Photographer Jami Milne became Ballet Des Moines’ inaugural Artist-in-Residence. Since then, the company has hosted over a dozen artists. For a full list of our guest artists