Eligibility
Our next application deadline is October 1, 2010.
Our residents are chosen, annonymously, by a panel of jurors in their field. You can read about the juries from seasons past on our Juries page. You can also find an article about the jury process in our Spring 2008 Newsletter. If you have other questions, please email us or call us at the Colony. We aim to make the acceptance process as transparent to those who apply as possible.
The Millay Colony accepts residents on the basis of artistic merit. Our admissions policy does not discriminate with regard to race, sex, sexual preference, religion, marital status, disability or nation of origin.
How to Apply
Applicants must submit a Millay Colony for the Arts application. Download available here as PDF, 152k. Along with the application, we require work samples as listed below.
An application form may also be requested by sending a self-addressed, stamped envelope to:
Calliope Nicholas
The Millay Colony for the Arts
PO Box 3
Austerlitz, NY 12017
Application questions can be emailed to or artists can call Calliope Nicholas at 518 392-3103.
Required Material:
Millay Colony Application Process
Each year the Colony invites 48 individuals for a Millay residency. Decisions are made by subject juries made up of artists, critics and academics. Your work is considered solely on the merit of your artist's statement and work sample. The jury process is competitive and anonymous. Please keep these factors in mind as you prepare your application. It is very important that you do not include your name on your artist statement and work sample.
1. Artist Statement: Please write no more than 1 page (double spaced, 12 pt font). Write about your work, yourself and your current thinking about what you'd like to accomplish at The Millay Colony as clearly and concisely as possible. The jurors want to get a sense of you as an artist and your creative process, of how you plan to move forward creatively and the context for your work. This will help them make their final decisions. Do not include information about awards, galleries, publishing, etc. Number of copies to be included are listed in the work sample requirements. Do Not Write Your Name On This Statement.
2. Biographical Statement: Please write no more than 2 paragraphs (double spaced). This is for the administrative file and will not be seen by the jury members. Here you can list awards, exhibitions, published works etc. Only one copy is needed.
3. Work Sample Requirements:
- COMPOSERS: Submit three copies of a CD along with four copies of a standard size musical score (no larger than 14" X 17"). Do not put your name on the CD, or scores. Include three copies of your Artist Statement paper-clipped to the musical scores.
- VISUAL ARTISTS: Submit one CD of up to ten work samples in jpeg format, 72 dpi, along with a corresponding image list that cites titles, sizes, dates and medium. Test CDs to make sure images open on Apple computers. Write name on CD, do not have name listed with jpeg images. Installation/Film Arts: One DVD, submit no more than two minutes duration of work sample. Write name on DVD only.
- Include seven copies of your Artist Statement (do not put your name on statement).
- If you wish to have your work sample returned, include a sufficiently stamped, self addressed envelope.
- WRITERS: Fiction/Non Fiction: Submit six copies of no more than thirty pages in manuscript form. Manuscripts must be double spaced, using an 11 or 12 pt. font. Poetry: Submit four copies up to ten poems, no more than 15 pages. Playwrights and Screenwriters: Submit three copies up to 30 pages in standard industry form. ALL: 1) Do not put your name on any manuscript page, and number your pages. 2) Staple or paperclip a copy of your Artist Statement to each of your work samples. Work samples will not be returned.
- COLLABORATORS: Submit two separate applications, fees, artist's statements, but only one work sample if applying in the same discipline. If collaborating in two different disciplines, send two work samples. Each discipline will be viewed by separate juries.
4. Fee: U.S. Applicants: A $35 (US dollars) processing fee is required. This fee is payable either by check, money order, or PayPal (located on our website, www.millaycolony.org). Those paying via PayPal must include a copy of the receipt with the application. International Applicants: A $60 (US dollars) processing fee is required, either through PayPal, or by sending a Bank Certified Check in US dollars only.
NOTE: Those invited to The Millay Colony are not required to pay a residency fee. Room, board, and studio space are provided. Transportation costs are the responsibility of the artist. The Colony does not pay any stipend or living allowance.
Mail your application package to:
The Millay Colony for the Arts,
P.O. Box 3,
Austerlitz, NY 12017
Street Address for UPS & Fedex:
454 East Hill Road,
Austerlitz, NY 12017
Applications are not accepted electronically or via facsimile.
A stamped, self-addressed postcard may be included as notification of receipt of your application.
Application Postmarked by October 1st, 2010.
Questions? Email Calliope Nicholas: or call 518 392-3103.
Selection of Artists
Applicants are recommended for a residency by juries of professional artists in the same discipline. The jury members change each year. After acceptance decicions have been made, we post the names and bios of our jurors on our Web site.
Notification Deadline
Notifications are sent out in the first week of February. We can not let applicants know the status of their application ahead of time.
Residency Season
The Millay Colony welcomes multidisciplinary groups of six artists each for one-month residencies between the months of April - November.
Supplies & Equipment
The Millay Colony does not provide artists' supplies or individual computers, or printers. We have a computer, printer, Internet/E-mail stations, a fax machine and photocopier for residents' use.
Daily Schedule
Residents are free to organize their time however they like. We recommend, in addition to ample work time, hikes and bike rides on the mountain trails, swimming in local ponds and lakes, seasonal picking of blueberries, wildflowers, apples etc., bird-watching, waterfall splashing -- etc.
Meals
The Millay Colony provides food for breakfasts, lunches, and weekend dinners, and will happily respond to vegetarian or other dietary requirements. On Monday through Friday evening meals are prepared by an excellent local chef. There is no obligation, however, to be present with the group at the prepared evening meal. We have a share in a nearby bio-dynamic farm and so the bulk of our food is local and farm-fresh.