Open Call

2024 We Read Bubbler Artist-in-Residence

The We Read Bubbler Artist-in-Residence (formerly Bubbler Artist in the Neighborhood) runs June to August. The program will utilize the expertise of local teaching artists to expand patrons' connections to literacy, creative self-expression, and hands-on learning in our libraries this summer.

The Bubbler Team is aiming to match a teaching artist to each of our nine neighborhood libraries in order to create opportunities for our different communities, prioritize variety, and connect and create with a range of artists.

Artists are expected to lead one consistent program per week (same day/time) for 8 to 12 weeks. Compensation for each weekly session is $150 with additional compensation for onboarding and planning meetings. The cost of all program materials is covered by the Library. There may be opportunities for additional compensation related to community events and requests throughout the summer. Past Bubbler artists are encouraged to apply.

Application deadline: March 4, 2024 at 11:59 p.m. CST

Each neighborhood library has identified their specific needs for the summer. Read library profiles below before applying.

Artists only need to complete the application form once (with preference of location, if desired) in order to be considered for all opportunities available within the We Read Bubbler Artist-in-Residence program.

Please email bubbler@madisonpubliclibrary.org with any questions regarding the project or residency application.

Support for this project is provided by Madison Public Library Foundation.

The button below opens a new window with an Airtable form to apply:

Library Profiles

Alicia Ashman

We’re looking for someone who is excited to create experiences that let children take the lead. Open-ended, process-based projects that use the same materials week to week, allowing kids to iterate and build on past experiences, are a plus.

Primary audience: Preschool and early school age

Availability: Flexible, one consistent afternoon a week

Meadowridge

We're looking for an artist who's enthusiastic about building relationships with teens and tweens in a racially diverse neighborhood. We serve a highly engaged group of youth, including many regulars, so you can expect your programs to be well-attended, energetic, and loud! Our youth love creative projects, especially tactile ones, such as sewing, ceramics, beading, or building. We also plan to prioritize outdoor programming like the city's Parks Alive project.

Primary audience: Tweens and teens

Availability: Monday evenings, Thursday evenings, or Saturdays during the day

Hawthorne

We’re looking for someone who wants to build community with a diverse group of school-age youth, teens, and families. Hawthorne is hoping to continue growing engagement with customers from the Darbo-Worthington Neighborhood, specifically Black and Latine families. Tactile projects, with special materials, such as beading, clay, shrinky-dinks, and sun prints, have been successful. We hope our outdoor space will be usable next summer, so there may be a mix of indoor and outdoor projects. Projects that appeal to intergenerational audiences are a plus! Artists that are organized yet adaptable, and are bilingual (Spanish/English), are a plus.

Primary audience: School age, teens, and families working together

Availability: Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday evenings, and ability to attend one or two Parks Alive events (4:30 - 8pm), potential to also include Saturdays

Central

We’re looking for an artist who is excited to support preschool children and their school-aged siblings. Open-ended, process-based projects with easy-to-use, variable materials and tools have been wildly successful for us in the past! We are inviting our artist to utilize the Bubbler Room at Central Library and would like someone who is also interested in designing passive experiences and projects that can activate the room when they are not there.

Primary audience: Preschool and early school age

Availability: Flexible, one consistent afternoon a week

Pinney

We’re looking for an artist who is excited to support preschool children and their school-aged siblings. Open-ended, process-based projects with easy-to-use, variable materials and tools have been wildly successful for us in the past! We also have a wonderful open space, ready for a passive, collaborative art project or drop-in experiences. There is also an outdoor space, the Patio, that we prefer to use in the summer for art activities. The Patio has ample space and even a spigot for easy access to water.

Primary audience: Preschool and early school age

Availability: Tuesday mornings

Goodman South

We are looking for someone who is excited to build relationships and trust through art with our school-age and tween population at Goodman South. We would love for our artist to be excited about tactile art like clay, sculptures, or similar approaches, which have been very popular in the past. We would also like to see someone who would be excited to listen and be reactive to other interests of our youth population. With a large Spanish-speaking population, a bilingual artist would be wonderful!

Target Audience: School age and tweens

Availability: A consistent weekday afternoon, some evenings for Parks Alive events

Sequoya

We are seeking an artist who is excited to engage the often large audience of kids and families we get at Sequoya in the summer. A variety of open-ended projects that allow kids to spend time and get creative—as well as scale up for large crowds—are ideal. With families returning week to week, this is an amazing space to build relationships, but also to respond to what projects go well and what kids are interested in as the summer progresses.

Target Audience: School age

Availability: A consistent weekday morning and one Saturday a month

Monroe Street

We’re looking for an artist who is excited to activate our small, but well-loved space at the Monroe Street Library. With big, street-facing front windows, an artist who is excited about building an interactive window display with our kids and families would be amazing. Since programming is less frequent, we would love an artist who is excited to create and maintain a passive project that can live in the space while they are not there, which can organically grow and change over the summer.

Target Audience: preschool and early childhood

Availability: One Saturday a month in June, July, & August + maintaining a passive project within the space

Lakeview

We’re looking for an artist who wants to engage Lakeview’s diverse population of users, kids and adults alike. In the past, our artists who have been the most successful are those who love variety and work with many different materials or mediums. This allows projects and activities—as well as relationships!—to evolve and be responsive throughout the summer. We would love someone who is excited to activate Lakeview’s outdoor garden space and also attend a couple of outdoor Parks Alive events.

Target Audience: School age kids and tweens, but also interested in adult-focused workshops

Availability: Tuesday or Thursday afternoons, some evenings for adult workshops, and some Wednesday evenings for Parks Alive events