Fab Lab Maker Residency

Current public FCFL website page: https://fatcatfablab.org/fat-cat-fab-lab-maker-residency

The Fab Lab Maker Residency is open to anyone who has a focused project idea, wants to advance their skill and experience in an art or maker discipline, and who is excited to learn and share newly gained knowledge with others.

TLDR;

Free membership for 2 months!
Free tuition to classes!
Free to apply!
Rolling admissions, every other month!
- See Application Schedule below.

Our Mission

To enable individual artists and makers to realize their project through a focused, two-month artist residency at Fat Cat Fab Lab. FCFL will provide the artist our 'standard + storage' membership free for two months. This includes free access to the FCFL makerspace, tools, community, and free classes for our advanced tools (a $75 value each), along with the opportunity and challenge for artists to actively share and teach what they’ve gained during their residency.

To continue FCFL’s mission of teaching and skill sharing by having the artist/maker explain their work and techniques in a short presentation. We love work that engages the community, increases public awareness of FCFL, enhances our space, or increases the breadth of classes & workshops we offer (which you could get paid to teach!).

Our Artist Residency program is made possible through tax-deductible donations made to Fat Cat Fab Lab through our partnership with e-NABLE. This program supports artists and makers directly, so please consider donating!

Resident Artists

Receive free access to the Fat Cat Fab Lab makerspace studios for two months to work on their proposed projects.
Participate in PechaKucha night. Resident Artists will each present one quick presentation of 20 slides for 20 seconds each, in an effort to share knowledge with FCFL members and the community. These presentations are fun, casual, and quick and can be on any interest, hobby, weird fact, or technology related or unrelated to your Residency project. PechaKucha means "chitchat" in Japanese.
Plan and host 4 total hours of workshops at the end of their residency based on what they’ve learned / accomplished. Afterward, there's an opportunity to continue teaching the workshop at FCFL under our Workshop Teaching Program.

How it Works

We accept rolling admissions, reviewing every 2 months.
We select up to three artists/makers per Residency period. Start and end times can vary if needed for the project.
Our mission is to grow the FCFL community, so preference is given to applicants that are new to FCFL or projects that reach out to grow our community.
Current and former Fat Cat Fab Lab members are NOT eligible for the Fab Lab Maker Residency Program.

Residency Requirements

Fab Lab Maker Residents are required to:

Work on a project or projects with the help of FCFL’s space, tools, classes, and community during the period of the Residency.
Share progress with FCFL and community through one introductory post prior to the Residency start and at least two social media and/or blog posts about their project during the two month residency period.
With the help of FCFL; plan, schedule, and teach 4 total hours of workshops within three (3) months of the start of the Residency. Workshop material can be based on what they’ve learned or accomplished as part of the residency or in a skill or knowledge or interest they had prior to the Residency.
Present 20 slides for 20 seconds each during community Pecha Kucha night in the final week of the Residency.
Follow all rules in the FCFL code of conduct [link]
Spread the word!
Access to FCFL workshop and facilities is limited to applicant only
The workshop and presentation remains the intellectual property of the Maker, though Fat Cat Fab Lab reserves the right to record events and use images and video for advertising and social media purposes.

Residency Timeline

You can expect your Residency to follow this schedule:

Residency Timeline
Timing	Event
2 months before start	Applications Open.
	Applicants should arrange to attend an Open House in person or virtually at 7pm on Wednesdays. RSVP here
1 month before start	Applications close.
2 weeks before start	3 residents invited to residency cohort
1 week before start	Sign & return acceptance agreement
	Sign up for an account at fatcatfablab.org
	Come to the lab and pick up your 24/7 access card
	Share a photo of yourself and and/or a project you’ve worked on with FCFL, so that we can announce your Residency!
START
Week 1	First class taken
Week 2	Second class taken
Week 3	By this time, have provided at least one social media post or blog content shared with FCFL
Week 6	Session with FCFL admin to plan and schedule workshop sessions
Week 7	By the end of week 7, have provided at least two social media or blog posts to be shared by FCFL.
Week 8	Pecha Kucha Night: 20 slides, 20 seconds each on topic of Maker Resident’s choice
3 month post START	Maker Resident should have completed giving 4 hours of workshop sessions to the FCFL community one month after the Residency period ends.

Apply

Application Requirements

Candidates fill out the application form, including:

Their background and interests
What project(s) they want to work on;
What classes they need/want to take to enable them;
Their ideas for a workshop to be taught by them at the end of their residency, if known.

Additional Requirements

Candidates must attend at least one Open House (Wednesdays at 7pm ET) prior to the end of the application review period to meet FCFL members and learn about the space and community.
Candidates must understand and sign off on Residency Requirements.

Go to the Application Form Now

Application Schedule

Applications can be submitted any time during the month and are collected, reviewed, and prepped for the next Residency session. As in:

Application Schedule:
Cohort	Application Deadline	Administrative Prep	Residency Period
Cohort 1	April 22, 11:59pmEST	All of April	May 1 to June 30
Cohort 2	May 30, 11:59pmEST	All of June	July 1 to August 31

Resources for FCFL program managers: FCFL Program Administrators