The "Choir" Cohort Residency Program
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The Embodied Practice of Our Solidarity Economy Values
The "Choir" Arts and Education Residency Program is a cohort for Black-led or BIPOC-centering performing arts and arts education organizations. It provides affordable, reliable access to space, operational support, and knowledge-sharing over a 10-month residency term, enabling participants to create, rehearse, and share their work with the community at a culminating end-of-residency event in December 2026. shared investment in the building and in each other.
For the 2026 cohort, we are accepting up to 4 companies. Each resident company that is part of the cohort will get 3 productions per season across our fully equipped performance spaces, 100% of ticket revenue from all events, joint ACC marketing, box office staffing, technical direction upon request, quarterly organizational development workshops, fiscal sponsorship availability, protected scheduling, and bi-monthly Circle-Ups with the full cohort.
Cohort Submissions Open: Rolling
Weekly Schedule Submission: March 6 through 9, 2026
ACC Review and Confirmation: March 10 through 14, 2026
Cohort Orientation: March 17, 2026
Special Events Booking Open: March 17, 2026
Special Events Deadline: April 30, 2026
Residency Term: March through December 2026
Culminating Event: December 2026
Each year, resident companies access an estimated $60,000 worth of space, staffing, equipment, and training. In return, each company contributes 2 community offerings during the term. One is the culminating end-of-residency event in December 2026, shared with the broader community. The second is theirs to define.
Limited Spots Available
Monthly fees are fixed for the full 10-month term and do not fluctuate based on production volume.
Optional Cohort Add-On Commercial Printer Access is available for a one-time flat fee of $500, billed to the cohort at the start of the term and split equally across all companies. If the cohort does not opt in, the fee is not charged.
| Cohort Size | Annual Fee per Company | Monthly Fee per Company | Cohort Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 Companies | $5,000 per year | $500 per month | $15,000 |
| 4 Companies | $3,750 per year | $375 per month | $15,000 |
Resident companies/organizations may pay their residency fee monthly, quarterly, or in a single lump sum at the start of the term. Preferred payment cadence will be confirmed before orientation.
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Every organization's creative practice is different.
In addition to the base residency, individual companies can tailor their experience with optional enhancements to meet their specific production needs.Because the base fee already contributes to the building's daily operating costs, resident companies receive significant programmatic discounts on space. Labor, equipment, and access services are listed at parity, reflecting the actual cost of fairly paying the people and maintaining the tools that make your work possible.
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Description text goes hereScheduling runs through ACC's platform, which syncs with the ACC gathering and events calendar and team calendars. Once you are welcomed to the cohort, you will receive a private booking link. The time slots visible through that link reflect the live ACC calendar; rental holds, ACC programming, and other residency blocks have already been removed.
Building Availability Note: The ACC is dark on Mondays and is not available for residency use. Sundays are reserved for building cleaning and are not available for scheduling.
Regular Weekly Use (March 6 through 17) Submit your preferred recurring days, times, spaces, and any special notes through your designated HoneyBook link between March 6 and 9. ACC reviews all requests between March 10 and 14. By March 17, your weekly schedule is locked in, your blocks are protected for the full residency term, and your Brivo building access is issued.
Special Events and Performances (March 17 through April 30) Use a separate HoneyBook form to request special event dates, times, spaces, and expected audience size. All performance date requests must be submitted before April 30. Dates requested after the booking window closes are subject to availability and cannot be guaranteed.
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Description tThe 3-Day Rule: If you no longer need a single booked slot, provide at least 3 days of advance notice so the time can be released to another community member.
The 30-Day Rule: If you need to make structural changes to your locked-in recurring weekly schedule, provide 30 days of advance notice so ACC can coordinate without disrupting other cohort members and public programming.
To submit a cancellation or change: [INSERT HONEYBOOK LINK OR CONTACT]ext goes here
Frequently Asked Questions
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A Certificate of Insurance is required for every public-facing event. Your COI must name the André Cailloux Center for Performing Arts and Cultural Justice as an additional insured and must be submitted before your event date. If your organization does not currently carry event liability insurance, reach out to the Producer of Artistic Programming, Shaddai, and ACC can point you toward resources.
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100% of ticket revenue stays with your organization for all workshops, performances, and other activations. Events must use ACC's ticketing system to manage facility capacity, fire codes, and occupancy. ACC processes all sales and distributes net proceeds directly to your organization.
Who is eligible? Black-led or BIPOC-centering performing arts and arts education companies or collectives developing new or in-progress work and committed to community engagement. Companies must have been in operation for at least 1 full year. Each resident company may remain in residence for up to 3 years, after which it may become a presenting partner.
We, at ACC, utilize the following definition of "Black, Indigenous, People of Color-led performing arts organizations": BlPOC-led performing arts organizations, for our purposes, are those with predominantly Black, Indigenous and People of Color, board and executive leadership, staff leadership and constituents and whose purpose is in alignment with working to build the political, economic, artistic and/or social power of BlPOC communities. So, “BlPOC-led” is about the demographic makeup and racial identity of the leadership as well as a political purpose of building power to ensure that BIPOC communities thrive.
(The Case for Funding Black-led Social Change, The Black Social Change Funders Network
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Black-led or BIPOC-centering performing arts and arts education companies or collectives developing new or in-progress work and committed to community engagement. Companies must have been in operation for at least 1 full year. Each resident company may remain in residence for up to 3 years, after which it may become a presenting partner.
We, at ACC, utilize the following definition of "Black, Indigenous, People of Color-led performing arts organizations": BlPOC-led performing arts organizations, for our purposes, are those with predominantly Black, Indigenous and People of Color, board and executive leadership, staff leadership and constituents and whose purpose is in alignment with working to build the political, economic, artistic and/or social power of BlPOC communities. So, “BlPOC-led” is about the demographic makeup and racial identity of the leadership as well as a political purpose of building power to ensure that BIPOC communities thrive.
(The Case for Funding Black-led Social Change, The Black Social Change Funders Network
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Guaranteed access to rehearsal and performance spaces. Staff support and facility coverage. Joint ACC marketing. Box office staffing and POS system. Technical direction and front-of-house staffing upon request. 5 gatherings as a cohort to knowledge share and collaborate, Opportunities for work-in-progress and culminating sharings.
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Each company must complete three public deliverables during the residency duration: two public community skill-building offerings of your choosing, such as workshops, masterclasses, or educational sharings, and participation in the mandatory End-of-Residency Cohort Showcase in December 2026. The final showcase does not replace the two community offerings.
Participation in the mandatory End-of-Residency Cohort Showcase in December 2026. The showcase is a required commitment for all cohort members and does not replace the two community offerings.
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Because we operate under our solidarity economy principles, we do not charge companies and organizations in the residency cohort our standard gathering and rental rates. Instead, we take the actual cost of running the building for the capacity your cohort uses and divide it equally among the 3 to 4 companies in your cohort. By sharing the load, your individual organization's contribution remains accessible and affordable, while collectively ensuring the building can be open and operational
Here is how that plays out depending on cohort size:
If 3 companies join, each company pays. The total amount is $5,000 for the 10-month program. ($500 per month)
If 4 companies join, each company pays. The total amount is $5,000 for the 10-month program ($375 per month)
The total always stays at $15,000. Your final fee is confirmed once the cohort is set at intake. Resident companies may pay monthly, quarterly, or in a single lump sum at the start of the term. Preferred payment cadence will be confirmed before orientation.