Buckham Fine Arts Project seeking applicants for its seventh-annual Writer In Residence!
BFAP: Writer In Residence
Buckham Fine Arts Project (BFAP) is pleased to announce that it is accepting submissions for the 2026-2027 Writer In Residence program.
Now entering its seventh year, a single literary artist will be selected for the yearlong residency and will receive a $1,000 honorarium exemplifying Buckham’s commitment to supporting contemporary arts in Flint and Genesee County.
“There is so much creative energy in Flint and Buckham is always looking to support artists while providing opportunities to engage with sometimes challenging contemporary art and experience new ways of looking and thinking,” said Michele Leclaire, Buckham's Executive Director.
The BFAP’s Writer In Residence program started as an outreach project in early 2021 to unite its visual art exhibitions with literary arts and Flint’s Black, Indigenous, People of Color community. The collaboration provides an opportunity for writers to engage with their interest in visual art and gain exposure for their literary work, while engaging Flint’s marginalized communities in a meaningful way. Buckham continues to pursue deeper ties within our community.
The residency has grown into a flourishing and vital part of contemporary arts programming offered to enrich the cultural lives of Buckham’s surrounding communities, Leclaire said.
Buckham is cultivating this project to actively promote historically underrepresented or marginalized writers in Genesee County. The growth of the program welcomes and encourages perspectives from writers who may identify as Black, Native/Indigenous, and People of Color; immigrants and/or refugees, individuals with disabilities, veterans, or LGBTQIA (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex, Asexual) people and their unique experiences.
What does it mean to be the Resident Writer? The residency cycle follows Buckham’s exhibition season, October-September, during which time the Writer attends each exhibition in the gallery to experience the visual art displays. From this experience, the Writer creates written compositions responding to the artworks that spark their imagination and creativity. Compositions created during the residency will be compiled with exhibition programming in a publication at the season’s end, September 2027. Once complete, Buckham hosts a publication release event with reading with the Writer to celebrate and promote their culminated body of work.
Eligibility requirements:
Submission requirements:
Jury process:
The 2026 - 2027 Writer in Residence project runs from October 9, 2026 through September 30, 2027. The selected literary artist will receive an honorarium totaling $1,000 and membership to the Buckham Arts Collective (value of $144) for the period of the residency including invitations to engage with Buckham’s artist community.
As Buckham’s Resident Writer, they are expected to attend exhibitions in person, schedule provided, and create 20-22 written compositions in response to Buckham Gallery’s presented exhibitions. Participate in six events during the residency period, such as Flint’s ARTWALK, readings and literary events, or artist talks in the gallery.
BFAP: Writer In Residence
Buckham Fine Arts Project (BFAP) is pleased to announce that it is accepting submissions for the 2026-2027 Writer In Residence program.
Now entering its seventh year, a single literary artist will be selected for the yearlong residency and will receive a $1,000 honorarium exemplifying Buckham’s commitment to supporting contemporary arts in Flint and Genesee County.
“There is so much creative energy in Flint and Buckham is always looking to support artists while providing opportunities to engage with sometimes challenging contemporary art and experience new ways of looking and thinking,” said Michele Leclaire, Buckham's Executive Director.
The BFAP’s Writer In Residence program started as an outreach project in early 2021 to unite its visual art exhibitions with literary arts and Flint’s Black, Indigenous, People of Color community. The collaboration provides an opportunity for writers to engage with their interest in visual art and gain exposure for their literary work, while engaging Flint’s marginalized communities in a meaningful way. Buckham continues to pursue deeper ties within our community.
The residency has grown into a flourishing and vital part of contemporary arts programming offered to enrich the cultural lives of Buckham’s surrounding communities, Leclaire said.
Buckham is cultivating this project to actively promote historically underrepresented or marginalized writers in Genesee County. The growth of the program welcomes and encourages perspectives from writers who may identify as Black, Native/Indigenous, and People of Color; immigrants and/or refugees, individuals with disabilities, veterans, or LGBTQIA (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex, Asexual) people and their unique experiences.
What does it mean to be the Resident Writer? The residency cycle follows Buckham’s exhibition season, October-September, during which time the Writer attends each exhibition in the gallery to experience the visual art displays. From this experience, the Writer creates written compositions responding to the artworks that spark their imagination and creativity. Compositions created during the residency will be compiled with exhibition programming in a publication at the season’s end, September 2027. Once complete, Buckham hosts a publication release event with reading with the Writer to celebrate and promote their culminated body of work.
Eligibility requirements:
- This call is for historically underrepresented or marginalized literary artists and they are strongly encouraged to apply.
- Historically underrepresented or marginalized may include: Black, Native/Indigenous, and People of Color; immigrants and/or refugees, individuals with disabilities, veterans, or LGBTQIA (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex, Asexual) people.
- Must be a Genesee County resident, City of Flint preferred.
- Artist must be 18 years of age or older
Submission requirements:
- Letter of Interest describing your interests in collaborating with Buckham and visual arts. Please self identify your historically underrepresented or marginalized community.
- Current CV or resume
- Three to five original writing samples as PDF or Word doc files.
- Submissions must be made by August 5, 2026. Steps:
- 1. Fill out google form information by clicking submission button below.
- 2. Email above materials following instructions on form in step 1.
- 1. Fill out google form information by clicking submission button below.
Jury process:
- Submitted materials are prepared for a blind jury for committee members of Buckham Arts Collective. A blind jury means that the applicants' names have been removed from the letter of interest and writing samples to remove any possible biases by the panel of jurors. Applicants' names are only revealed in the last round when invited to interview with the final selection committee.
- A short list of artists will be interviewed by the WIR Review Panel prior to award of residency.
- All applicants will be notified by October 7, 2026
The 2026 - 2027 Writer in Residence project runs from October 9, 2026 through September 30, 2027. The selected literary artist will receive an honorarium totaling $1,000 and membership to the Buckham Arts Collective (value of $144) for the period of the residency including invitations to engage with Buckham’s artist community.
As Buckham’s Resident Writer, they are expected to attend exhibitions in person, schedule provided, and create 20-22 written compositions in response to Buckham Gallery’s presented exhibitions. Participate in six events during the residency period, such as Flint’s ARTWALK, readings and literary events, or artist talks in the gallery.
2026 - 2027 WIR Review Panel:
Bob Campbell
Bob Campbell is a local writer who was born and raised in Flint. His debut novel, Motown Man, was published in November 2020 by Urban Farmhouse Press. Bob's creative nonfiction, essays and novel excerpts have appeared in Michigan Quarterly Review, Belt Magazine, Forge Literary Magazine, Hypertext Magazine, All Write in Sin City (podcast) and Gravel Magazine. Bob was a staff writer for the Flint Journal, Lexington Herald-Leader and Detroit Free Press. He was an electrician at AC Spark Plug for seven years before moving into journalism. He was selected as BFAP's third Writer in Residence, serving from October 2022 - September 2023.
Vivian Kao
Vivian Kao is an associate professor of English at Lawrence Technological University. She is the author of Postcolonial Screen Adaptation and the British Novel (Palgrave Macmillan, 2020) and co-editor of Writing STEAM: Composition, STEM, and a New Humanities (Routledge, 2022). Her first book of poetry, Dear Mrs. River-Dragon, is forthcoming from Another New Calligraphy, and her essays and poems have appeared in East Village Magazine. She lives in Flint, MI with her husband and two small humans. Kao served as Buckham's fifth Writer in Residence, October 2024 - September 2025.
Jenifer Fernandes Veloso
Jenifer Fernandes Veloso is a first generation Brasilian-American and a Flint based photojournalist covering the Latinx community, local sports, and social activism. She developed her passion for storytelling while working as a dedicated trauma nurse in a level one emergency department in Flint. Her past journalism projects include emergency responders, frontline workers, intersectionality, and Latinx life and culture in the greater Flint area. Her work has appeared in Bloomberg News, Click Magazine, The Hour Detroit, MLive, The Flint Journal, Flintside, and Flint Beat. Veloso was selected as BFAP's fourth Writer in Residence, serving from October 2023 - September 2024.
Qiana Towns Williams
Qiana Towns Williams is a lifelong resident of Flint and Genesee County. As a Flint-based community advocate, Qiana functions as an educator, a public servant, and a poet whose work bridges civic engagement, education, and cultural expression. She is a faculty member in the Arts and Letters division at Delta College and legislative staff in the Michigan Senate. Through public and non-profit service, education, and writing, Qiana uplifts and empowers her community with conviction and compassion. Qiana is the author of This Is Not the Exit, with work featured in Harvard Review Online and adapted for film. Towns Williams was selected as BFAP's sixth Writer in Residence, serving from October 2025 - September 2026.
Michele Leclaire
Michele Leclaire has served Buckham Fine Arts Project as Executive Director (2020) and Exhibition Director since 2018. As Executive Director, she grows Buckham's organizational capacity and community impact by leveraging the talent and enthusiasm of the Board of Directors and artist collective to bring challenging, contemporary art to downtown Flint. This includes the development of new programming such as the Cider & Slides events to provide our community with opportunities to deeply engage with contemporary artistic practice and BFAP’s Writer In Residence program. Leclaire earned an MFA in painting from the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in 2006.
Buckham Literary Artist Collaborators will be participating in the first round reviews of Writer in Residence Submissions.
BFAP: Writer In Residence Submission period is Open!
Bob Campbell
Bob Campbell is a local writer who was born and raised in Flint. His debut novel, Motown Man, was published in November 2020 by Urban Farmhouse Press. Bob's creative nonfiction, essays and novel excerpts have appeared in Michigan Quarterly Review, Belt Magazine, Forge Literary Magazine, Hypertext Magazine, All Write in Sin City (podcast) and Gravel Magazine. Bob was a staff writer for the Flint Journal, Lexington Herald-Leader and Detroit Free Press. He was an electrician at AC Spark Plug for seven years before moving into journalism. He was selected as BFAP's third Writer in Residence, serving from October 2022 - September 2023.
Vivian Kao
Vivian Kao is an associate professor of English at Lawrence Technological University. She is the author of Postcolonial Screen Adaptation and the British Novel (Palgrave Macmillan, 2020) and co-editor of Writing STEAM: Composition, STEM, and a New Humanities (Routledge, 2022). Her first book of poetry, Dear Mrs. River-Dragon, is forthcoming from Another New Calligraphy, and her essays and poems have appeared in East Village Magazine. She lives in Flint, MI with her husband and two small humans. Kao served as Buckham's fifth Writer in Residence, October 2024 - September 2025.
Jenifer Fernandes Veloso
Jenifer Fernandes Veloso is a first generation Brasilian-American and a Flint based photojournalist covering the Latinx community, local sports, and social activism. She developed her passion for storytelling while working as a dedicated trauma nurse in a level one emergency department in Flint. Her past journalism projects include emergency responders, frontline workers, intersectionality, and Latinx life and culture in the greater Flint area. Her work has appeared in Bloomberg News, Click Magazine, The Hour Detroit, MLive, The Flint Journal, Flintside, and Flint Beat. Veloso was selected as BFAP's fourth Writer in Residence, serving from October 2023 - September 2024.
Qiana Towns Williams
Qiana Towns Williams is a lifelong resident of Flint and Genesee County. As a Flint-based community advocate, Qiana functions as an educator, a public servant, and a poet whose work bridges civic engagement, education, and cultural expression. She is a faculty member in the Arts and Letters division at Delta College and legislative staff in the Michigan Senate. Through public and non-profit service, education, and writing, Qiana uplifts and empowers her community with conviction and compassion. Qiana is the author of This Is Not the Exit, with work featured in Harvard Review Online and adapted for film. Towns Williams was selected as BFAP's sixth Writer in Residence, serving from October 2025 - September 2026.
Michele Leclaire
Michele Leclaire has served Buckham Fine Arts Project as Executive Director (2020) and Exhibition Director since 2018. As Executive Director, she grows Buckham's organizational capacity and community impact by leveraging the talent and enthusiasm of the Board of Directors and artist collective to bring challenging, contemporary art to downtown Flint. This includes the development of new programming such as the Cider & Slides events to provide our community with opportunities to deeply engage with contemporary artistic practice and BFAP’s Writer In Residence program. Leclaire earned an MFA in painting from the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in 2006.
Buckham Literary Artist Collaborators will be participating in the first round reviews of Writer in Residence Submissions.
BFAP: Writer In Residence Submission period is Open!
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Buckham Gallery is funded by the following organizations:
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Generous support is provided by the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, the Michigan Arts and Culture Council, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Community Foundation of Greater Flint.
This program is sponsored by the Greater Flint Arts Council Share Art Genesee Grant Program made possible by the Genesee County Arts Education and Cultural Millage funds. Your tax dollars are at work!
This program is sponsored by the Greater Flint Arts Council Share Art Genesee Grant Program made possible by the Genesee County Arts Education and Cultural Millage funds. Your tax dollars are at work!
