Lyrical Academy
Learning, mentorship, professional development, workshops, and skill-sharing with other artists.
Explore Lyrical Academy ↗LYRICAL OPPOSITION / SIGNATURE ARTIST OPPORTUNITY
Lyrical AIR
Artist-in-Residence
Program
Room to develop your work.
A community to grow with.
A selective, cohort-based residency for Bay Area artists, connecting creative development with the people, practices, and possibilities of Lyrical Opposition.
JOIN THE AIR INTEREST LIST ↗IN DEVELOPMENT / FREE TO RESIDENTS
Our residency is being established. Applications are not open yet.
01 / WHY AIR
More than
a moment.
A single performance can open a door. Artists also need the time, relationships, and support to keep moving through it.
Lyrical AIR brings those pieces together: development, community, creative support, visibility, and opportunities to make and share meaningful work. A small cohort gains deeper access to the LO ecosystem while building relationships with one another.
The investment is in both the artist’s creative practice and their place within a larger creative community.
02 / ONE ARTIST. THE LO ECOSYSTEM.
Learn. Create.
Gather. Share.
Four core programs. One connected residency experience. AIR moves across these pillars rather than adding a fifth.
Lyrical Studios
Creative-development support, collaboration, and access to relevant spaces and production resources LO can reasonably provide.
Explore Lyrical Studios ↗Lyrical Assembly
Community, conversation, reflection, cultural exchange, relationship-building, and shared experiences.
Explore Lyrical Assembly ↗Lyrical Ones
Opportunities to document an artist’s work and process through interviews, audio, photography, video, or editorial stories. Formats will reflect each residency.
Explore Lyrical Ones ↗Each Residency Plan will identify relevant support and experiences. Equipment, facilities, services, and specific media deliverables are not guaranteed in advance.
LEARN → CREATE → GATHER → SHARE→ PRESENT → BELONG → LEAD
03 / THE AIR EXPERIENCE
Bring a practice.
Build a possibility.
What makes it lyrical?
Language. Rhythm. Movement. Narrative. Culture. Voice. Lyrical expression reaches beyond writing song lyrics. AIR welcomes hip-hop and MCing, music, poetry, spoken word, literary arts, dance, theater, film, and interdisciplinary practices. Other disciplines may be considered when the proposed work connects meaningfully to this artistic philosophy.
An individual plan.
A shared experience.
Each resident develops an AIR Residency Plan: what they hope to create, what they want to learn, key milestones, the support they need, and what they might publicly share. The intended hybrid format combines in-person Bay Area experiences with remote participation, while keeping physical community central.
Time to reflect.
A midpoint review makes room for honest questions: Where are you in the process? What is getting in the way? What do you need from Lyrical Opposition? Does the plan need to evolve? Accountability works both ways: LO has commitments to residents, and residents have commitments to one another.
04 / PRESENT
Create something.
Let it meet people.
Every resident develops a Residency Project, body of work, or creative goal that culminates in a form of public sharing. A song, EP, film, performance, collection of poems, writing, dance, theater, multimedia work, or interdisciplinary project can all belong here.
Sharing may take the form of a screening, exhibition, reading, artist talk, listening experience, performance, or work-in-progress presentation. The creative goal can change as the work develops.
A place within Lyrical Festival.
When calendars align, Lyrical Festival is the preferred major culminating and recognition opportunity for AIR. Residents may share work and be recognized as they move into alumni life. AIR becomes one meaningful tradition within the larger festival, alongside its broader artists and community.
05 / COMMUNITY + RECIPROCITY
Invest in the work.
Invest in each other.
AIR is not only about what Lyrical Opposition invests in an artist. It is also about what becomes possible when artists invest in one another.
Each resident makes an AIR Community Contribution suited to their practice and interests. That might be a conversation, collaboration, performance, mentoring, curation, a gathering, a workshop, sharing knowledge, or supporting another resident. Every artist does not have to teach.
Commitment, with care.
Before accepting a seat, selected artists enter a Residency Commitment Agreement. The current model asks for approximately 80% participation in designated required experiences, with reasonable flexibility for work, family, illness, caregiving, emergencies, and other legitimate circumstances.
If participation becomes difficult, the first step is a check-in and a shared recovery plan. A formal participation notice may follow when needed; withdrawal is a last step if ongoing disengagement makes completion unrealistic. The aim is support, clarity, and a realistic path forward.
06 / THE FOUNDING COHORT
The first artists
help shape
what follows.
The Lyrical AIR Founding Cohort is intended to bring together approximately three to four artists, selected primarily from those already connected to the Lyrical Opposition community.
These artists will help establish, experience, evaluate, and shape the residency—building a culture future cohorts can grow into. One or two alternates may also be identified. No artists have been announced.
Founding selection will involve current LO artists and community. Future cohorts are intended to welcome artists new to LO through applications and community nominations or referrals. Those processes are still being developed.
Joining the interest list does not reserve a seat or begin an application.
07 / LYRICAL AIR ALUMNI
A season of work.
A lasting relationship.
An artist joins AIR as a resident once. Successful completion opens an ongoing place in the Lyrical AIR Alumni community.
SELECTED → RESIDENT → CREATE + PARTICIPATE→ PUBLIC SHARING → COMPLETE → AIR ALUMNI→ MENTOR + LEAD + STEWARD
Alumni may mentor, teach, facilitate, curate, perform, collaborate, produce, host, or support future events. They may gather through Lyrical Assembly, contribute to Lyrical Ones, and help steward the wider creative ecosystem.
As AIR grows, alumni should increasingly help select future residents through an evolving AIR Selection Circle. Artistic practice, vision, growth potential, community contribution, and alignment with LO can guide selection—not follower counts or public votes.
08 / MAKE ROOM
Each cohort helps make room for the next.
What an artist receives can become what they share. Knowledge, relationships, care, and leadership carry forward from one cohort to another.
09 / FUTURE COHORTS
A rhythm
we build together.
Spring and Fall cohorts are the intended seasonal model, with approximately three to four Bay Area artists in each. Duration, dates, resources, and application requirements are being developed.
There are no application dates to announce yet. Join the interest list to hear when the next details are ready.
JOIN THE AIR INTEREST LIST ↗10 / QUESTIONS, ANSWERED
Before you
join the list.
What is Lyrical AIR?
Lyrical AIR is Lyrical Opposition’s signature Artist-in-Residence Program: a selective, small-cohort experience connecting artistic development with a lasting creative community. The residency is currently being established.
Who is AIR for?
Bay Area artists whose practices connect meaningfully with storytelling, language, rhythm, movement, narrative, culture, voice, or creative expression. AIR is not exclusively a youth opportunity.
Do I need to be a rapper or musician?
No. Core practices include hip-hop and MCing, music and songwriting, poetry, spoken word, creative writing, dance, theater, film, and interdisciplinary work. Visual art, photography, installation, digital art, and other disciplines may be considered when the proposed work connects meaningfully to lyrical expression.
Is AIR only for artists already connected to LO?
The Founding Cohort is expected to draw primarily from the existing Lyrical Opposition community. Future open cohorts are intended to welcome artists who are entirely new to LO; previous participation will not be required.
Does AIR cost anything?
Residents do not pay to participate. AIR is a supported residency, not a tuition-based course or paid membership. Specific resources and residency details will be confirmed for each cohort.
Is AIR virtual or in person?
The intended model is hybrid: intentional in-person Bay Area experiences alongside Zoom or remote participation. Physical gathering and community remain central.
How many artists will be selected?
The intended cohort size is approximately three to four artists. The Founding Cohort will help establish the culture and shape the residency model for future seasons.
How long is the residency?
The duration and schedule have not been finalized. Spring and Fall cohorts are being developed; no application dates or residency dates are announced yet.
What will residents create?
Each resident develops a Residency Project, body of work, or creative goal with a plan for public sharing. This can include work in progress. The goal may evolve during the residency and does not have to be a commercially finished product.
What commitment is expected?
The current model includes a Residency Commitment Agreement, individual Residency Plan, midpoint review, approximately 80% participation in designated required experiences, and a flexible community contribution. Reasonable adjustments recognize work, family, caregiving, illness, and emergencies.
How will artists be selected?
Founding selection will involve current LO artists and community. Future selection is intended to consider artistic practice, vision, growth potential, community contribution, and alignment with LO. Popularity and follower counts are not selection criteria. Future applications and community referrals are being developed, not accepted through this interest form.
What happens after AIR?
Artists may participate as residents once. Successful completion leads to Lyrical AIR Alumni status and an ongoing relationship with the community, including potential mentoring, teaching, curation, collaboration, and future cohort stewardship.
When will applications open?
Applications are not open yet. Join the AIR Interest List to hear when future application details are ready. Joining the list is not an application, selection, or guaranteed residency place.
11 / BEGIN A CONVERSATION
Join the AIR
Interest List.
Tell us about your practice and what you want to develop. This is an interest list—not an application. Your responses stay private.
Thank you for your interest in Lyrical AIR. Your details have been received. We’ll use your selected preferences to stay in touch as the residency develops.
Your interest could not be sent. Please try again or contact lyrical@lyrical.co.
Questions? lyrical@lyrical.co