The May residency hosts one artist or curator for three or four months, July through mid-November. Applications are accepted year round until February 15th for that residency year. During the course of the residency, there are two private critiques with invited critics and audience members from local New Orleans arts institutions. The residency culminates in a two month exhibition which is curated by the resident-artist and the head curator of May. The week after the opening reception, May hosts an artist’s round table, which is open to the public and moderated by May staff or local arts community members. After the residency and exhibition is completed, May produces a catalogue documenting the critiques, exhibition and round table events. The catalogue also has a forward written by the head curator, and a biography of the resident-artist. The catalogues will be published in May of the following year.

The May residency seeks artists documenting their contemporary life or environment with explicit intent. Residents should be able to discuss their work concisely and be able to explain their work to other professional artists. The program is designed to be an educational experience for the resident and a documentation of the interaction between the international and New Orleans arts communities.