My friend Piotr's Top Tips

• Respect your work - don't apply for things you have no connection to
• Make sure your application isn’t too long and complicated: a portfolio shouldn't be longer than 20 pages
• Make your application SMART
  • Specific (simple, sensible, significant)
  • Measurable (meaningful, motivating)
  • Achievable (agreed, attainable)
  • Relevant (reasonable, realistic and resourced, results-based)
  • Time-bound (time-based, time-limited, time/cost limited, timely, time-sensitive)
• Find cute, bizarre things (museum collection, stories, tales etc.) you can build your application around. Try to go beyond Wikipedia research and surprise people who are responsible for the selection.
• Build your network before going to residencies.