FISHBOWL RESIDENCY
An invitational residency program transforming the gallery into a visible, working studio featuring Andie Flores, Sam Mayer, and Kitchen Table
DORF is proud to announce the inaugural season of Fishbowl Residency, inviting artists to inhabit DORF’s gallery as an active studio and public-facing site of creative exploration throughout Summer 2026. Each artist or collective will receive a $2,000 unrestricted stipend and ongoing access to the gallery as a studio and production hub, along with institutional and curatorial support from the DORF team.
The annual program includes three residency sessions featuring two Austin-based artists and one visiting artist. This 2026 season highlights acclaimed artists working across performance and experimental theater: Austin-based artists Andie Flores and Sam Mayer, and visiting Houston collective Kitchen Table.
DORF’s neighborhood partner, Carpenter Hotel is providing complimentary lodging for visiting artists, daily food and beverage stipends, and honorariums for artist talks and programming.
There is no application fee. DORF open calls are, and will always be FREE to apply. This is an online application process only. Applications will not be accepted by postal mail or email.
2026 ARTIST LINEUP
Session I
Andie Flores (Austin, TX) - June 1–27, 2026
Andie Flores (b. 1990, she/her) is a performance artist based in Austin, Texas, whose work uses embarrassment as a medium to explore hypervisibility within a racialized body across borders of history, capital, and identity. Her experimental performances disrupt expectations around femininity, Latinidad, drag, and citizenship by pairing comedic cultural references with exaggerated, often grotesque forms and sounds, pushing toward absurd and urgent modes of world-building. Flores has presented work at venues and festivals including Fusebox Festival, OUTsider Festival, MASS Gallery, and Museum of Human Achievement. She was recognized by Remezcla as one of “40 Emerging Texas Artists to Know” and included in Glasstire’s “Best of 2021.”
ANDIE FLORES FISHBOWL PAGE COMING SOON
Session II
Sam Mayer (Austin, TX) - August 10–September 5, 2026
SAM MAYER FISHBOWL PAGE COMING SOON
Sam Mayer is a playwright from Houston. His full-length works include poolboy00, The Cuck, and Chet’s Summer Vacation. His collaborative work with Andie Flores includes 3 Scenes from Queer Utopia, presented at OUTsider Festival. His work has been supported by The Helene Wurlitzer Foundation, The Orchard Project, and SPACE on Ryder Farm, among others.
Session III
Kitchen Table (Houston, TX) - September 8–26, 2026
Kitchen Table is an insurgent print shop and puppet interventionists collective at the intersection of art and liberation movements. They offer printed matter, movement graphics, community activations, installations and workshops. Kitchen Table operates as a borderless mycelium network with a print and puppet studio operating in Houston, Tejas.
KITCHEN TABLE FISHBOWL PAGE COMING SOON
ABOUT THE RESIDENCY
Named for the gallery’s floor-to-ceiling glass walls, Fishbowl Residency transforms DORF into a visible working studio where artistic process unfolds in public view. The residency invites artists to engage themes of temporality, transparency, and exposure within a living, evolving environment where process becomes performance, and the boundaries between private creation and public encounter begin to dissolve.
Throughout each residency, DORF will host weekly open studio hours on Saturdays from 12–5 PM, inviting audiences to witness works in progress and engage with the artists.
With Fishbowl Residency, DORF continues its commitment to building artist-centered cultural infrastructure in Austin—advancing experimental models that support creative risk-taking while critically examining the social, economic, and psychological conditions shaping artistic practice today.
Carpenter Hotel x DORF
The Fishbowl Residency is part of DORF’s broader programming partnership with Carpenter Hotel this year. Together, we’re bringing a year of curated, artist-led experiences to Carpenter Hotel and the Austin community—from workshops and artist talks to residencies, guided experiences, and custom art commissions.
Rooted in a shared commitment to supporting artists and celebrating Austin’s evolving cultural landscape, the partnership prioritizes meaningful engagement, accessibility, and fair artist compensation. Through this collaboration, visiting artists will receive complimentary accommodations, and all resident artists will receive a food and beverage stipend during their residencies. Learn more about Carpenter Hotel and the partnership here.
ABOUT DORF
DORF was founded in 2018 with a mission to build a village of artists, advocates, and innovators. DORF’s values of openness, intention, expression, and community have guided its programming, which includes exhibitions that tackle social justice, amplify marginalized voices, and foster meaningful dialogues.
We have received recognition in publications like Texas Monthly, Sightlines Magazine, The Austin Chronicle, Glasstire, Southwest Contemporary, and more, and received “Best New Experimental Art Gallery” in The Austin Chronicle.
For more information, contact us at dorf@dorfworld.org.
PARKING:
Paid parking is available in the Zilker Point garage (near DORF entrance on Toomey Road) at $5/hour (max $30). Additional public paid parking is available along Toomey Road west of the building.
ACCESSIBILITY
ADA accessible parking is available at Zilker Point garage, with elevator access to DORF. DORF is also accessible via S. Lamar Blvd’s sidewalks.
DORF’s gallery is wheelchair accessible and stroller friendly. Onsite restrooms are wheelchair accessible with baby changing stations.
Service animals and friendly animals of most kinds are welcome at DORF!
Please check in at the Reception Desk or email us with questions or for assistance.
DORF:
218 South Lamar Blvd.
Suite 140
Austin, Texas, 78704.
Acknowledgements
This program is supported in part by the City of Austin Economic Development Department, and Carpenter Hotel.