I always thought art was simple. The artist paints, sculpts, photographs, writes, even dances around a faux fire made of papier-mâché flames while a projector projects bumble bees around a gallery space, and that’s that. Voila, art.

We, the viewers and art critics, admire and/or admonish the work, and then everyone goes home happy or unsatisfied or somewhere in between. But, there is more to the creative process than just the creative process. In fact, there’s a thorny network of legal and professional issues that every serious artist will confront one day.

LegalArt, the Miami-based empowerment organization, provides artists with affordable legal services, grants and educational opportunities, as well as access to the knowledge and resources needed to navigate the often treacherous business of making art. Since 2003, LegalArt has armed, or better yet, educated Miami artists on how to legally project their work, while also providing them space to create that work.

With the help of the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, LegalArt created the first affordable live/work professional development residency in Miami. (For an overview of LegalArt’s studio spaces, click here.) South Florida artists, it’s time to submit your applications for the next LegalArt Local Artist Residency. Artists interested in a residency at LegalArt should submit their applications to the organization by Sept. 2, 2011. See qualifications below.

South Florida artists are eligible to apply for the Local Artist Residency. Five local artists will live and work in the space for 11 and a half months from Feb. 1, 2012 until Jan. 15, 2013. The subsidized cost of the studios per month is only $450 and includes all utilities and full use of the space. This program is an incubator, designed to help artists get to a new place in their practice. Incubator programming includes goal setting, contract law, copyright and intellectual property law, incorporation, how to cultivate collectors and curators, public speaking and grant writing. Artists interested in the Residency may apply here.