Residencies are incubators for productivity, but also opportunities for funding, forging relationships, and perhaps most importantly, finding inspiration. As with most aspects of the art world, “one-size-fits-all” is not a term that can be applied here. This is a list (in no particular order) of 14 international residencies we put together for your consideration.
Woodstock A-I-R
Woodstock, NY
A workspace residency program at the Center for Photography at Woodstock, Woodstock A-I-R is designed to support U.S.-based emerging artists of color working in the photographic arts. The program offers five residencies for artists of color each year and welcomes submissions from artists working with photography, digital imagery, multimedia and/or installations that incorporate photography. It reviews work every 3-4 months.
WEBSITE: http://www.cpw.org/create/artist-residencies/
SUBMISSION GUIDELINES: http://www.cpw.org/create/artist-residencies/how-to-apply-air/
ALUMNI: http://www.cpw.org/create/artist-residencies/past-air/
STIPEND: Stipend for food and travel, and honorarium
APPLICATION FEE: $10 online processing fee
McColl Center for Visual Art
Charlotte, N.C., USA
This prestigious residency in Charlotte, North Carolina, offers a pretty sweet deal: in addition to studio space, housing, a materials stipend, a transportation stipend, free video and photo documentation, and access to a plethora of fabrication workshops, the residency also awards selected artists up to $10,500. There is an open call, though the residency program is also filled by curatorial nomination, referral, and invitation—so it definitely helps to know someone. The application deadline is May with the residency seasons in the fall (Sept.-Nov.) and winter (Jan.-March).
WEBSITE: http://mccollcenter.org/artists-in-residence/residency-programs
SUBMISSION GUIDELINES: http://mccollcenter.org/artists-in-residence/how-to-apply
ALUMNI: http://mccollcenter.org/artists-in-residence/alumni
STIPEND: Up to $10,500
PERKS: Studio space, housing, free video documentation, and access to a sculpture studio, kiln, wood shop, print studio, and media lab
COSTS: None
APPLICATION FEE: Unclear
Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture
Skowhegan, Maine, USA
This nine-week residency program in rural Skowhegan, Maine, was founded in 1947. Six established artists serve as critics and tutors during the residency, with additional visiting artists making week-long visits to lecture and give critical feedback. Skowhegan is one of the only educational art institutions that teaches the traditional handling of fresco—the Renaissance technique of painting murals on plaster—if that's your thing; but video, new media, sculpture, and photography are the most popular media among participants. Alumni include the new media and performance whizzes like Liz Magic Laser and Shana Moulton, as well as Nari Ward, John O'Connor, and LaToya Ruby Frazier.
WEBSITE: https://www.skowheganart.org/
SUBMISSION GUIDELINES: https://www.skowheganart.org/applicantinfo/
ALUMNI: https://www.skowheganart.org/alumni-search
STIPEND: Unclear
PERKS: Unclear
COSTS: Tuition for Skowhegan’s nine-week program is $6,000.
APPLICATION FEE: $75
Container Artist Residency
At sea
In the summer of 2011, while a student in Yale’s MFA program, Maayan Strauss rode a container ship from her native Israel to New Jersey, due to the costliness of airfare. “As an artist, it was interesting and thought-provoking to find myself in this environment,” Strauss explains. “First, the idea of traveling with physical commodities was conceptually challenging and inspiring. Also, spending time among a working crew, that had fixed responsibilities and operational structures, provided me with a new lens to think about my own practice and role as an artist.” She produced a series of photographs and videos during the trip, and soon thought to collaborate with the same company, ZIM Integrated Shipping Services, to create the Container Artist Residency. This year marks the inaugural edition of the residency, which will send eight artists on seven ships taking different existing international shipping routes—Hong Kong artist Samson Young, for example, will begin in Istanbul and end in Busan, South Korea.
WEBSITE: https://www.containerartistresidency.org/
SUBMISSION GUIDELINES: https://www.containerartistresidency.org/more-about
ALUMNI: Tyler Coburn, Erin Diebboll, Christopher Page
STIPEND: Unspecified stipend for equipment and materials
PERKS: Travel opportunities as determined by the trade route, on-board studio space
COSTS: None
APPLICATION FEE: Unclear
Instituto Sacatar
Salvador, Brazil
On a calm beach on the island of Itaparica, across the bay from city of Salvador in Bahia state, the Sacatar Institute has a program of individual studios open to artists in all disciplines. The residencies span six to 12 weeks, with most scheduled for eight weeks from May through February.
WEBSITE: http://sacatar.org/
SUBMISSION GUIDELINES: http://sacatar.org/apply/how-to-apply/
ALUMNI: http://sacatar.org/our-fellows/
STIPEND: Unclear
PERKS: Unclear
COSTS: Unclear
APPLICATION FEE: $35
The Millay Colony for the Arts
Steepletop, New York
The Millay Colony is located at Steepletop, the country estate that belonged to the poet Edna St. Vincent Millay in Austerlitz, N.Y., about two-and-a-half hours north of New York City. It is open to visual artists and composers of all ages and at all points in their careers.The application deadline is Oct. 1 for the following year, with the resident season running from April-November.
WEBSITE: http://www.millaycolony.org/
SUBMISSION GUIDELINES: http://www.millaycolony.org/programs/residencies-artists-millay-colony-arts/apply/
ALUMNI: http://www.millaycolony.org/our-residents/
STIPEND: $1,000
PERKS: Unclear
COSTS: Unclear
APPLICATION FEE: $35
Henry Street Settlement A.I.R / Abrons Art Center
New York, USA
The Henry Street Settlement's Artist-in-Residence Work space program provides year-long studio spaces to six New York City visual artists, all located at the Abrons Art Center on the Lower East Side.The residency is open to painters, printmakers, sculptors and installation artists.
WEBSITE: http://www.abronsartscenter.org/artist-residencies/
SUBMISSION GUIDELINES: http://www.abronsartscenter.org/artist-residencies/apply-to-airspace/
ALUMNI: http://www.abronsartscenter.org/artist-residencies/
STIPEND: Unclear
PERKS: Unclear
COSTS: Unclear
APPLICATION FEE: $25
OX-BOW
Oxbow, USA
Many young artists are urban-dwellers, so an opportunity to make work in a more pastoral setting is always a welcome diversion. Something about spending one or two weeks on Oxbow's 115-acre campus in the Michigan countryside—which includes forests, dunes, and a lagoon—must do artists well: alumni include resepected established artists like Richard Artschwager, Laylah Ali, Nick Cave, Leon Golub, Joan Mitchell, Claes Oldenburg, Nancy Spero, and New Museum founder Marcia Tucker, among many others. The program is also over a century old, and, while it start out as a painting school, now encompasses a wide variety of disciplines.
WEBSITE: http://www.ox-bow.org/
SUBMISSION GUIDELINES: http://www.ox-bow.org/apply-for-a-residency/
ALUMNI: http://www.ox-bow.org/residency-overview/
STIPEND: Unclear
PERKS: Unclear
COSTS: Unclear
APPLICATION FEE: Unclear
Rome Prize - American Academy in Rome
Rome, Italy
Who wouldn't want to spend time in Rome, the caput mundi both when it comes to art history and gastronomy? There's definitely no contest as far as facilities go: alumni of the program like R.H. Quaytman, Ana Mendieta, Sarah Oppenheimer, and Nari Ward have enjoyed the American Academy in Rome's idyllic campus atop the Janiculum Hill, overlooking vibrant Trastevere. On the lengthier end of the residency spectrum, Rome Prize residents receive a stipend, studio, and room and board for up to two years.
WEBSITE: http://www.aarome.org/apply
SUBMISSION GUIDELINES: http://www.aarome.org/apply/rome-prize/application
ALUMNI: Unclear
STIPEND: Unclear
PERKS: Unclear
COSTS: Unclear
APPLICATION FEE: $40-$80
Eyebeam
Brooklyn, USA
Eyebeam's open-ended residency program fits the organization's cutting-edge, tech-savvy mission. For artists looking to experiment with the latest technologies and to push the boundaries of media, the program, which is either five or 11 months long and offers completely free access to Eyebeam's facilities, is ideal. Recent alumni include Cory Arcangel, Rashaad Newsome, and Sanford Biggers.
WEBSITE: http://eyebeam.org/residency/
SUBMISSION GUIDELINES: Unclear
ALUMNI: http://eyebeam.org/ourresidents/
STIPEND: $2,600 to $31,770
PERKS: The use of anything from their list of high-tech equipment, and promotion support
COSTS: Unclear
APPLICATION FEE: $0
The Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts
Omaha, USA
Founded more than a quarter century ago by Lorne Falk, Tony Hepburn, Jun Kaneko, and Ree Schonlau, the Bemis Center in Omaha, Nebraska, is housed in an urban former wholesale grocery warehouse totaling a whopping 110,000 square feet. Within the giant warehouse, 6,500 square feet is reserved for artists-in-residence wishing to install and document their work on-site. Aside from the monthly stipend and covered travel costs, the best thing about Bemis is its fabrication facilities, which are available 24 hours a day and include welding equipment, a ceramics facility, a wood shop, and a research library. The communal garden available to resident artists doesn’t hurt either.
WEBSITE: http://www.bemiscenter.org/residency/
SUBMISSION GUIDELINES: http://www.bemiscenter.org/residency/current_opportunities.html
ALUMNI: http://www.bemiscenter.org/residency/past_residents.html
STIPEND: $750 per month
PERKS: Paid-for travel expenses, private live/work space (which go up to 2100 square feet in size), 24-hour access to sculpture facilities
COSTS: None
APPLICATION FEE: $40
Headlands Center for the Arts
San Francisco, USA
Located in San Francisco’s breathtaking Golden Gate National Park, Headlands Center for the Arts offers a four- to eight-week residency that includes studio space, housing, travel and living stipends, and one free meal per weekday prepared by an in-house chef. This residency is one of the few that we’ve come across to cover airfare.
WEBSITE: http://www.headlands.org/program/air/
SUBMISSION GUIDELINES: http://www.headlands.org/program/air/
ALUMNI: Heidi Hahn, Andrea Zittel, Hank Willis Thomas
STIPEND: $500 per month, plus a stipend for travel expenses
PERKS: Private studio space, a bedroom in a shared house, access to vehicles, and a basic woodshop
COSTS: Art supplies
APPLICATION FEE: $45
Lighthouse Works Artist Residency
New York, USA
Located on Fishers Island in the Long Island Sound off the coast of Connecticut, Lighthouse Works offers resident artists respite in an isolated, but not necessarily remote location. (Boston and New York are both less than three hours away.) In addition to artist residencies, Lighthouse Works provides opportunities to writers and musicians as well.
WEBSITE: http://www.thelighthouseworks.com/
SUBMISSION GUIDELINES: http://www.thelighthouseworks.com/apply/
ALUMNI: http://www.thelighthouseworks.com/fellowship-program/
STIPEND: $1,500
PERKS: $250 travel allowance, studio space, housing, meals
COSTS: None (unless your travel expenses are over $250)
APPLICATION FEE: $20
The Studio Museum in Harlem
New York, USA
The Studio Museum in Harlem has had a residency program dedicated to advancing the work of visual artists of African and Latino descent since 1968. The 11-month residency is one of the many programs the museum spearheads, all of which are inspired or influenced by black culture. The list of residency alumni is impressive, and includes artists like David Hammons, Kerry James Marshall, Julie Mehretu, Wangechi Mutu, and Mickalene Thomas.
WEBSITE: https://www.studiomuseum.org/learn/artist-in-residence
SUBMISSION GUIDELINES: https://studiomuseum.slideroom.com/#/login/program/35985
ALUMNI: Julie Mehretu, David Hammons, Mickalene Thomas, Kerry James Marshall, Wangechi Mutu
STIPEND: $20,000 fellowship, plus a $1,000 stipend for materials
PERKS: 27/7 studio access, a presentation of that artists’ work in the museum at the end of the residency
COSTS: Housing expenses
APPLICATION FEE: $0
