The McKnight Fellowship Residency is a partnership between Artist Communities Alliance (ACA) and the McKnight Foundation. The program is designed to build equitable capacity in the artist communities field and connect McKnight Fellows with residency opportunities.

An artist standing next to two people showing them their work.
Artist Ashley Strazzinski shows her work to local North Adams artists during February 2020 Open Studios at MASS MoCA. Photo credit: MASS MoCA Staff.

This multi-year regranting partnership provides direct support to artists to attend residencies and to residency programs to host artists. 

This program aims to support the development of residency environments where any artist or staff member can thrive. Participating residencies receive free access to Equitable Capacity Workshops — enabling programs to develop fair and just policies and practices, begin to dismantle white body supremacy, and utilize ACA’s Healthy Residency Framework. In addition to this learning process, participating residencies host McKnight Artist Fellows for 1-2 week stays in 2025 and 2026. 

About the McKnight Foundation's McKnight Artist & Culture Bearer Fellowships:

Founded on the belief that Minnesota thrives when its artists thrive, the McKnight Foundation’s arts program is one of the oldest and largest of its kind in the country. Support for individual working Minnesota artists has been a cornerstone of the program since it began in 1982. The McKnight Artist & Culture Bearer Fellowships Program provides annual, unrestricted cash awards to outstanding mid-career Minnesota artists in 15 different creative disciplines. Program partner organizations administer the fellowships and structure them to respond to the unique challenges of different disciplines. Currently, the foundation contributes about $2.8 million per year to its statewide fellowships. For more information, visit https://www.mcknight.org/programs/arts-culture/mcknight-artist-culture-bearer-fellowships/.

The Residency Sites

The Residency Host Site Partners for the 2024 McKnight Fellows include: 

The Anderson Center | Red Wing, MN, USA

Art Omi | Ghent, NY, USA

BOOM Universe Residency | Pittsburgh, PA, USA 

Crosstown Arts | Memphis, TN, USA

Hambidge Center for Creative Arts and Sciences | Rabun Gap, GA, USA

Hedgebrook | Whidbey Island, WA, USA

Hyde Park Art Center | Chicago, IL, USA

Kaatsbaan Cultural Park | Tivoli, NY, USA

Kala Art Institute | Berkeley, CA, USA

Millay Arts | Austerlitz, NY, USA

Penland School of Craft | Penland, NC, USA

Ragdale | Lake Forest, IL, USA

Surf Point | York, ME, USA

The Studios at MASS MoCA | North Adams, MA, USA

Ucross | Clearmont, WY, USA

Women's Studio Workshop | Kingston, NY, USA

 

Read the FAQ for McKnight Artist and Culture Bearer Fellows here.

For more about this program, contact grants [at] artistcommunities.org.

Report an Incident -- If you have experienced instances of harm at an artist residency program, including, but not limited to racism, differential treatment, transphobia, ableism, sexism, harassment, bullying, and histories of systemic abuse, we encourage you to report these incidents by contacting Flannery Patton at fpatton [at] artistcommunities.org. 

As a trusted intermediary and resource for and among artists, residency staff, leadership and board members, we are committed to creating inclusive, just, joyful, and accessible environments where artists and staff can thrive.