Artist residencies have always been more than just places to make work. They are communities: spaces where artists and organizations grow together through shared risk, care, and transformation. At Artist Communities Alliance (ACA), we know these relationships don’t thrive by accident. They’re built through trust, reflection, and alignment around shared values.
This year, as we celebrate our 35th anniversary, we’ve made a major shift: we’re eliminating membership dues for all residencies in our network. Because we believe access to connection, knowledge, and collective power should never be pay-to-play.
Removing dues does more than eliminate a financial barrier. It affirms ACA’s long-standing belief that power lies in people, not in budgets, and that access to opportunity, resources, and information must be shared equitably across the field. It opens space for under-resourced residencies to reinvest in their own success, for emerging programs to enter national conversations, and for all of us to imagine a future where equity is not just a value, but a practice.
This decision is rooted in the same ethos that drives everything we do — from grantmaking and research to field-building and convening. We center artists in all that we do, guided by the belief that transformation comes through experimentation, and that lasting change emerges from a spirit of reciprocity, curiosity, and care.
The impact goes far beyond cost savings. It looks like a rural residency able to keep its doors open and its staff paid. A new program in a historically marginalized community gaining visibility and voice. A leader finding solidarity and support from peers they couldn’t afford to connect with before.
It looks like a network where belonging isn’t conditional but cultivated through shared values, mutual respect, and collective commitment. We’re proud to take this step, and we know it’s just the beginning.
Thanks to your support, ACA is shaping a network rooted in equity, care, and collective strength. By removing dues, we’re lowering barriers, redistributing resources, and allowing organizations to reinvest in what matters most. Together, we’re building a more inclusive and resilient future for the residency field.
But the work isn’t done.
If you believe in a residency field where artists of all backgrounds can thrive, we invite you to be part of this movement. Your donation helps ACA continue to offer vital support, develop new tools, and grow a field-wide culture of equity and care. Make a gift today to sustain this field-changing work.
Together, we’re not just responding to the moment. We’re building the future.