Studios at MASS MoCA
The Studios is a unique residency housed in MASS MoCA - one of the world's largest contemporary art museums. The Studios residency hosts artist and writers within the museum’s factory campus and is surrounded by the beautiful Berkshire Mountains. Operated by MASS MoCA’s Assets for Artists program, the residency runs year-round and hosts up to 10 artists at a time. Artists of any nationality can apply for stays of 2-8 weeks.
We offer 24/7 studio space on MASS MoCA's campus, housing across the street (private rooms in shared apartments), one group meal per day, member-access to MASS MoCA's galleries, access to professional development webinars though our "Assets for Artists" program, and opportunities to share your work with an international cohort of peers as well as museum staff and community members.
The residency program has several different fellowship programs including General Fellowships, a fellowship for Massachusetts-based artists, Black or Indigenous Visual Artists or Writers fellowship, and more. For more information, read below.
1320 MASS MoCA Way
North Adams , MA 01247
United States
Residency Program Information
Residency Program Summary
Application Information
LEARN MORE ABOUT OUR APPLICATION PROCESS HERE
GENERAL APPLICATION:
Most people apply through our general application, which is typically for residencies 3-9 months out from the award date. In our regular application, you can opt to be considered for financial aid or one of our fully funded fellowships. Because our regular application includes financial aid, it is our most competitive option. Artists requesting financial aid typically pay between $0 - $450/wk depending on their needs. This application is also available in Spanish. Deadlines for General Applications are June 8th and November 8th each year. The application will open two months prior to the deadline.
Learn more about our Financial Aid and Fellowships.
EARLY APPLICATION:
Our "Early Application" is for artists who could benefit from additional lead time (announcements made 9 months - 15 months ahead of residency dates) to plan their stay and to apply for outside funding from sources such as their university or international or regional arts councils. Artists applying with the Early Application will NOT be considered for MASS MoCA's financial aid budget OR fellowships, so you should only use this particular application if you are planning to fully fund your stay through outside grants or personal funds at our already subsidized rate of $650 per week. Deadline for Early Applications are March 8th and October 8th. Applications will open two months prior to the deadline.
ALUMNI APPLICATION:
If you’re a Studios at MASS MoCA alum, we’re happy to have you back! Each application cycle, we have a special, simplified application for you to tell us briefly what you’ve been up to since your prior residency. With this application, you’re only competing against fellow alumni, so while not as competitive as our general application, we only reserve a few alumni spots each season and acceptance is not guaranteed. At this time, alumni are not eligible for residency fellowships or our reduced financial aid and instead pay a standard alumni rate of $400/wk for residencies of 4 weeks, or $450/wk for a 2-week residency. (Please note: students who have attended a workshop-in-residence are not considered eligible alumni for this opportunity.) Alumni apps follow the Early Application timeline.
The already subsidized, standard artist residency fee is $650/week (it’s $850/wk of actual costs), but every artist applying through our regular application can be considered for both partial or full need-based financial aid, so don’t let that number deter you! Simply fill out the quick financial questions at the bottom of your application, and your financial aid package will be sent to you along with your award letter. Unless you receive one of our full-ride fellowships (see below), you will be asked to pay at least some portion of your residency fees.
In addition, we now offer a limited, but expanding, number of full-ride fellowships, often in specific donor-identified categories. Certain fellowships may come with additional travel/material stipends. Our fellowship opportunities change every season, so check back regularly, or join our mailing list to keep updated on what funding opportunities we are offering this year.
Examples of fellowships include:
- Puerto Rico Fellowship
- Fellowships for Black or Indigenous Artists or Writers
- Massachusetts Fellowships
- General Fellowships (open to all)
Accessibility
The Studios at MASS MoCA has studios in two buildings. Building 13 has an elevator to the studios on the second floor and Building 34 has a ramp to the first floor entrance. Stairs are not necessary for either space and both have wheelchair accessible, gender-neutral bathrooms with grab bars around the toilet. Housing at the Studios at MASS MoCA requires the ability to climb two flights of stairs. If you are not able to use stairs, please contact us immediately upon your acceptance so we can discuss alternate accommodations.
MASS MoCA is committed to providing a welcoming environment to all by offering services to make our programs as accessible as possible. Ask about wheelchairs, gallery stools, and event listening devices available to check-out, free of charge, in the museum lobby. While the information here provides a general overview of accessibility features, we encourage you to call or email to address questions or specific needs:
413.662.2111 x8121 or accessibility@massmoca.org
Visit MASS MoCA's webpage to read more about the museum's accessibility.
Housing & Accomodation
Residents receive 24-hour access to private studio space on the MASS MoCA campus, plus lodging in newly renovated, furnished apartments across the street from the museum, right in downtown North Adams. We provide seven communal lunches per week in the company of your fellow residents. When many residents are arriving on the same day, we also host a welcome dinner for the group on that first evening.
Each resident is provided with a private room in one of three newly renovated, four-bedroom apartments. Each bedroom is furnished with a bed and dresser, pillows, bed and bath linens, etc. (No need to bring any bedding unless you prefer to sleep on your favorite pillow, etc.) Each apartment also has its own shared bathroom and kitchen, wifi, and laundry. The kitchen will have some basic cooking equipment and coffee. Residents are responsible for providing their own breakfast, snacks and dinner. The apartments are within easy walking distance of the local grocery.
NOTE: Climbing stairs is required to enter the apartments, which are located on the 2nd and 3rd floors of a walk-up building. If you are not able to use stairs, please contact us immediately so we can discuss alternate accommodations.
Studio & Facilities
We host studios in two buildings, B13 & B34. Each of the spaces and each of their studios have their own dimensions and provisions. Some studios have 8-foot walls in a 13-foot-high mill space; others are fully partitioned to the ceiling. Some are better for work made on the floor, some for work made on walls. We do our best to pair our residents with a studio that matches their practice. The smallest studio is 120 sq ft and the largest is 280 sq ft. The average size is about 172 sq ft. Wall material ranges from drywall to brick to translucent plastic. Floors in B13 are plywood, while in B34 they’re cement. All studios are wheelchair accessible, lockable and safe to leave equipment and supplies in.
Each studio is minimally furnished with a desk or folding table, a chair, and most have a small shelf. Additional folding tables are available. Lighting is overhead LED troffers (typical commercial office lighting) and we have clamp lights to augment. There are shared slop sinks in both buildings. Easels, additional worktables or alternative seating can likely be provided, but you should consider bringing the essentials to meet the needs of your practice. If you have special pieces of furniture or equipment you would like to request, please make note in your application. Although we cannot guarantee special requests, we’ll do our best to help you find the proper equipment you’ll need for your time here. In addition, each studio building is equipped with a small tool library. A full list of tools available is below. All art materials and most equipment must be provided by the participant.
Learn more at: https://www.assetsforartists.org/facilities
PRINTMAKING STUDIO
With our recent addition of Building 34, we now have a rudimentary communal printmaking studio. Our local print technician typically offers a free tutorial to the space each session. If your schedule doesn’t coincide with one of this tutorials, or if you would like individual support for special projects, one-one-on assistance is available at $40/hour.
The Martech etching press: A generous donation to the program, this press has the reputation of being a well-designed etching press. It has large diameter rollers and the gear reduction hand-crank allows for smooth and easy travel even under extreme pressures and produces less stress to the etching plate and paper. Collagraphs and woodcuts are also possible on this press. The plate bed is 32” x 51” and the maximum recommended paper size is 22” x 30”.
Bradley Flat-bed Hydraulic Press: The flat-bed press is designed for relief printing, mono-printing and embossing; however, nearly all plates can be printed including etchings. When printing monoprints with movable applications, the downward force keeps everything in place and heavy ink does not spread across the print as it does with an etching press.
Printmaking supplies: We supply a small variety of etching inks and additives as well as an assortment of brayers and etching tools. Artists should come prepared with their own plates, paper, and any specialty tools or inks.
WEAVING LOOMS
We have two looms available in the B.34 studios. Looms can be reserved in advance by both experienced and beginner weavers. Private Instruction is available for beginners at a rate of $40/hr, offered by local weavers. Artists are expected to provide their own yarn.
22-inch Harrisville Loom: Jack-Loom, 4 harness
( set-up with roughly 110 heddles per shaft).
Accompanying equipment for 22” loom:
- Crank Handle (stored in loom bench)
- Reeds: 18 dent, 20 in. (currently on loom), 14 dent, 24 inches, 12 dent, 22 inches
- Raddle: 27 inches with 1 in. spaced nails (attached to back beam)
- Treadle tie ups: chain, 11 count
- Lease sticks
45-inch Herald Loom: Jack-Loom, 4 harness
(currently set up with ample heddles)
Accompanying equipment for 45” loom:
- Reeds: 6 dent, 45 inches, 8 dent, 45 inches, 10 dent, 45 inches
- Raddle: 48 inches, with 1 inch spaced nails (attached to back-beam)
- Treadle tie ups: nylon
- Lease sticks: 2 x 47”
Additional Weaving Equipment
- Loom bench (23” tall, 24” seat, 37” wide with side compartments)
- Warping board 35” x 38”
- Warping board 26” x 38”
- Stick shuttle
- Heddles
- Boat shuttle
- Assorted Bobbins