Orein Arts Residency
The Monastery Arts Residency brings artists and writers to live, create, and seek beauty for a week under summer skies at Mount Saviour Monastery near Elmira, NY. It is the only arts residency in the world that takes place at an active Catholic monastery.
The week is a unique blend of solitude and community. During the day, residents work independently on their own creative projects, with access to over 1,000 acres of monastery grounds and sheep fields. In the evening, the group gathers for programming, work sharing, and community time. The residency is deliberately interdisciplinary, bringing together twelve to fifteen painters, writers, musicians, actors, and other artists per session.
The rhythm of the week is shaped by the monks' daily prayers, the Divine Office. No one is obligated to attend, though all are invited. There is limited cell service and Wi-Fi. The silence, the land, and the monastic schedule quietly reorganize how residents experience time, attention, and their own creative work.
Residents live in private single rooms in the monastery guesthouse. Meals are included and taken with the monks. Visual artists share a studio in the monastic crafts building; writers and musicians have access to the library, practice rooms, and a monastery piano.
Two sessions run each summer, Monday afternoon through Sunday morning. All residents must commit to the full week. Artists of all faith backgrounds, or none, are welcome.
200 Washington Ave
Endicott, NY 13760
United States
Residency Program Information
Residency Program Summary
Application Information
Do I seek contemplation but also value community?
This residency consists of silence, space, nature, work, bells, chanting, and calm gatherings. It is rustic and rather off-the-grid. Our model is based on contemplation and creativity, not on workshops or masterclasses. As noted above, for most of the day artists will be free and entirely self-directed, while during our evening gatherings, the most “social” time, we emphasize community and give one another a share of our attention and time. If you are coming here to be left completely alone for a week with your work and not interact with others, this not the residency for you.
Am I cool being around monks? Can I handle people talking about God?
There will be a lot of Catholic monks walking around. People will be talking about God. It is at a monastery, after all. We are looking for artists and practitioners who would take advantage of and appreciate such an environment as described here, who would see such a week as an opportunity and a blessing for their creative and spiritual life.
Do I need to be a Catholic or Christian artist?
No. Artists do not have be Catholic or Christian to be at home here—in fact many of those who come aren’t—but we of course have the expectation that all will be respectful of the faith and the rules and customs of the monks and the monastery, as well as commit to doing their part in creating and maintaining a harmonious and compassionate community.
Do I need to be a professional artist?
Professional? No. Practicing? Yes. Artists at any stage in their career or in various disciplines are welcome to apply. We will see in your application the extent to which you take your practice seriously.
So far we have been best able to accommodate:
Songwriters, poets, translators, textile artists, fiction writers, plein air painters, pianists, clowns, collage artists, actors, mixed-media artists, film makers, composers, performance artists, folk-musicians, essayists and art teachers...
Materials:
- Letter of Application (max. 600 words) — Write us a letter. This is the main way you will introduce yourself and your practice (both artistic and spiritual). Make it specific, honest and personal. Let us know the reasons behind your desire to come to THIS residency, in a small community at a contemplative Catholic monastery, beyond just "time and space" to work, which is offered by most any other creative residency. Talk about your ability and willingness to both work alone and be part of a community. Let us know what excites you, what you hope to work on, explore, encounter, or investigate during your time here. Tell us anything really to help give us a sense of who you are and how our time together could be fruitful. Again: do NOT send us a general letter that is not specifically tailored to this residency. Upload on a .pdf on the application platform.
- Work Sample / Portfolio — We are looking for seriousness and quality. We leave the quantity/media to your discretion depending on what discipline you work in: some pages of writing, images of work, link to bandcamp, your EPK, youtube link of a dance performance, etc. If you wish (not required) this is the place to include a brief artist’s statement and/or include any pertinent information if needed to help us better understand the work. Upload on application platform.
- CV / Resume — A brief artist’s CV or resume outlining recent publications, past and upcoming shows, studio experience, accomplishments, honors, etc. If you are an emerging artist who doesn’t have a long professional resume, that is ok. Send us whatever you got. Upload a .pdf on the application platform.
- Application fee — Before submitting, you will be asked to pay an application fee. The suggested amount is $30, however you are free to input any amount above $10 according to your situation. This non-refundable fee will be put towards paying our readers and scholarships for other artists. If you have more to contribute beyond the suggested amount, we thank you for your commitment to supporting fellow artists.
- Additional things to recall — Applicants must be able to stay the full length of their session. There is no wifi. Pets, partners, children are not to accompany you. Cell phone service is limited. The monastery is an entirely smoke and drug-free campus with the exception of responsible alcohol consumption. There will be a bunch of Catholic monks around and people talking about God.
Program Rates for Summer 2026
Full Residency Rate: $1250
Discount Tier 1: $1000
Discount Tier 2: $825
+
Brother Justin Fellowship: $350
Why Tiered Pricing?
We hope to welcome artists at various stages of career and income levels. For this reason, we use tiered pricing that allows artists to choose the cost that is most appropriate to their situation. We raise funds during the year to help underwrite these tiered discounts.
The full cost of the residency is $1250. If you are in a position to pay the full residency fee, we ask for your honesty and respect to select this tier. It helps give opportunities to other artists in our community. What is better than artists supporting fellow artists? Otherwise, please self-select one of the discount tiers in accordance with your financial situation. All applicants of these three tiers will be considered in one main applicant pool and the selecting won't effect chances of acceptance. There is a seperate pool for the Br. Justin Fellowship; see below.
Brother Justin Fellowship
We are excited and proud to offer this tier, as we recognize that even the $825 discount tier is a stretch for many artists. For those artists in need of even deeper support, we offer the Br. Justin Fellowship, a special $350 artist’s contribution tier, thanks to our generous donors. These fellowships are limited to only a few artists each session, and therefore these applicants will be considered in a different pool. You will select on your application which pool you’d like to be placed in.
Our fellowship is named after Br. Justin Young. Br. Justin was a beautiful, creative, energetic monk at Mt. Saviour. He was deeply tuned to beauty and creativity, with degrees in Fine Art and Theater, and was our biggest champion when we first proposed the residency to Mt. Saviour in 2018. He passed away suddenly a few months before our first session at the monastery, but we know he has been and continues to be with us. We like to think of Br. Justin as our unofficial patron saint!
See above. We don't offer support in the form of directly granting the artists money, but we offer discounts on the tuition. We use tiered pricing that allows artists to choose the cost that is most appropriate to their situation. We raise funds during the year to help underwrite these tiered discounts & fellowships.
The application fee below is also self-select any amount above $10, with $30 suggested.
Accessibility
The dining room, chapel, great room are all accessible. We are very limited however in accessible bedrooms/accommodations, as most are on the second floor.
The crypt below the chapel and the library.
Housing & Accomodation
Studio & Facilities
Visual artists have access to a shared studio (not individual studios) in the monastic crafts building; musicians have access to various quiet rooms and the monastery piano; writers have access to the library, great room, and conference room, as well as a writing desk in their private room. We do our best to accommodate different disciplines best we can.
In your application we ask that you describe your minimum needs on one hand and maximum desires on the other. This will help us know honestly if we will be able to accommodate you.