Mission

The Wassaic Project, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, uses art and arts education to foster positive social change. We nurture connections between our artists and our neighbors facilitating a mutual broadening of perspectives and respect across economic and cultural boundaries.

Vision

The Wassaic Project envisions a community in the Hamlet of Wassaic and its surrounding region that is socially inclusive, generous, cooperative, and economically vibrant.  

We engage in a collaborative effort with members of our community to develop programs that are creative, experimental, and accessible across the economic spectrum.

We strive to be actively anti-racist and to have diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility as an integral part of our programs and initiatives. We will continually evaluate, solicit feedback, and evolve our efforts to ensure their effectiveness.

We build local pride and community vitality by an informed sense of the past and a clear, contemporary, innovative, and compassionate look toward the future.

We foster the youth in our community and help them realize their full potential.  

We aim to be financially stable with a creative staff and multiple partners — nonprofit, public, and private.

It is our hope that the work that we do in Wassaic will be shared nationwide and serve as a toolkit for community revitalization through the arts and the spirit of generosity. Above all else, we honor and respect our community.

Kala's residency program serves over 150-170 artists annually. International, national, and local artists producing innovative work in printmaking, photography, digital media, film and video, sound, animation, media art installation, and book arts are encouraged to apply. Artists-in-Residence share space, equipment, techniques, and ideas and are a vital part of the Kala community. 

How to apply: Please review the Kala Residency Program page which has a lot of helpful information http://www.kala.org/residencies/artist-in-residence-program-air/how-to-apply/.

A Full Application Includes:

• Completed application questions
• Artist resumé or CV
• Work samples, up to 5 images and/or 5 minutes of video
• Hardcopy or email submissions are not accepted

Artists who apply for a residency should be familiar with at least one of the media/equipment offered at Kala Print Studio, Digital Lab, darkroom, and other facilities: https://www.kala.org/residencies/facilities/

Residency Resources: artists receive 24/7 access to a shared 8,000-square-foot Print Studio, equipment, digital lab, black and white darkroom, and 3 individual artist project spaces (150 sq feet each available to visiting artists). Kala offers subsidized contract residency rates for different working needs and artist experiences!

Criteria: The selection panel considers skills in the proposed project area that match the resources available at Kala, along with artistic and conceptual strengths. Examples of the proposed printmaking or digital media are highly encouraged in the application. Applications are reviewed by Kala’s Co-Director, Artist Residency Manager, Print Studio Manager, and Digital Lab Technician.

In Kala’s Print Studio and Digital Lab, artists work independently or collaboratively without staff assistance. Staff will provide basic orientations, which include information about functionality, tips & tricks, and individual “personalities” of our presses, machinery, and processes in the studio. If you are new to a piece of equipment or a technical process, we encourage you to take a class to gain proficiency.

Kala offers housing in two shared artist apartments: each unit is a 2-bedroom shared apartment, meaning you will be living with a roommate and sharing a kitchen, living room, and bathroom, at an additional subsidized fee of $1,200 per month. Please note that Kala’s shared apartments are limited to artists who reside outside of the Bay Area. Upon reservation, housing adds $1,200/month to the subsidized residency rates.

Kala Print Studio is located at the top of three flights of stairs, a total of 52 steps. Feel free to reach out to Artist Residency Manager at leyla@kala.org or by phone at T:510.549.2977 x 303 Mon-Thu 9 am - 5 pm PT with any questions. If stairs present an access issue for you, please let the staff know.

New this year: 

CCA Hamaguchi Emerging Artist Residency at Kala

Are you a recent graduate from CCA (California College for the Arts) with a bachelor's degree within the past 3 years? Eligibility: Open to CCA alumni working in printmaking with priority given to Print Media Majors. MFA graduates and current graduate students are not eligible. 

Hamaguchi Residency includes up to 9 months of part-time studio residency at Kala Art Institute for Bay Area-based artists with access to Kala's studio or one-month full-time artist residency with housing provided for artists based outside of the Bay Area. 

Answer Question #12 in the application to be considered for the Hamaguchi Emerging Artist Residency at Kala. 

Veterans Artist Residency Program
This year Kala Veterans Artist Residency Program provides artist residencies to California-based Veteran artists. In 2024-2025 the Veterans AIR Program is generously supported by the UC Berkeley Chancellor’s Community Partnership Fund. 

Veterans AIR Program includes a cash award: of $1,000; 1-4 months of studio residency with 24/7 access to our communal studio spaces, one Kala class; access to a community and network of approximately 75 artists working at Kala, participation in Kala events, and support of Kala staff. 

Answer Questions #13 & 14  in the application to be considered for the Veterans Artist Residency Program.

Questions: connect with the Artist Residency Manager at kalaair@kala.org 

Keep in touch on social media @kalaartinstitute and through the weekly newsletter!

The Edward F. Albee Foundation exists to serve writers and visual artists from all walks of life, by providing time and space in which to work without disturbance. 

Using only talent and need as the criteria for selection, the Foundation invites any and all artists to apply. 

Founded in 1967 by Edward Albee, after proceeds from his play Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? proved abundant, the Foundation has maintained the William Flanagan Memorial Creative Persons Center (better known as "The Barn") in Montauk, on Long Island in New York, as a residence for writers and visual artists. 

The Center is open almost year-round and can accommodate four creative persons at a time. Residencies are for calendar-month periods (with rare, pre-approved exceptions). The standards for admission are, simply, talent and need.

Located approximately two miles from the center of  Montauk and the Atlantic Ocean, "The Barn" rests in a secluded knoll  which offers privacy and a peaceful atmosphere. The Foundation expects all those accepted for residence to work seriously and to conduct themselves in such a manner as to aid fellow residents in their endeavors.  Writers and visual artists are offered individual en-suite bedrooms and separate working studios. Residents are responsible for their food, travel, and other expenses. The environment is simple and communal. 

We offer solo residencies of 1-3 weeks (two-week max summer quarter, so that we can accommodate more women who teach or have family commitments) in a well-appointed cottage in deep woods above Hammersley Inlet on Puget Sound. The cottage is five miles from Shelton, a small logging town. Residents are responsible for their own transportation to Holly House, preparing their own food, and maintaining themselves while in residence. The small kitchen has a two-burner countertop stove, under-counter refrigerator, broiler oven, microwave, and coffeemaker. A loft bedroom has writing/drawing space, and there is a pull-out sofa bed downstairs for those who do not want to have to use stairs. 

The cottage has a ramped entry and spacious bathroom, but is not fully ADA compliant, and the grounds are not particularly wheelchair-friendly. Residents with some disabilities are welcome to bring a helper by arrangement with the board. We are a small nonprofit, and a working board; there is no staff. However, volunteers provide clean linens; we ask residents to spend a few hours at the end of their stay cleaning the house for the next resident.

The place is good accommodation for writers, visual artists, academics, playwrights and artists in other fields. There is decent wifi through a sharing arrangement with the next-door neighbors. There are paths in the woods and great hiking and saltwater access nearby. Residents are required to have a vehicle on the premises for their own safety in case of evacuation orders. 

If nature is your muse, collaborator, or co-conspirator, then make plans for a residency in March and/or April in Tennessee. 

Feel fresh with comfortable temperatures, pops of color and variety of greens. You'll hear the birds and possibly feel the spring rain. Take the shoes off and stand on the grass for a grounding experience.

“Flowers don't worry about how they're going to bloom. They just open up and turn toward the light, and that makes them beautiful." – Jim Carrey

A variety of flowers begin to bloom starting with the daffodils in February, but you'll also see wild flora such as clovers and dandelions. The trees begin their sprouting and the daylight is a minute longer day by day.

Those who stay at least 2 weeks will receive a guided Forest Therapy (aka Forest Bathing) walk (certified guide by ANFT) for a deeper connection to the land. Make the creative habit to wander the landscape on a daily basis. 

“Spring work is going on with joyful enthusiasm." – John Muir

This is an ideal time to work outside, but there are several studios and work spaces that are assigned based on the calendar and your space/medium requirements.

The bulk of the residency schedule availability is during March and April. There may be overlaps in residency participation or you might be the only one to enjoy the solace.

• Daylight Savings starts March 9.
• Spring Equinox is March 20. 

“It's spring again. I can hear the birds sing again. See the flowers start to bud. See young people fall in love." – Lou Rawls, "Spring Again"

For more information about the residency including pictures and a blog of previous participants, please visit the website.