The Santa Fe Art Institute Thematic Residency Program supports dynamic creative practices that engage complex social issues, inspire individual transformation, and inform collective action. SFAI welcomes local, national, and international applicants of all backgrounds.

From the start, SFAI’s programming was developed and informed by artists, who worked to bring awareness to the shifting relationship between art and society, and to redefine and disrupt the traditional gatekeeping roles of art institutions, including outdated labels such as “master” artist.

While our programming, language, and focus has naturally shifted over the years, our mission has remained the same: to foster and explore the interconnections of contemporary art and society, to enliven public discourse on art, and to support and nurture artists at all phases of their careers.

Applications are accepted once a year for our annual theme, which includes our Family Residency Month in July.

Our Writers in Residence Program supports free-to-writers residencies for selected women-identified writers at the retreat each year. Up to 7 writers can be in residence at a time, each housed in a handcrafted cottage. They spend their days in solitude – writing, reading, taking walks in the woods on the property or on nearby Double Bluff beach. In the evenings, “The Gathering” is a social time for residents to connect and share over their freshly prepared meals.

Writers must be women, 18 and older, which is inclusive of transgender women and female-identified individuals. Because gender inequity still occurs in all spaces including literary ones, it is part of our explicit mission to support and promote women’s voices. Residents must be willing to adhere to a specific set of health and safety protocols we have implemented to keep writers, staff, and surrounding communities safer. 

Our application and adjudication processes are genre-specific. Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, TV/Screenwriters, Playwrights, and Songwriters are all encouraged to apply. Applications are read by jurors who are proficient to read in each genre. 

Ucross is a vital and relevant resource for artists of all backgrounds and disciplines, who come from all over the United States and the world. The uninterrupted time and space offered is increasingly rare, and the connections built within the community are of great importance to artists. The Ucross residency program is known for offering a majestic experience of the High Plains, thanks to its location on a 20,000-acre ranch in the foothills of the Bighorn Mountains of northern Wyoming.

The artist residency program strives to provide a respectful, comfortable, and productive environment, freeing artists from the pressures and distractions of daily life. Ucross provides each artist with living accommodations, meals, private work space, and uninterrupted time, so the artists can focus on their creative process. Lunch and dinners are prepared Monday through Friday by a professional chef, with access to a world-class kitchen and ample provisions on hand for breakfasts and weekends. Lunches are delivered to individual studios; group dinners take place at 6 p.m. Towels and linens are provided, as is weekly housekeeping for bedrooms. Residents are responsible for providing their own working materials. There is no residency charge, and Ucross offers a $1,500 stipend to defray travel costs.

The Center for Contemporary Printmaking (CCP) Residency Program offers solo Artists-in-Residence the unique opportunity to live and work inside the recently remodeled Helen Frankenthaler Printmaking Cottage. Within this space artists can produce a body of work in a supportive atmosphere that fosters creative growth and development, for traditional as well as innovative printmaking techniques.

The intention of the residency is to offer artists one to two weeks of uninterrupted, 24/7 time and privacy in a well-equipped studio with onsite living accommodations. This solo residency has proven to be an ideal opportunity for experimentation and collaboration. Artists can add to their work practice, explore new mediums, create an edition, or otherwise advance their printmaking skills. CCP strives to advance outcomes from the residency that stimulate original and inventive work that the artist might not otherwise have attempted absent these amenities.

Whitefish Bay, located on Wisconsin's Door Peninsula, has long been a creative haven for artists who were an important part of the local community and brought the process of creating art into daily life. Inspired by the history of the Dome House and the vibrant artistic community in Door County, the Al & Mickey Quinlan Residency aims to give an artist the opportunity to create work in a unique environment providing inspiration and solitude. The Dome House Al & Mickey Quinlan Artist Residency is open to one artist residing in the Midwest states of Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio or South Dakota. The program aims to give artists working in the fine art mediums of drawing, painting, printmaking, photography and other mediums the space and support to create work in an inspiring and unique location, in addition to providing opportunities for public access to an artist at work through supplemental programming and educational content for the community.

For more than fifty years, Arts/Industry has been connecting artists with the resources, technology, and materials of Kohler Co., and providing a place to explore new ideas, processes, and perspectives. Artists from all disciplines are encouraged to apply.

Each year, up to twelve artists are selected for residencies in the Pottery or Foundry areas of the factory through a competitive jury process. No experience with clay or cast metal is required, just an interest in pursuing a new body of work and being open to new ideas.

Arts/Industry residencies are three months in length and divided into three cohorts. There are four artists-in-residence in each cohort—two in Pottery and two in Foundry. Residents are expected to commit to the full three-month period. Artists-in-residence receive 24-hour access to studio space, industrial materials, use of equipment, technical assistance, photographic services, housing, round-trip transportation, and a modest weekly stipend.

This residency occurs within the Kohler Factory in Kohler, WI

A quiet studio. A beautiful setting. Time for inspiration.

Located on 200 rural acres outside of beautiful Ithaca, NY, Saltonstall offers free residencies to artists and writers who are full time residents of New York State or one of the Indian Nations located therein. Our residencies are designed for those looking for a quiet, supportive environment in which to focus on their craft.

We offer 1- to 4-week sessions between mid-May and early November.

Two week-long residencies (timed to occur during the school year) are dedicated to artist/writer parents and full-time caregivers. These residencies are designed for the artist/writer parent/caregiver alone. We are not able to accommodate children, spouses, partners, or collaborators.

Our categories include:

• Poetry
• Rotating prose category: Fiction ('27), Screen/Playwriting ('28), Creative Nonfiction ('29) 
• Photography (film or digital) & Filmmaking
• Painting | Sculpture | Visual Arts

Our residencies are cohort-based and include the same combination of five artists and writers: one poet, one prose writer, one photographer or filmmaker, and two visual artists. These residencies are designed for individual artists and writers; we cannot accommodate collaborations or partners working together.

All residencies (incl. the residency for artist/writer parents) function exactly the same way. Each group of five arrives and leaves together, and the application process for all residencies is also exactly the same.

Residencies at the Joan Mitchell Center provide the crucial elements of time and space for artistic experimentation—while offering artists opportunities to engage with arts professionals, partner arts organizations, and others in the community. Light-filled private studios, digital media resources, and a stipend give artists the tools they need to experiment, focus on a new body of work, research, or simply reflect and recharge.

Artists-in-Residence receive:

• A private studio in either the Spring or Fall residency session
• Weekday meals
• A $600 monthly stipend
• A range of professional development and public engagement opportunities

New Orleans-based artists can apply for 5 month residencies. Former national Joan Mitchell Foundation grant recipients are eligible to apply for a 1 to 3 month residency, and are also provided on-campus living space, travel support, and a shipping reimbursement.