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between art and society, and to redefine and disrupt the traditional gatekeeping roles of art institutions, including outdated labels such as “master” artist.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 residencies are free-of-charge, apart from an application fee (which is currently being reconsidered for 2024) and a refundable $150 security deposit.

Starting in 2023, SFAI will be offering $500 stipends to up to 28 regional BIPOC artists and creative practitioners who are awarded a residency. SFAI does not offer any other stipend or financial aid, nor does it act as a fiscal sponsor to residents. We suggest incoming residents apply for grants or crowdfunding to support their financial needs. Open call: Jan - April.

ACRE’s Residency Program takes place every summer in the Driftless region of Wisconsin. Set on 1,000 acres of wetland, hills, and farmland, the residency hosts artists who live and work in a communal setting that includes expansive work spaces, kitchen serving three meals per day, performance stage, wood shop, art and tech facility, and sound, fiber, screenprinting, metalwork, and ceramics studios. Residents are encouraged to balance their time between producing work, contemplating their practice, and engaging with the community. The Visiting Artist program invites established artists to conduct studio visits and present lectures and other experimental programs. Studio staff also offer demos and in-depth workshops to residents. Each year ACRE welcomes approximately 60 emerging, often underrepresented, artists of all disciplines to attend one of three 14-day residency sessions. Residents are selected through a rigorous review process by respected panelists who work in the visual arts from Chicago and across the country.

ACRE practices a participatory leadership structure that enriches our operations and programs, by inviting participants to become key decision-makers for the organization, facilitating community-centered evaluation, soliciting feedback, and practicing a shared dedication to making iterative improvements. Every artist who has participated in the residency is invited to return as staff, serve on a committee, and ultimately direct the future of the organization.

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.

Penland’s Winter Residency program is a short-term residency opportunity for artists seeking to work independently in one of our 16 media specific studios during Penland’s quiet season. Practicing artists of all backgrounds and at any stage of their career are encouraged to apply for a 2-week or 4-week session. Shared studio access is provided to a small number of artists each session; we invite enough people to encourage conversation and creative camaraderie, but not so many that focused time in the studio is compromised. Residents’ time is their own; there are no workshops, critiques, or required activities. Our goal is to support creative experimentation by offering artists the time, space, and equipment they need to advance professional development.

Penland Winter Residencies are for:

• Artists needing access to facilities for research and development that can be supported by Penland’s well-equipped studios
• Art educators and administrators who are seeking focused studio time during a winter break or sabbatical
• Collaborating artists who want to work on a specific project or simply alongside one another in order to share technical expertise and/or creative inspiration
• Art professionals who need time away from daily responsibilities and distractions to focus on a creative project

Vashon Artist Residency provides a diverse group of artists the time and space to create, the opportunity to engage with other residents and the experience of living and working amidst the ecology and community of Vashon Island located on the beautiful Salish Sea in Washington State.

We are committed to offering this opportunity to a diverse group of artists. We believe that welcoming artists from diverse backgrounds who develop and create differently, will stimulate growth and exploration for each individual and their cohort.

We currently offer numerous 3.5-week and one 2-week long, self-directed residencies to emerging, mid-career, and established artists working in the visual, literary, performing, media, and literary arts.

Located in a rural area, Vashon Artist Residency offers both communal living spaces and private spaces. Each artist has a private bedroom with a view of Quartermaster Harbor. Artists needing studio space have 24-hour access to a 250-square-foot space with natural light through full roll-up doors. Artists who do not require a studio have a writing desk in their bedroom.

Residents are responsible for supplies, shipping, travel and food. Any work an artist makes at Vashon Artist Residency will be theirs.

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.

Watershed Center for the Ceramic Arts offers residency sessions that provide artists with uninterrupted time to focus on their practices in our state-of-the-art ceramics studio. During a session, up to sixteen artists form a creative community as they live and work together on campus. Participants enjoy 24-hour studio access and comfortable on-campus accommodations in single or double occupancy rooms.

Watershed’s residency model prioritizes the development of creative community. Artists work alongside one another in our open-concept studio while forging lasting personal and professional connections.

Each two-week Summer Residency session has a theme and a core group of artists who anchor the session. Additional artists join the session through our application process, often drawn by an interest in the session theme. Watershed provides housing and all meals with food sourced from local organic farms.

The four-week Fall Residency offers a retreat-like atmosphere without any thematic structure. Artists live and work alongside one another and cook for themselves.

The Good Hart Artist Residency offers 10-21 day residency stays to visual artists, writers, and composers at any stage of their career. Each artist is housed in a private residence with a detached studio and provided with a $500.00 stipend, a kitchen stocked with basic foods, a few home-cooked meals from local hosts, and a quiet setting along the shores of Lake Michigan. Tucked into the woods along the “Tunnel of Trees,” a Scenic Heritage Route, residents can walk into the village of Good Hart, enjoy Lake Michigan and the nearby sand dunes, and explore Northern Michigan’s inland lakes and wetlands. The Good Hart Artist residency generally hosts one resident at a time, offering each artist the time, space, and quiet to focus and create. 

Community is central to the mission of the Good Hart Artist Residency. Open Studio Saturdays offer visual artists an opportunity to share their work with local residents for one Saturday during their stay, and the annual Harbor Springs Festival of the Book connects resident writers to both local and literary communities. Each artist collaborates with a local nonprofit organization during their stay to lead an educational event, workshop, or exhibition. Please visit our local partnerships page for additional information about these collaborations. 

The Green Box Artist in Residency program offers artists of national and international stature, from diverse disciplines, and at any stage in their career the opportunity to develop, create, and/or present new works while living in and engaging with the community of Green Mountain Falls, a beautiful small mountain community located in Ute Pass, by the foothills of Pikes Peak. Launched in February 2020, the program has grown to sponsor artists annually, with as many as eight residencies offered each year. Past artists in residence include Chad Mount, Irby Pace, Denys Drozdyuk & Antonina Skobina, American Ballet Theatre, 600 Highwaymen, Sommer Browning, Emily McDaniel, Alexandra Lockhart, Matthew Jamal, Jessica Kahkoska, Michael Krondl, Summation Dance, the Nomadic Photo Ark, Molly Rideout, Stillhouse Junkies, Amir Amiri, brooke smiley, Paula Bohince, Arvin Ramgoolam, Nikki Pike, Edwin Ushiro, Bill Frisell, and Carole d'Inverno. 

Lodging is provided, and deliverables will be determined during the application process. During their stay, artists are expected to engage with local residents and other cultural organizations to enhance arts offerings in the region. 

Specific residency application requirements may change from year to year, but are released at the beginning of September. See current applications here.