Our Core Residency program -- we will celebrate our 50th anniversary in July 2023 -- is one of the longest-running in country. Judged blindly by jurors who are practicing professionals and/or alumni, from April-November each year we welcome 6-7 multidisciplinary creators to come to Steepletop (the historic estate of Pulitzer Prize-winning poet/activist Edna St. Vincent Millay) for one month stays (June and September also have two-week session availabilities). We have a number of fellowships that come with stipends available. To date we have hosted over 3000 exceptional poets, nonfiction/fiction writers, screenwriters, playwrights, filmmakers, photographers, composers, visual and performance artists. Works made possible by a residency enrich lives and communities globally: our alumni are consistently recognized with international honors (MacArthur and National Book Awards; Pulitzer, Lambda Literary and Pen America prizes, Guggenheim Fellowships and others). Core residencies are fully-subsidized and free of charge; they include: groceries, chef-prepared communal dinners, private bedroom, private studio and shared living/kitchen/dining.

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.

An ACE Fellowship in Dance provides immersive creative time and space to selected artists, free of charge.

Available to established Chicago area choreographers and dancemakers, awardees receive the rare opportunity of uninterrupted time and space to create their next great work, along a variety of supportive financial benefits. The length of the residency is one to two weeks, and the choreographer can be joined by 3-5 dancers/collaborators. There is no expectation of producing any specific work or material. However, during the ACE Fellowship, artists are invited to engage with the regional community in a variety of ways. During the residency, there may be a Meet the Artists event, or other opportunities for the Chicago-based artists to interact and exchange time and talent with members of the local arts community. Trillium Arts acts as a facilitator for this “Exchange” portion of ACE, providing suggestions for pairings and introductions as necessary. Beyond any selected engagements, this is a self-directed program, and the artists determine the specific ways to use their residency time.

VCCA’s artist residency program at Mt. San Angelo in Amherst, Virginia, hosts up to 360 writers, visual artists, and composers each year in residencies of varying lengths with flexible scheduling (up to six weeks with no minimum length of stay). Applications are accepted three times a year for three distinct scheduling periods.

A residency at Mt. San Angelo includes a private bedroom with private en-suite bath, a private individual studio, three prepared meals each day, and access to a community of more than 20 other artists in residence at a time. Nestled in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, Mt. San Angelo is surrounded by natural wonders and hiking trails. 

The solitary time artists receive at VCCA allows them to focus on their work without interruptions. Away from the constraints of “the real world” and in an accepting environment of talented peers, one can dream and create with the feeling that anything is possible. All opportunities to engage with other residents and the wider community through readings, open studios, etc., are entirely optional. 

Thanks to a grant from the Ford Family Foundation, the Sitka Center will be able to offer a special residency opportunity to practicing, mid-career, Oregon artists. This program is for 2-4 weeks based on the artists availability.  This residency includes a stipend of $500 per week. This stipend is designed to make taking the time for a residency more feasible. All visual artists who meet the guidelines below are welcome to apply.