Thank you for your interest. Rasmuson Foundation is not accepting applications for artist residencies at this time. We will update this site if the program reactivates.

Application deadline
All applications submitted online must be completed by 11:59 pm Alaska Time (ADT). Applications may be submitted online at www.rasmuson.org. Paper-based applications for this program cannot be accepted. Eligible applicants should contact the Foundation for any assistance regarding the application process.Late applications will not be considered.

Who May Apply
Artists who meet the following eligibility requirements may apply:

  • Applicants must be full-time Alaska residents for the past two years at the time of application, and remain residents for the duration of the residency program (activities scheduled in 2016).
  • Residencies are available to established and emerging artists 18 years of age and older.
  • Artists at any stage of their life’s work, from early to mature.
  • Successful applicants will demonstrate an active and sustained level of accomplishment, commitment and excellence in their work.
  • Applicants must have been formally recognized for their work sometime in the past five years by one more of the following:
  • Receipt of a merit-based artist grant or award (including the Rasmuson Foundation Individual Artist Award);
  • inclusion in a formal exhibition for visual artists or publication of book length work or multiple placements in journals for literary artists;
  • Artist’s work acquired for permanent collection by a professional collecting museum or institution; or
    completion of an accredited graduate fine arts degree.

Applicants must be able to commit to the full eight-week period at a residency program located in the Lower 48 states selected in their application.Disciplines currently eligible are Crafts, Folk and Traditional Arts, Literary Arts/Scriptworks, Media Arts, Social Practice, and Visual Arts.

Artists are NOT eligible to apply if they are:

    • A current board member, committee member, staff member, or consultant for Rasmuson Foundation, current panelist, or member of their immediate families.
    • Individuals whose current work is primarily of a research, scholarly, or commercial nature.
    • A student currently enrolled in any degree seeking program related to the arts at any educational level.Criteria
    • The quality of artistic work within the context of the individual’s experience, training and career stage, as reflected through work samples provided in the application.
      The artist’s creative accomplishments and the promise of future artistic excellence.
    • The impact a residency experience at this time will likely have on the applicant’s future artistic and career growth.
    • The artist’s commitment to community engagement, if applicable, as part of the residency experience.
    • The artist’s overall interest and commitment to a residency experience, including participation in the program for a full two months.

Selection Process

Selections are made on a competitive basis by a professional panel convened by each participating residency center involved in the program. Rasmuson Foundation does not determine the selection of residency participants.Decisions are final and not subject to appeal. The selection process will take approximately eight weeks following the application deadline. All applicants will be notified of the panel’s decisions after the selections have been made.

Selection Terms

        • Artists must be prepared to complete their eight-week residency experience by the end of the calendar year following year of application and acceptance. Artists are expected to attend the residency by themselves. Accommodations are not available for family, friends, pets, or companions. Please include information required to accommodate any disabilities.
        • Artists selected for a residency will sign an agreement with their residency host site. Residency host sites will work with their selected Alaska artist to determine specific dates of the residency and residency activities. All financial activities associated with the residencies are managed by the host sites. This includes artist stipend, materials, all travel, housing, meals, studio space, and documentation associated with the residency. Artists selected for this program are not considered grantees of Rasmuson Foundation.
        • At the end of the residency period, artists are expected to submit a short narrative report describing their accomplishments and the importance of the experience to their ongoing artistic and career development. Such accomplishments do not have to be solely in the form of artistic products, but may also include knowledge acquired, experience gained, personal growth achieved, and/or experiments undertaken that point the artist in new directions, whether successful or not.

Residency Program Application

        • Applicants will be asked to describe their artistic work training and cumulative creative experiences, goals for participating in an artist residency, and the benefits anticipated. Applicants must submit supporting materials (e.g. images, recordings, scripts, resume) that demonstrate their level of artistic accomplishment.

Application Materials Required

      • Application coversheet and Questionnaire
      • Artist resume
      • Work sample information
      • Work sample(s)

How To Apply

Step 1 – Select Residency Program

Select the program below that best aligns with your creative work and disciplinary focus. Successful applicants must demonstrate work that is consistent with the disciplinary direction of each respective residency program.Djerassi Resident Artists Program
Woodside, California (near San Francisco)
The mission of the Djerassi Resident Artists Program is to support and enhance the creativity of artists by providing uninterrupted time for work, reflection, and collegial interaction in a setting of great natural beauty, and to preserve the land on which the program is situated. The program is located in the Santa Cruz Mountains an hour from San Francisco.

The Residency Program is designed as a retreat experience to pursue personal creative work and share in collegial interaction within a small community of artists. The communal/collegial nature of Djerassi residencies is a hallmark of the experience and in this spirit residents are expected to commit themselves for the entire residency session awarded to them.

Artists are housed in the Middlebrook Studios that consist of four private live/work studios. The studios each have private bathrooms and outdoor space. Meals are communal with the other artists in residence.

Artists must choose a specific two-month date range from these options:

  • April 13-June 15, 2016
  • August 10-October 12, 2016
  • September 14-November 16, 2016Each session spans two of Djerassi’s one month residency sessions, which are separated by a few days. This residency includes a short, funded stay in nearby San Francisco between the two residency blocks.Alaskans who have attended residencies at Djerassi through this program are Arlitia Jones, Christine Byl and Ernestine Hayes. For more information about Djerassi Resident Artists Program visit djerassi.orgMcColl Center for Art + Innovation
    Charlotte, North Carolina
    This residency opportunity is designed for artists who are committed to investigating and addressing environmental issues through community-based inquiries and collaborations.

 

McColl Center for Art + Innovation is a nationally acclaimed contemporary art center dedicated to connecting art and resident artists with the community. Located in a historic neo-Gothic church in uptown Charlotte, the Center houses eight studios for resident artists and more than 5,000 square feet of exhibition space. The Center is housed in a well-equipped 30,000 square foot facility with eight artist studios (230-819 sf), including common use wood, metal and printmaking studios, ceramic kilns, a traditional darkroom and state-of-the-art media lab. There is 24-hour access to the Center’s facility, and staff support Monday through Friday during normal business hours. Visiting artists are housed in nearby apartments that are fully equipped with bath, kitchen and bedrooms.

The Center’s goal is to present art and artists in a way that engages and enriches the public while revealing the creative process through open studio experiences, outreaches, community projects, and educational programs. To expand upon its commitment to connecting art, artists and community, the Center has identified issues that it calls its Spheres of Impact (SOIs). A result of in-depth discussions with the Charlotte community, these SOIs include education, environment, dealthcare, social justice, international, technology, business innovation, craft, beauty, and architecture +design.

The Center seeks an artist who is knowledgeable about current environmental issues affecting urban ecosystems who will work in advance with Center staff and community partners to identify an existing problem and path of inquiry that will be addressed during the two-month residency period. The Center’s environmental program generally consists of projects that are site-based and are remedial in nature. For more information on the Environmental SOI and past Social Justice Artists-in-Residence, please visit this link: http://mccollcenter.org/about/spheres-of-impact/environment

Alaskans who have attended residencies at McColl through this program are Maria Shell and Mary Matthews.

Applying artists will participate in a two-month residency from September-October 2016.

For more information about McColl Center for Art + Innovation visit our new website at www.mccollcenter.org

Santa Fe Art Institute in partnership with Institute of American Indian Arts
Santa Fe, New Mexico
The residency is designed for Alaska Native artists who work in the areas of traditional crafts, contemporary painting, photography, printmaking, sculpture, social practice, or new media.

Founded in 1985, Santa Fe Art Institute (SFAI) is an independent, educational, nonprofit cultural organization that seeks to address a critical question: how can SFAI cultivate creative practices (from fine art to design to urban planning and beyond), engage with diverse communities, and address the most pressing social issues of our time?

SFAI takes as its mission an exploration of the intersections of contemporary art and society. By bringing together prominent individuals and organizations in the arts, sciences and humanities, SFAI enlivens local, national and international discourse through residencies, lectures, workshops, publications, exhibitions, and educational programming. Nurturing artists and providing a stimulating, creative atmosphere for their work serves society in an essential way and gives artists the support necessary to take risks and explore possibilities. SFAI’s 17,000 square-foot facility was designed by renowned architect Ricardo Legoretta, and includes studio and gallery spaces, individual apartments and communal kitchen, dining and living room areas.

Santa Fe is a dynamic, small city in the Southwestern United States that is recognized by UNESCO as a City of Design, Crafts and Folk Art. It is known for its predominant three cultures: Native American, Spanish and European American. SFAI values community engagement and has diverse partnerships that allow artists in residence access to these unique cultures. The natural wilderness area of Northern New Mexico provides inspiration in a unique region of the United States.

SFAI hosts these residencies in cooperation with the Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA). Residents will have on-site private living quarters with a bathroom and access to a shared kitchen for meal preparation. Each artist has a small, semi-private studio with some access to a large collaborative studio at SFAI, and will be able to use the extensive and well equipped studios at the IAIA, which include ceramic, painting/drawing, printmaking, photography (digital and darkroom processed black and white), jewelry/metals, and sculpture studios, plus a foundry and new media center. IAIA is approximately a 20-minute drive away. Access to the Museum of Native Contemporary Art is also available.

Residencies will be scheduled based on availability. Residencies are not available during the month of December.

Alaskans who have attended residencies at SFAI through this program are …..

For more information about Santa Fe Art Institute, visit www.sfai.org or contact Nina Elder, SFAI Residency Program Manager, at nelder@sfai.org.

Zygote Press
Cleveland, Ohio
This residency is designed for visual artists with an interest in printmaking. Artists who are not printmakers but want to experiment with printmaking are encouraged to apply.

Founded in 1996, Zygote Press is an artist workshop promoting contemporary fine art printing. Through advocacy, exhibitions, community programs, and affordable, professional workspace, Zygote stimulates collective exchange. Artists create new work, audiences explore new ideas, and collaborations strengthen the community. Zygote is a destination for printmakers nationwide, offering facilities for intaglio, (plate) lithography, relief printing, screen printing, letterpress, and digital media. Zygote Press also initiates and facilitates projects with professional artists in an active environment, where artists, students and the public interact. Zygote is the only open-access print studio in Northeast Ohio and is the largest in the state of Ohio. Zygote offers classes and is the only open-access print studio in Northeast Ohio and the largest in the state. With extensive residency programs and program-driven resources for emerging and established artists, Zygote has been important in the revitalization of the Arts Quarter district of the Superior-St. Clair neighborhood. Rasmuson artists reside in a 1,500-square-foot loft apartment above the printmaking shop, and are part of a large and vibrant arts community working at Zygote Press. This mid-town location has direct access to dining, shopping, parking, and public transit.

As the largest independent fine art print shop between Pittsburgh and Chicago, Zygote’s programs provide much needed resources for artists and educational nonprofits. The collaborative dynamic of the print shop encourages artistic growth, and classes for all skill levels grow the medium.

Previous Rasmuson Foundation Artist Residency Program fellows awarded residencies at Zygote Press include Jimmy Riordan and Michael Walsh.

Artists must choose a specific two-month date range from the options below:

  • January 1– February 28, 2016
  • June 1 – July 31, 2016
  • For more information about Zygote Press, visit www.zygotepress.comStep 2 – Prepare Application Materials
  • Give yourself adequate time to complete the application. It is normal for applicants to prepare materials over the course of several weeks.
  • Make sure materials are presented in the best manner possible.
  • Applications that are incomplete or do not follow the instructions will not be considered.
  • If work samples (video, audio or digital photographs) cannot be opened or played, the application will not be considered.
  • Press the “Save” or “Save and Continue” buttons at the bottom of each page to save a draft version of information you have entered.
  • The CONTENTS list to the right includes everything needed to complete and submit an application. When a section is completed, the red  will turn to a green . When all of the items have green checks beside them, you are ready to submit your application.
  • Step 3 – Complete Your Application
      • Enter all information required on each page.
      • Attach work samples and double check that the files can be opened. Be sure you have attached the work samples in the same order listed in the application.
      • Review, sign (digitally) and print out a completed copy for your records.
      • You will receive an email from the Foundation confirming receipt of your application.

    Questions, Aassistance and Suggestions

    Thank you for your application. If you have feedback, suggestions for improvements, or need technical assistance regarding the application, please contact Barbara Bach at bbach@rasmuson.org or (907) 297-2825, or toll-free 1-877-366-2700

    If you have questions about the Artist Residency program or the application process, please call (907) 297-2700, or toll-free in Alaska 1-877-366-2700,or email jsmart@rasmuson.org.