2016 TOP 10 Rated RMAR Artist Residency
Image: Still from video “Sit Down Waltz” by Mucca Pazza at Ragdale and by Chris Hefner for Exhibition
No. 10 • Ragdale Foundation
Lake Forest, IL, USA
Since its founding in 1976, Ragdale has grown to host over 150 international #artists, #choreographers, #composers, and #writers for 2-6 week residencies per year. According to their website, “Ragdale offers a retreat setting where at any given time, a dozen creative individuals experience uninterrupted time for dedicated work, a supportive environment, dynamic artist exchanges, 50 acres of idyllic prairie and a family-style dinner each evening.”
Cost: An 18-day residency will cost $630 and a 25-day residency will cost $875. 5-day Themed Residencies cost $175 per person, financial aid is available on a limited basis.
Upcoming Deadline: Sept 30 for the following Jan-May
More Information: www.ragdale.org
Image Source: artofthemooc.org http://ift.tt/2aYSe2Q
No. 9 • Elsewhere Museum
Greensboro, NC, USA
Elsewhere is a three-story #museum that is an evolving environment of living installations, public studios, and material resources. In 2003, George Scheer (grandson of Sylvia Gray) and Stephanie Sherman began excavating the legacy left behind by Sylvia Gray and her (hordiculutural) expansive thrift store located in Greensboro, NC. Soon after 2003, both Sherman and Scheer began inviting artist friends of all mediums to come, create, and play in this inherited space. Thirteen years later, Elsewhere Museum has become a cultural hub and catalyst in the South with their experimental month-long residencies and residencies for Southern-based artists.
Cost: Subsidized $500/month, A small number of fellowships are available for special residency sessions.
Upcoming Deadline: November 2016 for residencies in 2017
More Information: www.goelsewhere.org
Image Source: www.mnartists.org/
No. 8 • Cabin-Time
Nomadic Artist Residency, USA
Cabin-Time is a nomadic residency based in the United States. Now on it’s eighth edition, Cabin-Time selects new locations annually for a week long residency in the wilderness. Sometimes the residents rent cabins in National Parks while at other times residents experience more of a rogue camping experience together. According to their website, “Cabin-Time invites artists, designers, writers, musicians, scientists, sign-painters, bird-watchers, cheerleaders, schemers and dreamers to make site-specific work in cooperative intentional isolation.” Currently, they are seeking residents for their first FULLY FUNDED and TRAVEL STIPEND residency located in the Eastern Sierra Nevada Mountains, California.
Cost: CT8 is Cabin-Time’s first FULLY FUNDED residency, with no residency fee and a $500 travel stipend for each accepted resident
Upcoming Deadline: September 30, 2016 for April 2017
More Information: www.cabin-time.org/
Image Source: syracuseartfreak.blogspot.com
No. 7 • Golden Foundation
New Berlin, NY, USA
The Sam and Adele Golden Foundation located in New Berlin, New York is an ideal residency for painters and artists looking to explore the medium of paint. Stemming from the well-known artists’ acrylic company, Golden Acrylic Paints, the residency was born in 2012. The Goldens (a family-run business) invite artists to their 19th-Century red barn studios and apartments to work with top professionals to learn more about the most innovative range of materials and technology of paint. All paints, mediums, and instructors are provided as a “Crash-Course Month-Long Bootcamp” for artists to explore the possibility of painting through Golden Acrylics.
Cost: A subsidized $3,500 per month, with limited financial aid available.
Upcoming Deadline: September 12, 2016
More Information: www.goldenfoundation.org
Image Source: http://phila-wca.blogspot.com/
No. 6 • The Arctic Circle Residency
Longyearbyen, Territory of Svalbard, Norway
Scientists, artists, innovators, architects, educators, and activists merge in the program of The Arctic Circle Residency for two weeks aboard a Barquentine Tall Ship in Norway. This close-quartered expedition cultivates a collaborative environment for these professionals from many different fields of study. Each participant aboard ship is provided with a room, workspace, and accommodations. Though the cost to participate is steep, it includes local transportation to and from dock locations and any overnight costs at hotels before and after the expedition and the cost of the overall expedition aboard ship.
Cost: $6,300 USD. Program costs are subsidized in part by The Farm, Inc. and our partners, and in part by participant fees.
Upcoming Deadline: November 2016 for residencies in 2017
More Information: www.thearcticcircle.org
Image Source: ArcTheMagazine.com and work by Cortney Andrews (Alum ’14), Untitled, 2014, C-Print, 16 x 24 in.
No. 5 • Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture
Skowhegan, ME, USA
Skowhegan, since its founding in 1946, has become a distinguished and well-known American artist residency. Located on a 350 acre farm in rural Maine, Skowhegan serves as an alternative school for visual artists of all kinds for nine-weeks during each summer. The application process is highly competitive as well as the selection process is heavily curated to create a close-knit community every year. The faculty and visiting artists are well-known and established artists leading the field of visual arts. The motto of the school, derived from the website, states, “Founded by artists, and still governed by artists, the program provides an atmosphere in which participants are encouraged to work free of the expectations of the marketplace and academia.”
Cost: $6,000 tuition for the summer session. However, a number of scholarships are offered, including general and named fellowships, as well as matching school fellowships, which are available to students who are currently enrolled in partner institutions.
Upcoming Deadline: November 16 (early bird application fees, $20) through January 21 (late application fees, $80)
More Information: www.skowheganart.org
Image Source: vermontstudiocenter.org http://ift.tt/2bsPWgd
No. 4 • Vermont Studio Center
Johnson, VT, USA
Settled into an old water-powered mill town with a current population of 3,446, Vermont Studio Center (VSC) was established by artists in 1984. As the VSC campus continues to sprawl throughout the town, it hosts a turn over of 50 artists per month turning the mill economy into a culture-based economy for the town of Johnson. The campus includes 2-D and 3-D studios, writing studios, a yoga studio, meditation room, libraries, lecture hall for public events, two gallery spaces, and a communal dining hall. Though the cost of the residency is $2,050 for only 2 weeks, VSC offers opportunities to reduce the costs through fellowships, stipends, payment plans, financial aid packages, and a work exchange option to offset the cost.
Cost: $3,950 for 4 Weeks and $2,050 for 2 Weeks. They offer over 120 Fellowships per year to artists and writers. Some awards include an additional stipend for travel/lost income/etc. VSC offers a financial package to cover up to a maximum of 50% of the cost. Work exchange for residents (up to 10 hours a week) deducts $150/week off of the overall costs.
Upcoming Deadlines: October 1st and February 15th
More Information: VermontStudioCenter.org
Image Source: scuolagrafica.it
No. 3 • Scuola Internazionale di Grafica Venezia
Venice, Italy
A premier European artist residency nestled in the romantic canals of Venice, The Scuola Internazionale I’d Grafica di Venezia was established in 1969. Throughout the duration of the residency, visual artists and those looking to learn about printmaking may engage with the program’s workshops, seminars, presentations, exhibitions, and libraries. The Scuola provides private bedrooms in the historic city center along with more than adequate equipment for lithography, letterpress, serigraphy, intaglio, and photo-mechanical processes. The Scuola describes the experience on their website as, “A residency at the Scuola Internazionale di Grafica provides a unique opportunity to experience Venice, not as a tourist, but as an independent, working artist in the Studio’s international creative community.”
Cost: 700 Euro per week. The Scuola offers 11 full fellowships per year and opportunities for partial fellowships. Fees may also be eligible for tax deduction.
Upcoming Deadlines: Ongoing, Visiting guest artist full fellowships are due every May 31st by midnight.
More Information: www.scuolagrafica.it
Image Source: theodorewheeler.wordpress.com http://ift.tt/2bS8K7I
No. 2 • Kimmel Harding Nelson Center for the Arts
Nebraska City, NE, USA
Between 50 to 60 artists are chosen per year through a juried process to attend an artist residency at the Kimmel Nelson Harding Center located in Nebraska City, NE. The KHNC center provides musicians, interdisciplinary artists, writers, and visual artists with apartments, composer’s studio, bicycles, an ongoing collection of works from past residents (donations encouraged but not mandatory), gallery space, open studio events, classes and workshops, a letterpress studio, a $100 stipend per week during their time (2-8 weeks). Recent resident, Erik Campbell (KHNC Alum ’16) claims, “I had an excellent time here. I worked well, met several amazing people, and find Pat and Amanda to be wonderful, informed, and fun.”
Upcoming Deadlines: September 1, 2016
Cost: $35 application fee, free accommodations and studio space with a $100 stipend per week.
More Information: www.khncenterforthearts.org
Image Source: http://www.acreresidency.org
No. 1 • ACRE
Chicago, IL, USA
An anonymous reviewer on Rate My Artist Residency writes, “ACRE isn’t what you expect, it’s better. Funky, DIY, raw, new, fresh, energetic, loose, fun, and engaging. A great group of staff, visiting artists, and fellow residents who are supportive, helpful, and know how to throw a good party.” (2013).
There is a reason that ACRE has been the long-standing No. 1 residency on Rate My Artist Residency. This fresh space invites young artists to find a stepping stone from undergraduate and graduate studies into their professional careers away from the insulated bubble of academia. Though the program doesn’t just invite recent graduates, this playground for ideas and creativity lends itself to emerging artists and musicians. Not only does ACRE provide full art and recording facilities, a kitchen with chef-prepared meals, comfortable sleeping accommodations, full-support staff, and exhibitions, ACRE also seeks to foster their growing alumni program beyond the duration of the residency with a digital flat-file service, web presence, participation in art fairs, exhibitions in Chicago with partner institutions, and other opportunities. ACRE also invites several mid-career and established artists and thinkers, workshops on site, and visiting bands and performers to join the session community and engage with current residents.
Upcoming Deadlines: January 4-24: Free Application Fee, January 25-February 21: $25Application Fee, February 22-March 6: $35 Application Fee
Cost: 12-Day Sessions: $600 & 14-Day Sessions: $700, two payment installments are accepted prior to attending the residency. Though financial aid is not guaranteed, ACRE provides merit and need-based scholarships, work-study exchange to offset the cost by 50% for up to 15-hours per week, and special scholarships which change annually.
More Information: http://www.acreresidency.org
ACRE // Artists’ Cooperative Residency and Exhibitions from Big Foot Media on Vimeo.
2016 Lowest Rated RMAR Artist Residency
Please Note: These rated residencies are *only* profiled onRateMyArtistResidency.com, which is inclusive of over 200 from around the world. Given the handful of rankings, polling is based on artist opinion, in which we are always willing to discuss these rankings with artist residencies and artists via phone/Skype or in-person conferences.
We will not (and have not) given user information of those who use our ranking system to third-party entities; the privacy and anonymity of our users are ensured.
There are a number of factors that go into ranking residencies, but what tends to be most tried and true of the best residencies is that an artist residency’s program, mission statement, and resident attendees are aligned and transparent with one another; from costs to programming to accommodations to expectations, etc.
These rankings will be up for one year wherein they will be recalculated in 2017. The full list will be accessible in September 2015 as well as our RMAR Directory map will be updated with all residency ratings by then. (RMAR Directory Map Link: https://ratemyartistresidency.com/map-my-residency/)
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