A Space To Create
In this article, we have compiled a list of artist residencies, fellowships, and creative retreats from all over the world. From France, to Tasmania, to Stuttgart, these residencies make us dream of hoping back on a plane!
Maison Dora Maar — Ménerbes, France
The Dora Maar House Residency Program
Target audience: Mid-career artists and scholars.
Details: The program offers one to two months in residence at the Dora Maar House. This gorgeous house, which was once home to artist Dora Maar, sits on the western shoulder of the Luberon valley. The program hosts three to four fellows at a time and includes a private bedroom, bath, and study/studio. Fellows receive a grant and expenses paid round-trip travel to the Dora Maar House. Fellows are responsible for cooking for themselves.
Requirements: Near the end of their stay, fellows are required to present their work in one of the monthly Salons, hosted by the Dora Maar House. The public Salons serve to showcase the work that has been achieved by the fellows, during their time at the House. Fellows are asked to donate a work of theirs that was created during their stay to the Dora Maar House and to “recognize The Residency Program at the Dora Maar House in the acknowledgements” of any publication that was worked on during the fellow’s residency.
Deadline: Accepting application for 2022, beginning February 15th through October 15th, 2021
Images and information from The Dora Maar House’s website, visit their Instagram for more.
Image by @photo_by_baranova, posted to @watermillcenter
The Watermill Center — Long Island, NY, United States
Artist Residency Program
Target audience: The program accepts national and international creatives from a diversity of mediums, from performance artists to writers, to architects. Artists must be 21 or older.
Details: This two to six weeks “process-based” residency is the perfect environment for creative experimentation and growth. If you are looking for a space that is conducive to creative ingenuity, The Watermill Center is the perfect place. The centre is made up of “20,000 square feet of rehearsal/design spaces” and “ten acres of landscaped grounds and gardens.” This expansive campus is prepared to host artists in their multifaceted creative explorations “without the expectation or promise of a final exhibition of work.” Artists are provided transportation, (shared) housing, communal bathrooms, and a private workspace, but are responsible for all other personal and work expenses.
Requirements: The program is not open to artists enrolled in an academic program during the time of the residency. The artists are required to participate in In Process @ The Watermill, giving them the chance to share their creative process with the local community and to receive feedback on their work.
Deadline: Due to COVID19 they will begin accepting applications in January 2022, for the 2023 program year.
Information from The Watermill Center’s website.
Image by @photo_by_baranova, posted to @watermillcenter
International Summer Program
Target audience: Solo artists
Details: This summer program is ideal for artists looking to take part in a creative and collaborative community, as the residents are expected to take part in the communal “responsibilities of daily life, including housekeeping, cooking, cleaning, and maintaining Watermill’s grounds and gardens.” Artists are also given the opportunity to propose installation and performance ideas for either of the two major summer events hosted by the centre, The Annual Watermill Center Summer Benefit & Auction and the annual open house Discover Watermill Day. This form of collaboration, both creative and physical, allows one to fundamentally anchor their creativity in a community. Lastly, artists are given the option to share their creative knowledge by teaching a morning class and/or hosting an informal presentation.
Requirements: Artists participate in all areas (physical labour & workshops). Deadline: Due to COVID19 they hope to begin accepting applications in late 2021, for the 2022 program year.
Information from The Watermill Center’s website.
Image by @laurabrichta, posted to @watermillcenter
Château Orquevaux — Champagne-Ardenne, France
International Artists & Writers Residence
Photos by @dariacipriani
Target audience: Individual or team-based artists and writers who dream of a creative escape.
Details: “We believe life is a creative journey and consider every moment a part of the process.” The program places an emphasis on personal growth and creative respite. The stunning chateaux and French countryside of Champagne-Ardenne is the perfect environment for self-motivated artists seeking a breath of fresh air. The program’s primary focus is not on “the end product”, instead it offers the opportunity to reconnect with one’s artistry through “limited distraction, plenty of food, and an abundance of natural inspiration.” The program offers either a two or four-week Artist-in-Residence Grant (750 or 1,500 euros). With 15 residents at a time, artists are provided with a private studio, bedroom, and a shared bath.
Requirements: “In exchange for the grant the artist agrees to contribute one work to the permanent collection of Château d'Orquevaux.”
Deadline: Applications open for 2021 & 2022!
Information from Château Orquevaux’s website, visit their Instagram for more.
Photo by @dariacipriani
Old Jet Arts Centre — Rendlesham, Suffolk, United Kingdom
Residency & Spaces for Hire
Target audience: Old Jet Arts Center is located in an Ex-U.S. Air Force Base. Set in the Suffolk countryside and surrounded by rusting fighter planes, this is the perfect environment for creatives and professionals who are looking to get away from their normal work routine. The Old Jet offers a uniquely modern and quiet setting for artists to create without compromising their creative eccentricity.
Details: The lodge is a stylishly converted two-story—12,000 square foot—office building that hosts both studio/offices and large aircraft hangars (for storage). The space is used by the artists in residence as well as being available to rent. The residency offers a free one-week booking, including a sofa bed, access to the fully equipped kitchen, toilets, shower, and office space. Other amenities include 50Mb broadband, 24/7 access and security, parking, and flexible hot desk rooms. They offer a Stage Room (for photoshoots, screening, rehearsals, etc.) and can provide sound and lighting equipment through their sister company Synergy Audio. With a community-oriented mission, Old Jet runs on green energy and hosts a monthly vintage/crafts market to raise funds for local charities.
Images and information from Old Jet Arts Center’s website, visit their Instagram for more.
La Folie Barbizon — Barbizon, France
Artist Residency & Cultural Hub
Details: “The term folie was used for residences known for their architectural extravagance or the unreasonableness of their use. The declared use of these buildings was entertainment: receptions, music salons or meeting circles. Most often a folly was only a pleasure house, implanted in natural sites, what we would call today a country house.” La Folie is a space for culture and creative collaboration. This pleasure-filled hub receives artists from all disciplines to perform workshops, conferences, create and so much more. The town of Barbizon made a name for itself in the art world during the Realist art movement, birthing the world-renowned painting The Gleaners by Jean-Francois Millet, in 1857. The town’s rich artistic history is perfect for such a place as La Folie.
For more info: residence@lafoliebarbizon.com
Images and translated information from La Folie Barbizon’s website, visit their Instagram for more.
Image by @marniehawson, posted to @captainsrest
Captains Rest — Strahan, Tasmania, Australia
DIY Creative Retreat
Details: Captains Rest is a gorgeous waterfront cottage in Tasmania, Australia, that is perfect for creatives looking for a do-it-yourself retreat. The Inn Keeper, Sarah Andrews has elegantly designed the cottage: “this place is brimming with curated collections, fine linens, cozy textures and objects of delight!” This foggy home is has us yearing to curl up and read a book, or write one!
Visit their website to book.
Information from Captains Rest’s website.
Akademie Schloss Solitude — Stuttgart, Germany
Solitude Fellowship
Target audience: Artists, scholars, scientists, cultural and economic professionals under the age of 40, with the exception of students. Art groups and PhD students are welcome.
Details: Akademie Schloss Solitude maintains an avant-grade mission to promote international transdisciplinary collaboration. To find out more about what fellows are working on, check out their “studio visits” on their website. The solitude fellowship is a residential fellowship, housing 45 live/work studios and three guest studios. The live/work studios are fully furnished and can typically house one person. They function both as a living and studio space. A fellowship award can last between six, nine or twelve months. Accepted fellows are obligated to apply for permanent residence in Stuttgart. The fellowship is accompanied by the following benefits: “A free, furnished living/working studio including electricity, water and heating. A monthly fellowship grant of € 1,200. Travel expenses for arrival and departure (on a one-time basis).” See full benefits on their website.
Requirements: Applicants must be under the age of 40 and speak one/more/all of the following languages: German, English, French. Must spend two-thirds of the fellowship at the Akademie.
Deadline: September 2021
Images and information from Akademie Schloss Solitude’s website, visit their Instagram for more.
