Guide to the Best Artist Grants and Opportunities in the Western U.S.
The Artwork Archive team set out to find the best art opportunities, artist grants, and calls for entry for visual artists in the Western United States.
Below you will find a list of the top artist residencies, international open calls, artist grants, exhibition opportunities and art competitions that we believe will benefit artists, specifically in the West.
Remember, you can now save the important deadlines for your favorite opportunities right in your Artwork Archive account.
When you find a call that interests you, simply click ‘Add to Schedule' and the call's deadline will be automatically added to your Schedule. You'll also receive weekly reminders to keep you on top of your game.
We will be updating this list throughout the year, so make sure to bookmark the page, check back often, and let us know if there is an opportunity that should be listed!
MORE COMING SOON: Our team is currently hard at work searching for opportunities in this region!
May 30, 2024 22 days left
PLAYA RESIDENCY
Residency
- Submission Deadline: May 30, 2024
- Entry Fee: $30
- Award Info: opportunities for field exploration.
- Eligibility: International
- Categories: Craft/Traditional Arts, Photography, Drawing, Film/Video/New Media, Mixed-Media/Multi-Discipline, Painting, Sculpture
- Location: Summer Lake, OR 97640, United States
Awarded residencies are funded opportunities available through an application process and awarded to people actively working to promote dialogue and positive environmental change. Wide open vistas and opportunities for field exploration in the high desert’s living laboratory provides rich inspiration. Residents stay in their own cabin, free of charge, and are responsible for their own travel costs and food while they are in residence. PLAYA is open to international and domestic applicants as long as eligibility requirements are met.
Applicants may choose a 12 or 26 day session. All residency sessions begin on a Thursday and end on a Monday. Applicants must choose from the dates available. We cannot accommodate custom residency dates.
PLAYA uses SlideRoom for the application portal. Applications will be evaluated on how aligned the proposed project is with PLAYA’s mission, the quality of the work samples and how likely the work will evoke dialogue and positive environmental change. We do not accept residency applications by email, regular mail, or fax. Incomplete or late applications will not be reviewed. Please apply before 11:59 pm on May 30, 2024, by following the link below. We highly encourage you to read the application information and instructions carefully. Please note that the application questions will help the jury choose residents whose work is in alignment with PLAYA’s mission and whose work or project would most benefit from the natural science assets and living laboratory that PLAYA has to offer.
May 31, 2024 23 days left
Joshua Tree National Park Artist in Residence Program
Residency
- Submission Deadline: May 31, 2024
- Entry Fee: Application fee is $35. Additional residency fees may apply.
- Eligibility: International
- Categories: Craft/Traditional Arts, Photography, Drawing, Film/Video/New Media, Mixed-Media/Multi-Discipline, Painting, Sculpture
- Location: Twentynine Palms, California 92277, United States
The purpose of the Joshua Tree National Park Artist in Residence Program is to provide opportunities for artists to creatively explore the resources of Joshua Tree National Park, promoting a deeper appreciation of the natural, cultural, and historical resources therein.
Artists are an important part of the national park system. Writings, paintings, photographs, and public outreach provide opportunities for new audiences to experience national parks. In the era of virtual visits, the role of artists is more important than ever in sharing unique perspectives of national parks with online audiences.
The Joshua Tree National Park Artist in Residence Program (AiR) is open to visual artists, performing artists, musicians and writers. Artist are invited for a one-month stay in fall or spring. There are two objectives for this residency. One is to give artists time to explore the park and pursue their own creative practice. The second is for the artist to share their unique perspective of the park’s resources with others.
Accommodations and Working Conditions
Artists in residence are housed at Black Rock in the northwest corner of the park. This area has a ranger station, a campground and access to many beautiful trails. Sitting at the base of the San Bernardino mountain range, its higher altitude makes this area one of the best for Joshua Trees and somewhat cooler than other parts of the park. Although conditions at this location are often relatively temperate, artists should be prepared for more extreme conditions during the course of their stay, including high winds, low relative humidity and temperatures that can range from 100 degrees Fahrenheit during the day to as low as 30 degrees at night.
Artists sleep in the studio space in the Black Rock Campground, which is furnished with a twin bed and bureau. The studio has a drafting table, several folding tables, and ample natural light. Public toilets are adjacent to the studio space. Shared kitchen, laundry, and bathing facilities are a short walk or drive from the studio at the Interagency Fire Center. The distance between the sleeping space and the kitchen and bathing facility is less than half a mile. The town of Yucca Valley is about a 10 minute drive away and has a variety of shopping and dining as well as medical facilities.
Though housing is provided, artists are responsible for their own expenses such as meals, personal art supplies, transportation, etc. Only one occupant is allowed at any time in housing. Park policy prohibits bringing pets.
Donation of Work to the Joshua Tree National Park Collection
At this time, work is not being accessioned into our museum collection. Therefore, artists are asked to share high-quality, digital images of any works produced as a result of their time in residence with the park, with permission to reproduce the images for the purposes of sharing work created through the residency with the public. Credit will be given to the artist any time the work is reproduced for this purpose.
Black Rock Art Gallery
The gallery is located in the Black Rock Nature Center and exists as a as a space for presenting contemporary interpretations of themes related to the park. Exhibitions are made by selected Artists in Residence as well as community and other artists.
How to Apply
Applications for Fall, 2024 and Spring, 2025 residencies will be accepted April 1- May 31, 2024.
To apply, email one PDF file that includes all three of the following application components to [email protected] and pay the $35 application fee on Eventbrite.
Application components:
Artist Resume, including link to professional website. Jury members are not able to consider social media profiles as professional websites.
Statement of Purpose- 2 pages, double spaced, 11 point font
Describe your artistic practice and proposed work for a residency, including relevance to Joshua Tree National Park.
Proposals must adhere to principles of Leave No Trace as well as all established park rules and regulations. Proposals that suggest alterations to the landscape or harvesting of material from the park will not be reviewed favorably. Installation artwork is not feasible for this residency.
Provide preferred residency dates of 3-4 weeks in either the Fall (October-December) or Spring (January-April)
Work Samples
For visual work, include 5-7 images.
For writing samples, include 3-5 pages.
For time-based works (music, films, performances, etc), submit links to view excerpts of 5-10 minutes.
For questions contact [email protected].
Review Process
Applications are judged by a jury comprised of former program participants and Volunteer Art Professionals. Jurors consider artistic merit, relevance to the park, and originality of the proposal.
June 5, 2024 28 days left
Artist in Residence: 2024-2025 Call
Residency
- Organization: A to Z Wineworks
- Submission Deadline: June 5, 2024
- Eligibility: National
- Categories: Craft/Traditional Arts, Photography, Drawing, Film/Video/New Media, Mixed-Media/Multi-Discipline, Painting, Sculpture
- Location: Newberg, OR 97132
A to Z Wineworks, located at their REX HILL property in Oregon’s Willamette Valley, seeks an Artist in Residence for a term beginning in Fall 2024 with a harvest experience and ending in Fall 2025 as the 2024 vintage is bottled.
The A to Z Artist in Residence program is an immersion in the seasonal life of a winery, observing and participating in the art of winemaking. The artist follows the natural cycle of a vintage, first working a harvest, then remaining involved in the life of the winery while working on their own individual art as the wine moves from grapes to glass. The Artist in Residence initially works the 2024 vintage harvest as a paid intern alongside our seasonal harvest crew and year-round winemaking and production staff. Following the conclusion of harvest, the Artist in Residence receives support from A to Z and access to staff and properties for a period of artistic reflection and creation followed by a second partial harvest experience. The residency concludes with a public showcase of some of the artist’s work through a gallery showing, lecture, reading or performance.
About the Harvest Internship
At A to Z Wineworks, harvest is intense and filled with opportunity as fruit arrives from around the state - primarily Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris, and Chardonnay, plus a cross-section of other varieties. This diversity of fruit comes from our LIVE-certified and Biodynamically farmed estate vineyards as well as from conventionally farmed locations across many different Oregon AVAs (American Viticultural Areas). The vineyard sizes range from several hundred acres to very small sites.
This paid internship position typically runs from mid-August through early November, depending on the season. We value interns who share in our company culture of working hard, working smart, and learning together. Our interns work with a team that has earned the most years of collective winemaking experience in Oregon, as well as experience that stretches from Burgundy to New Zealand. Our winemakers approach winemaking from different perspectives and they are willing to share what they know.
The internship presents a unique opportunity to learn more about winemaking on different production scales and with different stylistic goals. It provides a diverse work experience, including but not limited to, grape receival, sorting, pressing, punch downs, tank dig-outs, racking, transfers, barrel work, inoculations, wine movements, juice, must and wine additions, driving a forklift and, always, cleaning.
Harvest interns work a demanding schedule, which will almost certainly include long hours, overtime, and weekend work. The role requires the ability to stand and move for at least ten hours; to lift, bend, rotate, move, and carry up to 45 pounds over the course of the shift and on a repetitive basis, and to climb stairs, ladders and work on catwalks. We expect people to work well within a team environment and work with individuals in a respectful manner that is consistent with the company’s values.
About the Residency
Following the conclusion of the harvest, the art residency commences extending through fall 2025.
Location: The Artist in Residence will primarily work at the REX HILL property in the Willamette Valley. The artist will have access to the winery, vineyards and staff throughout the course of the residency.
Disciplines, work equipment and assistance: We are open to proposals from artists, writers and poets across all mediums and disciplines. To learn more about our current and past residents, visit our website at https://atozwineworks.com/our-company/artist-in-residence/
Support: The residency includes a monthly stipend of $800 for the duration of the residency, beginning after completion of the paid harvest internship. Depending on the medium and artist’s proposed focus, limited additional consideration may be provided in support of furnishing project materials. Housing in the winery’s onsite gatehouse can be considered for inclusion in the residency; during harvests, this housing will be shared with other interns.
Expectations of the Artist: A to Z Wineworks supports people, places, and culture. It seems especially important now to support the liberal arts that help to find ways of expanding limited vision and engaging with diverse, thoughtful perspectives that might help us grow as human beings. The artist will be expected to engage with the staff and contribute to the culture of the winery through interactions and presentations, including providing materials to feature in regular internal communications. The artist will engage with the community at the end of the residency through a public showcase of some of the year’s work in a gallery showing, lecture, reading or performance.
Application Information: Interested artists should submit the materials listed below by June 5, 2024:
• A cover letter, describing the artist’s interest in this residency
• A brief resume highlighting work history and relevant qualifications
• An artist’s biography
• A portfolio of relevant work
Interested artists may submit their application materials at: https://atozwineworks.com/artist-in-residence-2023-submissions/ and view our short film featuring the residency and past artists at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gFjqByGC4VI
About A to Z Wineworks
A to Z Oregon Pinot Noir has twice been named to Wine Spectator’s Top 100 wines of the year; A to Z Oregon Pinot Gris is a perennial Best Buy; and A to Z Oregon Chardonnay is America’s Best Selling Oregon Chardonnay. Rose, Rose Bubbles, Riesling, a select Pinot Noir, The Essence of Oregon, and Engraved, a red blend, round out the portfolio. In 2014, A to Z Wineworks became a certified B Corporation, earning recognition as a ‘Best for the World,’ B Corp every year since. A to Z joined the portfolio of Ste. Michelle Wine Estates in 2022, having set the standard for cool climate, food-enhancing Oregon Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris, and Chardonnay.
June 10, 2024 33 days left
Artist in Residence at Headlands
Residency
- Submission Deadline: June 10, 2024
- Entry Fee: Early Bird: $35, Regular: $45 please see website for further details.
- Award Info: Artists in residency are considered for various awards. Please see website for further details.
- Eligibility: International
- Categories: Craft/Traditional Arts, Photography, Drawing, Film/Video/New Media, Mixed-Media/Multi-Discipline, Painting, Sculpture
- Location: Sausalito, CA 94965
The Artist in Residence (AIR) program awards fully sponsored residencies to approximately 50 local, national, and international artists each year. Residencies of four to ten weeks include studio space, chef-prepared meals, housing, travel and living expenses. AIRs become part of a dynamic community of artists participating in Headlands’ other programs, allowing for exchange and collaborative relationships to develop within the artist community on campus. Artists selected for this program are at all career stages and work in all media, including drawing, painting, sculpture, photography, film, video, new media, installation, fiction and nonfiction writing, poetry, dance, music, interdisciplinary, social practice, arts professions, and architecture.
June 30, 2024 53 days left
Centrum Artists-In-Residence programs
Residency
- Submission Deadline: June 30, 2024
- Entry Fee: Please see website for residency fees that may apply if accepted.
- Eligibility: International
- Categories: Craft/Traditional Arts, Photography, Drawing, Film/Video/New Media, Mixed-Media/Multi-Discipline, Painting, Sculpture
- Location: Port Townsend, WA 98368, United States
Since 1974, the Centrum Artists-In-Residence program has welcomed hundreds of writers, artists and creative thinkers to immerse themselves in the historic charm and natural beauty of Fort Worden in Port Townsend, Washington. The campus has sweeping views of the Olympic and Cascade Mountain ranges, miles of wandering beach and forest trails, and a peppering of World War I–era batteries and bunkers.
Creative professionals from all disciplines and backgrounds can take advantage of charming cabins, studio spaces, and a rich array of resources. Residents can expect semi-rustic experiences in comfortable cabins or apartments. Visual artists have their choice of a few studios of different sizes, including use of the printmaking studio at Corvidae Press for experienced printmakers. Our campus includes several organizations with whom a resident can arrange to connect such as: Rainshadow recording studio, Madrona MindBody Institute, the Port Townsend School of Woodworking, Copper Canyon Press, and Northwind Art.
Above all, artists cite their residency as a unique opportunity to focus on their practice outside of many of the pressures of work, school, or expectation-based constraints.
We’ve updated our application process and will be accepting applications for three of our residency programs (Emerging Artist, In the Making, and Self-Directed Residencies) via the same application portal between April 15-June 30, 2024. In your application, simply select the residencies you’d like to be considered for.
Our residency program is aimed at providing artists, writers, and creatives in all disciplines permission to relax, to focus, and/or re-invent their practice as needed. We believe that residencies are a central part of any artistic practice and that magic happens when you take time to reflect and focus on what matters most. We also believe that community matters, and that being in residence alongside others expands networks, fosters collectivity and friendship, and helps our arts ecosystem thrive. We encourage all applicants to read all about what Centrum Residencies offer here.
In this application stage, we will ask for:
Work samples, along with a link directly to an existing online portfolio if you have one, so that our panel can understand your practice. Our panels look to curate a diversity of practices, work that is relevant to contemporary issues and work that expands thinking in its field. Residencies are open to practices that include but not limited to: visual arts, writing, curatorial, performance, dance, music, and social practices.
Demographics to ensure that we are selecting from a diverse pool of applicants.
The type of workspace/accommodations needed for your work
One short paragraph about what a residency would mean to you.
Indicate which residency programs you want to be considered for.
Please see details for each residency on website.
September 1, 2024 116 days left
Surel's Place: Artist-in-Residency Program (January-June)
Residency
- Submission Deadline: September 1, 2024
- Event Dates: January 1, 2025 - May 1, 2025
- Award Info: month-long residencies with a stipend
- Eligibility: International
- Categories: Craft/Traditional Arts, Photography, Drawing, Film/Video/New Media, Mixed-Media/Multi-Discipline, Painting, Sculpture
- Location: Boise, ID 83701, United States
Our mission is two-fold: to offer artists the kind of professional support you deserve and to provide the public with interesting, accessible, inclusive, and professional art experiences, including performances, readings, exhibits, and workshops.
OUR COMMUNITY
Surel’s Place believes that artists should be supported at a level commensurate to the value you add to our individual and collective lives. We aim to give you the time, shelter, and professional support your work deserves. In exchange, we ask you to offer art experiences to our community. Garden City values artists and their work, and as a resident, you will be valued and appreciated for the energy, ideas, and dedication that you bring to our city.
OUR PROGRAM
The program is open to professional visual, literary, and performance artists: painters, writers, musicians, architects, filmmakers, and choreographers… any artist who needs a place to focus. However, because of the property’s limitations and proximity to neighbors, this is not a place that can accommodate loud or terribly messy processes, such as welding or blacksmithing.
We favor artists whose work is technically advanced, unique, attractive (need not be pretty!), and conceptually valuable. Work that is predominantly conceptual, that must be explained in order to attract a viewer, may not be met with as much enthusiasm by our jurists. In addition, because we ask our residents to interact with the public through one workshop and one final event, we welcome artists who desire to connect with an audience in these ways.
Additionally, each cycle, one of our five residencies includes outreach to local schools through our PARTNER Schools Program — another way we do our part to serve our community.
Surel’s Place offers month-long residencies in our one-bedroom home with a spacious studio for artists aged 25 and older to focus on their work and their creative processes. free rent free utilities free wi-fi modest living stipend of $100 per week $300 travel stipend use of well-maintained bicycles for transportation free or discounted tickets to art events and movies free marketing via our website, Facebook, targeted emails, online public calendars, and press releases free professional event hosting including catering, curating, and logistics.
September 1, 2024 116 days left
Bloedel Reserve Creative Residency
Residency
- Submission Deadline: September 1, 2024
- Entry Fee: 25 US Dollar (USD)
- Award Info: Selected artists and innovative thinkers are provided a three-week stay on the Bloedel grounds, with unlimited access to the Reserve’s 150 acres of sculpted gardens, forests, meadows, and wildlife habitats.
- Eligibility: International
- Categories: Craft/Traditional Arts, Photography, Drawing, Film/Video/New Media, Mixed-Media/Multi-Discipline, Painting, Sculpture
- Location: Bainbridge Island, WA 98110, United States
The mission of the Creative Residency program at Bloedel Reserve is to foster creative thinking that is inspired by nature and that explores the connection between humans and the environment.
Selected artists and innovative thinkers are provided a three-week stay on the Bloedel grounds, with unlimited access to the Reserve’s 150 acres of sculpted gardens, forests, meadows, and wildlife habitats.
Established in 2015, the program has welcomed Creative Residents from a wide variety of disciplines, giving them the time to nurture their passions and deepen the connection between creativity, nature, and humanity.
Ongoing
18th Street Local Artist Residency
Residency
- Submission Deadline: Ongoing
- Entry Fee: There is no application fee, however this is an opportunity for subsidized studio space with a far below market rate in an effort to provide local artists with affordable rental properties within Santa Monica.
- Award Info: Studio spaces for rent
- Eligibility: National
- Categories: Craft/Traditional Arts, Photography, Drawing, Film/Video/New Media, Mixed-Media/Multi-Discipline, Painting, Sculpture
- Location: Santa Monica, California, United States
Local studio artist residencies are open to local artists who wish to rent either live/work or day studios at the center for terms of 1-2 years with a possibility for renewal. We have artist studios on two campuses – on our 18th Street campus at 1639 18th Street, and the Airport campus at 3026 Airport Ave at the Santa Monica airport. On our 18th Street campus, these studios are subsidized in part by 18th Street Arts Center at far below market rate in an effort to provide local artists with affordable rental properties within Santa Monica. Our Airport campus is a city-owned building and artists lease directly with the City of Santa Monica, who set the terms for the leases on that site, with 18th Street Arts Center acting as facility and program managers. The local studio program is open to artists of all disciplines, as well as small, artist-run initiatives. When a space becomes available, applications are reviewed by an impartial jury and artists are selected at that time. Applicants should indicate their space and affordability requirements, as well as which campus they prefer.
Duration: 1-2 years
DEADLINE IS ONGOING
Ongoing
Willowtail Residency- Deadline ONGOING
Residency
- Submission Deadline: Ongoing
- Entry Fee: $25
- Eligibility: International
- Categories: Craft/Traditional Arts, Photography, Drawing, Film/Video/New Media, Mixed-Media/Multi-Discipline, Painting, Sculpture
- Location: Mancos, Colorado, United States
Willowtail is a unique property, offering one – three week residencies that have a special appeal to artists. Sixty acres tucked away in the high, alpine desert of the Four Corners Region writers come to begin or work on novels, poems, memoirs, screenplays, musicians practice, compose and rehearse, visual artists paint, draw, sculpt, and photograph. However, the best quality of Willowtail Springs Nature Preserve and Education Center is its ability to offer a quiet inspiring space to reflect, research, experiment, explore, laugh and create, easily, intensely.
DEADLINE IS ONGOING
Ongoing
Stochastic Labs Residency
Residency
- Submission Deadline: Ongoing
- Award Info: artist residency
- Eligibility: International
- Categories: Film/Video/New Media, Mixed-Media/Multi-Discipline
- Location: San Francisco, California, United States
Stochastic Labs awards fully-sponsored residencies to exceptional engineers, artists, scientists, and entrepreneurs from around the world. Residencies are of variable length and include a private apartment at the mansion, co-working and/or dedicated workspace, shop access (laser cutter, 3D printer etc), a $1k monthly stipend and a budget for materials. Residents become part of Stochastic’s creative community, participating in weekly dinners and invitation events. Residents may apply as individuals or as teams. While applicants may be at any stage in their career, the selection is highly competitive.
DEADLINE IS ONGOING