Artist-in-Residence

Art has always been a part of appreciating our natural and cultural heritage, as evidenced by artworks made by Indigenous communities since time immemorial. The legacy of artmaking within park landscapes goes back much further than the Hudson River School painters, who played a vital role in documenting the landscapes of the West in the 1870s. Contemporary Indigenous artists continue to bring this story forward within native art and activism in parks like the Grand Canyon, Yellowstone, and many more. Today, the sights and sounds in national parks continue to inspire artists in more than 50 residency programs across the country.

Artist-in-Residence (AIR) programs offer tremendous opportunities for engagement between parks, artists, and park visitors. Art and artists in our parks are important to understanding our collective history—providing lenses and pathways through which we can see and learn about our landscapes, promote a stewardship ethic, and be effective in inspiring dialogue about important societal challenges and how we understand and see others and ourselves.

Whether staying in a remote wilderness cabin at Denali National Park and Preserve in Alaska, contemplating history at Herbert Hoover National Historic Site in Iowa, or working in a contemporary studio overlooking the stone-lined fields at Weir Farm National Historic Site in Connecticut, AIR programs provide artists with unique opportunities to create works of art in varied natural and cultural settings.

Find an Artist-in-Residence Program at a National Park Service Site

Artist-in-Residence opportunities are offered directly by individual National Park Service sites. Programs vary however residencies are typically 2 to 4 weeks in length and most include lodging. Often artists are invited to participate in park programs by sharing their art with the public.

Use one of the following two methods to look for and explore Artist-in-Residence Programs:

Visit the Artist-in-Residence Webpage for a Specific National Park Service Site

To find out of a specific site offers an Artist-in-Residence Program, visit that specific site's website. Find a site by state and then on the navigation bar for the site, click Get Involved and then look for Volunteer or Artist-in-Residence. Many sites provide information about their Artist-in-Residence Programs within that site including the application process and selection. Note that not all sites have an Artist-in-Residence webpage.

Search for "Artist-in-Residence" in the NPS.gov Search Tool

Select "All NPS" to view a list of webpages for site-level Artist-in-Residence Programs as well as Artist-in-Residence stories. See image below for reference.