Wildacres Environmental
Artist-In-Residence Program
“What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make.”
Dr. Jane Goodall
In the summer of 2022, Wildacres Retreat launched our Environmental Artist-In-Residence (EAIR) opportunity.
The Environmental Artist-in-Residence Program at Wildacres Retreat welcomes artists, scientists and other professionals engaging with ambitious ideas and who are activity-focused on current global environmental issues. Candidates will be chosen for their intellectual and creative rigor as well as activism in their creative practice, with a deep emphasis on our climate crisis and its many permutations for society moving forward.
The intent of the Wildacres EAIR program is to support professional individuals and their creative practices from several disciplines, including all areas of art, social practice, writing, research, environmental restoration, natural science and other environmental and creative disciplines.
Qualified applicants will include artists and scientists who focus on climate change, global warming, the extinction crisis, habitat loss, soil degradation, as well as remedies and human adaptations to these and other pressing climate crisis issues. We are interested in artists who understand the cycles of the natural elements they are investigating and how the dynamics of our warming planet play a role in those cycles. For instance, in the local Blue Ridge Mountains the demise of Hemlock forests through infestation by an introduced insect has unbalanced essential elements of local watersheds.
Chosen candidates will be selected through an application and jury process that seeks to support these professionals and their work in advancing art, science, education, and community in service of greater environmental equilibrium on waters, lands and in global communities.
Artists should consider the impact of their work before and during their residency, and be prepared to contribute their findings to the body of work, both large and small scale, that Wildacres Retreat is archiving from these residencies.
We will be hosting EAIR candidates each year for one- or two-week residencies from April through October. This residency opportunity allows environmental artists the solitude and inspiration needed to begin or continue work on a project in their particular field of creative arts. Being able to work in a secluded, natural setting such as Wildacres Retreat provides environmental artists with an unparalleled opportunity to step away from outside distractions and completely focus on their work.
You may find more details about lodging, meals, travel, etc. for our residency program on the Residency Program page.
Candidates interested in an EAIR residency may apply using our online application located below. EAIR candidates must use the EAIR application, as opposed to the general residency application. Applications open each April, and completed forms must be submitted no later than midnight October 31st to be considered for the next season by our selection committee. There is a $25 non-refundable processing fee to apply for a residency. Residencies must be completed in the year they are awarded. We are unable to carry residencies over to subsequent years.
Our Selection Committee is comprised of environmental professionals, artists, and educators. The EAIR program is open to all artistic disciplines with a strong focus on addressing the climate crisis.
Our residency application process is closed for the 2022 calendar year.
Applications will re-open in early April 2023 for residencies in the 2024 season. Thank you to all those candidates who have applied for residencies this season. We will be in touch in early February with the results from the review committee and will hope to see you on the mountain in 2023!
Photos courtesy of – Studio of Watershed Sculpture
Residency Gallery
