Wildacres Environmental
Artist-In-Residence Program
“Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we’ve been waiting for. We are the change that we seek.”
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. We recommend candidates read over our “Get Ready for Your Visit” page as well for more details.
Candidates interested in a Wildacres residency may apply using our online application. Applications open August 1st, and completed forms must be submitted no later than midnight EST on October 15th to be considered for the next season by our selection committee. There is a $30 non-refundable processing fee to apply for a Wildacres residency.
Our Selection Committee is comprised of artists, writers, musicians, actors, scholars, and former residents. They review candidate applications by discipline. The residency program is open to all artistic disciplines. If you complete a residency with Wildacres Retreat, we ask that you wait two years from your year of residence before reapplying, in order to allow others the opportunity to attend.
Our application process is now open for residencies in the 2027 calendar year!
Please thoroughly read the Residency FAQs included in the application and on this page before beginning the process.
Our application process closes at midnight EST on October 15th (Any submitted after midnight will not be accepted, no exceptions). No applications or supporting documents will be accepted after that date and time. We recommend interested candidates submit their application packets with plenty of lead time in case there are delays or questions. Please open the application from the link below.
Once your application is complete and submitted to Wildacres, you may submit your application fee through our PayPal link below.
Thank you for applying for a Wildacres Residency!
Photos courtesy of:
Christo and Jeanne-Claude Project, 2005 via Guy Pieters Gallery
CDSea by Bruce Munro Compact discs and limestone Near Kilmington, England, 2010
Residency Gallery
