For the first time in four years, Grand Canyon National Park will host artists on the South Rim through a newly revived and restructured Artist in Residence program.
With the support of Grand Canyon Conservancy, the park's official nonprofit partner, the new AiR program is envisioned to be international in scope and of a quality deserving of its spectacular location, providing accomplished professional artists time and space to explore and develop significant work.
Building on the success of the previous residency program, which ran from 2003 to 2017, the new program’s focus will be on substantial projects that will benefit the public and the park by enhancing our fundamental understanding of the canyon and its communities.
Artist Heather L. Johnson. Photo/Wei Hong.
The first artist to participate in this year's program will be Texas-based artist and writer Heather L. Johnson, who will spend six weeks living and working at the South Rim from May 3rd to June 14th, 2021. Johnson is a contemporary multi-media artist who has been awarded several prestigious artist residencies and exhibitions.
“This residency is an opportunity for me to dive into a place that is completely and overwhelmingly unknown to me in an intimate kind of way,” said Johnson. “I want a deeper understanding of this landscape, and I imagine I’ll walk away from this being more sensitive to the issues that affect Grand Canyon.”
Applicant Information
We are seeking professional artists working at a high level in their discipline who can give new insights and focus to Grand Canyon and the surrounding communities as an on-site resident artist at Grand Canyon National Park.
Shoshone Point. Night Sky Photography by Stan Honda, Grand Canyon National Park Artist in Residence, October 2011. We welcome applicants from a wide variety of artistic disciplines, including:
Visual Art (two and three-dimensional, photography, sculpture, painting, textiles, drawing, or collage)
Installation or Land-based Art
Printmaking
Audio (performance or composition)
Film (documentary, fictional, or art)
Writing (poetry, fiction, essays, storytelling, or playwriting)
Indigenous arts, ethnographic fine art
New media
Performance art, choreography, dance, or theater
Arts Professionals (curatorial arts, or arts writing)
Social Practice
Interdisciplinary arts
Artists Will be Selected Based on the Following Criteria:
Artistic merit, track record of past accomplishments, and the quality and nature of the work samples provided
How the work plan is inspired by and will contribute to broadening our understanding of Grand Canyon and/or its surrounding communities
How the work plan and public programs foster innovation, diversity, and relevance to National Park visitors
Evening Angel, Acrylic on Canvas 24 x 18, by John D Cogan, Grand Canyon National Park Artist in Residence, May 2015.
What Artists Need to Know:
The residency lasts six to eight weeks
Housing will be provided to the resident in historic Verkamp's Visitor Center, the former home and curio shop of the Verkamp family — for more than a century
You must complete two public-facing or virtual presentations throughout the residency
Includes a base and weekly stipend
A working studio space will be designated by the National Park Service for the duration of the Residency
The artist is responsible for all meals and meal preparation
There is a $45 application fee to cover software, processing, and service fees
"Black and White Alabaster Bowl" by Susan Zalkind and Paul Hawkins, artists in residence, September, 2013.
The Call for Artists:
April 15, 2021, Fall Residency Applications Open June 15, 2021, Fall Application Deadline
July 8, 2021, Residency Applications Open for 2022 September 8, 2021, Application Deadline for 2022
National parks have always welcomed artistic interpretations in support of land advocacy. Thomas Moran's evocative and astounding paintings directly influenced the establishment of our first National Park (Yellowstone, 1872).
This tradition continues today with more than 40 Artist in Residence programs throughout the National Park Service system.
