Whiskeytown Artist in Residence Program 2016 - Call for Plein Air Artists

Date: January 6, 2016

The National Park Service, in partnership with the Friends of Whiskeytown, is pleased to announce the 14th year of hosting an Artist-in-Residence program. The park is seeking established professional Plein Air artists with a history of exhibiting work to apply for this year's residencies. The 2016 program theme is to paint scenes of people either enjoying or working at Whiskeytown National Recreation Area. This would include visitors enjoying the beach or hiking to one of the park's waterfalls to park rangers and maintenance workers conducting their daily work. The theme is a suggestion and not a requirement to participate in this  year's program.

Artists selected are offered a rustic two bedroom cabin tucked in the forest of Whiskeytown National Recreation Area to use as a studio and base camp. Residencies are scheduled through the spring, summer and fall for stays from one to three weeks. In return, the artists donate one painting created at Whiskeytown during their stay. The donated art becomes part of the art collection at Whiskeytown National Recreation Area. Artists must supply their own meals and transportation to Whiskeytown; however, there is no charge for rent or utilities while staying at the cabin.

Whiskeytown National Recreation Area is a 42,000 acre forested park with a large lake in a mountain setting with four waterfalls, and peaks over 6,000 feet high. Over the past fourteen years, the park has hosted artists from all over the United States. We believe that through art comes appreciation for the place, and by developing a collection of art from the artist-in-residence program, the public will grow to appreciate and value Whiskeytown National Recreation Area even more. 

We ask each applicant to submit the following:
1. Artist resume and exhibition record.
2. Statement of intent for residency.
3. Sample CD with 5 to 8 images of artistic work (please also include a printed version of the images.
4. Preferred residency dates.

Applications will be juried by Loren Palmor, Assistant Curator for American Art at San Francisco's de Young Museum of Fine Art. Applications will be accepted until February 12, 2016. Artists will be notified by March 11, 2016, whether or not they have been accepted. Please contact Jim Milestone at 530-242-3460 for questions regarding this program. Mail applications to: Whiskeytown Artist-in-Residence Program, P.O. Box 188, Whiskeytown, CA 96095. Whiskeytown National Recreation Area is located in Northern California, seven miles from Redding, CA.

The park is 3 1/2 hours north of San Francisco and 2 hours north of Sacramento by car. Summer temperatures are often over 100 degrees F, however, the park's forest offer cool shade and the lake offers refreshing cool water to enjoy while swimming, kayaking, sailing and sunbathing. Whiskeytown National Recreation Area was established in 1965 and has over a million visitors a year. The park is home to black bear, mountain lions, bald eagles and migrating salmon from San Francisco's Golden Gate. Old growth forest in the park date back 400 years in age and are made up of large Douglas fir, ponderosa pine, black oak, incense cedar and sugar pine. The park host over 90 miles of hiking trails and is popular to mountain bike users, equestrians and trail runners. Check our the park's website at www.nps.gov/whis or check out the Friends of Whiskeytown website at www.friendsofwhiskeytown.org.