Residencies

Residency Program
Emergency Relief Residences
Witter Bynner Poetry Translation Residency
Facilities
Open Studios
Fees and Deadlines

For more information on SFAI's Residency program, please contact Residency Director
Gabe Gomez at (505) 424-5050 or ggomez@sfai.org

Residency Program

The Santa Fe Art Institute (SFAI) conducts a bi-annual competitive selection process for artist and writers residencies that focuses on the professional experience of the artist, the quality of their past work, and their potential to have a productive residency at SFAI. The selection committee is comprised of successful artists, gallery owners, art instructors, writers, and other arts professionals from our region. SFAI supports over 50 residents per year and offers a cohesive, arts-focused environment that creates the ideal working conditions for our resident artists. Residents are housed in handsomely appointed rooms with private baths and are provided with beautiful, well-lit studio spaces, allowing them to pursue creative projects without interruption. The overall physical layout of the residency space encourages daily interaction and fosters communication among residents from all over the world.

The length of SFAI Residencies vary from one to three months. Successful applicants have one calendar year from their acceptance date to complete a residency. The residency dates may not be divided throughout the year. Artists who wish to return to SFAI must wait two calendar years to reapply. Originals letters of recommendation may not be used when reapplying.

Emergency Relief Residences

In its unconditional support for all artists, SFAIs Emergency Relief Residency program provides respite to artists affected the horrors of political, social, or natural disasters. SFAI began the Emergency Relief Residency in 2001 for New York artists following the devastating events of 9/11. The hurricanes and flooding in the Gulf Coast region underscored our feeling of responsibility toward our US peers and colleagues. In comprehending the loss of lives and the ways in which the work of a lifetime can be wiped out in an instant, SFAI reinstituted our Emergency Relief Residency Program to provide living space and studios to professional artists, writers, and crafts people of the Gulf Coast states, whose lives and livelihoods have been so deeply affected.

The flexibility of the Institute to respond quickly and effectively to such challenges is one of our great strengths. In response to the recent California wildfires, SFAI has once again opens its doors to artists whose lives and creative work have been disrupted. SFAI has received support for this initiative through generous contributions from the Pollack-Krasner Foundation and the Joan Mitchell Foundation.

Witter Bynner Poetry Translation Residency

The SFAI, in conjunction with the Witter Bynner Foundation, offers two poetry translator residencies per year. The residencies are open to both published and emerging poetry translators and include stipends to subsidized transportation and accommodations and a modest living stipend. This
residency is for one month.

Application Deadline: December 5, 2008

SFAI Facilities

Artists who are selected for a residency receive living and working space at SFAI centrally located within Santa Fes vibrant and diverse cultural community. Resident living and studio space is located within the SFAI facility, a nearly 17,000 square foot complex designed by renowned Mexican
architect, Ricardo Legoretta. SFAIs facilities include gallery/exhibition spaces, sky lit studios, a growing contemporary art library, courtyards, laundry facilities, communal kitchen, and dining and living room areas.

All residents receive private living quarters with a private bath. Visual artists are provided with a semi-private studio space. Writers are welcome to use the library for writing and reading, as well as their own private rooms equipped with desks. Depending upon availability, writers may also request studio space. An outdoor courtyard offers space for working in a variety of media.

SFAIs facility meets all ADA requirements with complete accessibility for wheelchairs to studio and living spaces. Two resident rooms are equipped with bathroom facilities for wheelchair access, and since SFAIs complex is one level, there are no stairs or barriers. All signage is presented in large clear type (English and Spanish) and in Braille.

Campus security is available 24 hours a day, and a Residency Assistant is always available for residents on site. The unique SFAI environment allows residents to be as interactive or private as they wish. There are no requirements on the work produced during their time at SFAI.

SFAI has the additional benefit of being located on the College of Santa Fe campus; please visit www.csf.edu for more information. Residents have access to extensive library services and a fully equipped gym.

Open Studios

SFAI has become deeply rooted in the arts community by bringing together and supporting all creative voices and sharing its global vision for the arts through its monthly Open Studio events. The well-publicized open studios draw a broad range of local arts patrons, gallery owners and representatives from local museums, to view the residents work in progress, discuss ideas, materials and techniques. The combination of readings, slide lectures and studio tours is the only open studio event of it s kind in the Southwest. Indeed, SFAIs Open Studio event is the most important monthly art event in Northern New Mexico.

Fees and Deadlines

General Residency Deadline: March 14, 2008
Residency Fee: $1000.00 per month

Financial Aid

SFAI offers generous financial aid packages in the form of need-based scholarships and scholarships made possible by the generosity of the Warhol Foundation, Witter Bynner Foundation, National Endowment for the Arts, Joan Mitchell Foundation and Pollock Krasner Foundation.

Application and allocation of all scholarships will be facilitated once the applicant has been accepted into the program. Need based scholarships are decided at the discretion of the SFAI, based on tax returns and letters of financial need. If you have further questions please contact Residency
Director Gabe Gomez ggomez@sfai.org.

Santa Fe

Santa Fe was the first city in the US to be designated as a member of the creative-cities network by UNESCO. SFAI resident artists have unprecedented access to some of the most diverse arts and cultural activities in the US.

The community of Santa Fe is particularly rich in terms of the breadth of cultural activities available and for its patronage of contemporary art and literature. Widely known for a thriving gallery scene, virtually every weekend of the year artists in residence can attend museum or gallery openings showcasing Santa Fes considerable support for the traditional arts and visionary contemporary art. Santa Fe also provides a unique geography, with hikes, hot springs and a wealth of natural offerings for residents.