The Santa Fe Art Institute and the Institute of American Indian Arts are proud to serve as the Santa Fe host sites for the Transatlantic Rising Stars Project, a three-year initiative of the European Union Delegation to the United States. This landmark partnership places Santa Fe at the center of a transatlantic cultural exchange, connecting Indigenous artists of the Southwest with artists from the European Union in a residency rooted in reciprocity, mutual learning, and shared artistic practice.
Each year, the residency brings together a European visual artist and an IAIA-affiliated Native artist from the Southwest for an eight-week creative exchange. Over the course of two months, the artists live and work alongside one another in Santa Fe, engaging in dialogue, exchanging cultural perspectives, and creating new work informed by their distinct yet complementary practices.
About the Transatlantic Rising Stars Project
The Transatlantic Rising Stars Project, known as Transatlantic Stars, is a three-year initiative that supports artists working in visual arts, film, and music by creating opportunities for cultural exchange, artistic development, and collaboration between artists in Europe and the United States. The Santa Fe residency is one of five placements within the visual arts strand, each pairing a European artist with a U.S. counterpart within an existing residency program and community.
The project aims to advance artistic development, foster dialogue, build community, and amplify artists on both sides of the Atlantic, contributing to a more connected transatlantic cultural space. Selected artists join a cohort and alumni network designed to sustain connections, spark new projects, and open long-term opportunities in both Europe and the United States.
The Santa Fe Residency
The Santa Fe residency is designed as an exchange between an Indigenous artist from the Southwest United States and an artist from the European Union. The program emphasizes reciprocity, with each artist engaging as both contributor and learner, ensuring the exchange remains balanced and generative. By centering Indigenous creative practice and knowledge, the residency opens new possibilities for artistic inquiry and cultural connection while supporting the development of work that reflects the perspectives of the participating artists.
SFAI provides housing, studio space, professional development, and residency support on its Midtown Campus, serving as a liaison between the artists and the local creative community. Through IAIA, artists have access to contemporary Native arts resources, museum and archive collections, and Indigenous artist networks. Artists also have access to MAKE Santa Fe, a community makerspace and fabrication lab that includes wood and metal shops, ceramics, 3D printing, CNC routing, laser cutting, and technical training. The residency includes opportunities for public engagement, with participating artists sharing their work through an exhibition, talk, performance, screening, or related public program.
The Partnership
The collaboration between SFAI and IAIA represents a meeting of two institutions whose distinct missions create something neither could achieve alone. SFAI brings decades of experience connecting artists to international networks, platforms, and audiences, with a deep commitment to artist-driven exchange and socially engaged practice. IAIA, widely regarded as the center and birthplace of the contemporary Native arts movement, brings unparalleled knowledge, resources, and relationships within Indigenous creative communities. Together, they offer a foundation for cultural exchange that is both globally connected and deeply rooted in the living artistic traditions of the Southwest. This partnership is unprecedented in Santa Fe and reflects a shared belief that meaningful exchange between cultures requires trusted institutions, established relationships, and a genuine commitment to reciprocity.
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