General Questions
Is the Santa Fe Art Institute a school or a university?
SFAI is not a school or university. We do not offer degrees or certificates. SFAI is home to an International Thematic Artist Residency Program, Local Artist Fellowship Program, and innovative public programming that addresses social justice issues through a creative lens. We do occasionally offer public workshops, professional development courses for artists, and specialized arts curricula to targeted age groups, including youth and children
What is the relationship between the Santa Fe University of Art and Design (SFUAD) and SFAI?
SFAI is an independent, non-profit organization located on the former campus of the Santa Fe University of Art and Design (SFUAD). SFAI has a long term lease with the City of Santa Fe. Our location and beautiful building is the result of visionary thinking and significant investment in the arts in Santa Fe by John and Anne Marion and others, who began conversations with the College of Santa in the 1990’s, to develop a permanent location for SFAI and to establish an arts center in midtown Santa Fe. Our building, designed by Ricardo Legorreta, was created to specifically accommodate our flagship residency program, and was the impetus for the Visual Arts Center at the College of Santa Fe (later SFUAD) in the late 1990’s. Learn more about our 39-year history here.
What’s happening with the Campus?
The campus, which was originally the College of Santa Fe, is now owned by the City of Santa Fe. The City purchased the property from the College of Santa Fe in 2009, when the College closed, and leased it to SFUAD until SFUAD closed in June 2018. With the closure of the Santa Fe University of Art and Design in 2018, SFUAD, the City is working on opportunities for appropriate use and development, so that the campus can serve as a model to help revitalize the entire Midtown District.
Cost
All of our residencies are free-of-charge, and there is no application fee. We require a refundable $150 security deposit. SFAI is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization. In 2017, SFAI eliminated the residency fee, as an integral step in our ongoing effort to align our actions with our values, and to specifically support marginalized and underrepresented artists, including Indigenous, Black, and artists of color, artists with disabilities, immigrants, women, and LGBTQ+ artists.
All residents of the 2025 Community of Practice Residency will receive a $500 stipend. To further bolster your finances, we suggest incoming residents apply for local and/or regional grants and/or initiate a crowdfunding campaign to support their financial needs. SFAI will provide an official award letter, upon request, to assist residents in their fundraising endeavors.
Our monthly institutional costs for the international thematic residency program are roughly $4,000 per resident.This requires a significant amount of fundraising each year, and we encourage residents and alumni who are able to “pay it forward,” to please support this important work and help keep the residency program free of charge by donating on our Give page.
Travel and Other Costs
Residents are responsible for the cost of travel to / from and during their stay at SFAI.
Residency Structure & Requirements
Are my residency dates flexible?
No, residency dates are firm; always with a mandatory arrival between 9am and 5pm on a Monday and departure by 5pm on a Friday (e.g., the first and last days of your residency).
Our program cannot accommodate residencies shorter than one month.
Please note that if you were awarded two or three continuous months, you will be in residence on site continuously from the start date of your first month through the end date of your last month.
All residents are expected to be present for the duration of their awarded residency.
How many artists are in residence at SFAI?
Generally we accept 50-75 artists each year who come for varying durations of one to three months throughout the year. There are an average of 12 artists in residence together each month.
What does SFAI provide during my residency?
- Furnished private room with full bath and linens, and exterior patio
- Semi-private studio, with desk, chair, and task lamp
- Communal living and working areas (fully equipped kitchen, dining room, lounge, interior courtyard, outdoor workyard, tool room with slop sink)
- Basic tools (drill/drivers and bits, hand tools, misc. hardware, measuring tapes, rulers, scissors)
- Free laundry facilities
- Building-wide high speed internet
- Bicycles, helmets, bike locks, and tire pump
What does SFAI require during my residency?
- Timely Arrival & Departure (during business hours [9:00am-5:00pm] on the first and last days of your scheduled residency)
- Continued Presence & Engagement (for the duration of your residency)
- Adherence to SFAI Community Agreements (for the duration of your residency)
- Attendance at Group Orientation & Welcome (first Wednesday of each residency month)
- Presentation at Monthly Resident Showcase (first Wednesday of each residency month)
- Closing Circle (second to last day of your residency)
- Check-out Inspection of Room & Studio (prior to departure on your last day)
How much interaction with staff will I have during my residency?
SFAI staff work a hybrid of on-site and off-site work, Monday through Friday 9:00am to 5:00pm. The office is closed on the weekends and national holidays. Select staff members are available after hours for emergencies only.
Residents are always welcome to drop by the office during business hours. And because the SFAI office, resident rooms and studios, and communal spaces (kitchen, lounge, library) are all in one building, residents and staff will often cross paths throughout the week and enjoy casual conversation with one another, impromptu studio visits, and more.
Application & Selection Process
Why is there an annual theme?
SFAI implements yearlong thematic programming to address pertinent questions facing diverse regional and global communities to support and amplify dynamic artistic practices that engage complex social issues. The theme and the basic questions we pose around it are intended to be catalysts for critical thinking and cultural exchange, and provide a framework around which the diverse peoples and disciplines involved in SFAI programming can foster mutual understanding, have synergistic conversations, and potentially collaborate on common goals.
How do you select the theme each year?
The theme is based on research around current social and political events, what artists are exploring and experimenting with in the moment, dialogues with SFAI residents and community partners, and the issues that rise to the surface in these investigations, along with various news outlets.
We start with assessing pertinent local and regional issues, and then make a determination by evaluating whether we can apply them to a national and international level.
How do you facilitate engagement with the annual theme?
In addition to the Guiding Questions presented in the application, resident engagement with the annual theme is facilitated by SFAI in the following ways:
- Curated cohort of diverse practitioners with interest and/or expertise in the theme, who approach it from different perspectives and methods
- Reading / Resource List
- Public events that include content experts, local artists, activists, and educators (contingent on COVID safety)
The depth and direction of resident investigations of the theme largely depend on their personal expectations, abilities, research, and commitment.
Can you facilitate connections to the local community as part of my residency? What limitations may there be to conducting research during my residency?
Although SFAI provides assistance to the extent possible to residents in navigating, researching, and drawing upon the inspiring landscape and cultures, and communities of Santa Fe and Northern New Mexico, SFAI does not facilitate specific connections to the local community on behalf of residents for their individual projects.
We encourage our SFAI community, in particular residents from outside of New Mexico and the United States, to learn more about the complex histories and contemporary realities of Indigenous, Latinx, Hispanic, Chicanx, and Mexican Americans in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and the US.
At SFAI, we utilize the principles of Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR) and are driven by the community as guidelines for ethical research and social engagement. For residents who want to engage in outreach to local communities during their time at SFAI, we ask that you keep in mind that the time required to uphold these principles may not align well with a short time commitment in Santa Fe and Northern New Mexico.
I am not a visual artist. Can I still apply?
We welcome applications from other creative practices including, but not limited to, curation, design, architecture, education, the humanities, and social sciences. We strongly encourage applicants with interdisciplinary and non-traditional creative practices. While we do not have specific facilities for each of these diverse practices, if you are accepted as a resident we will work with you to help make your residency at SFAI productive and meaningful.
I do not have a BFA, MFA, or other formal training – can / should I still apply?
We do not require any particular level of education or formal training to apply to our residency program.
What are you looking for in a project proposal and/or work samples?
SFAI welcomes proposals that entail the research, design, and initiation of new projects; continuation or completion of ongoing projects; and/or reflection upon recently completed projects. Your proposal should describe what aspect(s) of, and how (materials and methods), you would address the annual theme.
We seek a meaningful connection between your project proposal and the theme, with as much detail as possible related to how this connects with your current practice and past work, and the impact you feel it may have on the proposed topic. It is not helpful to the jury to spend your limited application space specifically describing a particular piece that you will create while in residency, as we do not expect or require any particular “end product” from your residency. Rather, the jury seeks to understand the inspirations for and conceptual basis of your work, how you translate these ideas through a particular medium, and your work’s potential impacts on its audience.
Be sure to describe if you are seeking to build new work, experiment with a new medium and/or materials, or feel that a residency at SFAI will be a transformative experience for you in some way.
And please note that if you intend to engage community as part of your project, you must describe how you would do so ethically. Again, SFAI does not facilitate specific connections to local community on behalf of residents for their individual projects, and the time required to work in true partnership with communities in Santa Fe and Northern New Mexico does not align well with the short duration of a residency at SFAI. Most of our residents who work in and with community as part of their projects while in residence at SFAI have been engaged with the communities that they themselves are a part of, live in, and/or have a long history of working with.
Your work samples should be of the highest artistic quality, and ideally reflect recently completed pieces that are most relevant to your project proposal.
Who reviews my application? Is the jury the same each year?
The jury changes each year and is comprised of esteemed artists, content experts, educators, community stakeholders, and other creative professionals from Santa Fe and around the world. Jurors are invited to the selection committee on the basis of their experience, connection to the thematic content, and excellence in thought leadership. They are each given a modest stipend for their participation.
How does the Application Review Process work? What are the evaluation criteria?
Each application is reviewed by at least two jurors.
The selection process for our International Thematic Residency Program is based primarily on the applicant’s ability to creatively and critically engage with the annual residency theme.
The evaluation criteria also focus on: artistic and creative excellence; the applicant’s personal and professional merit, including the applicant’s experience and the quality of their past work; the applicant’s capacity to grow through risk-taking and their ability to sustain a productive practice in a semi-structured environment; the applicant’s potential for professional development through access to a sponsored residency; and the potential for the applicant’s proposed project to engage community and effect positive social change.
The selection criteria and process for the various fellowships hosted at SFAI are typically established and administered by the foundations who sponsor them. Please refer to Fellowships for more information and links to these organizations’ websites.
Why don’t you offer personalized feedback on applications?
Based on the high number of applications received each year, staff and jurors are not able to provide personalized feedback on applications.
Am I allowed to defer my residency?
No. Because the theme and selection committee change each year, we are unable to defer residencies.
Logistics
Where is SFAI located?
Visit our SFAI Location Map. SFAI is located in the urban center of Santa Fe on the Midtown Site, which is a mixed-use neighborhood, comprised of light industrial, commercial, and residential spaces. SFAI is about 3 miles south of the historic downtown plaza, 1 mile east of the Santa Fe River, and 5 miles west of the Santa Fe National Forest and foothills of the beautiful Sangre de Cristo Mountains. While Albuquerque, roughly an hour to the south, is a larger metropolitan area that is home base of the University of New Mexico, Santa Fe is the state capitol and the seat of government in New Mexico.
How do I get to SFAI?
Many residents like to drive here if they can, in order to bring materials and explore the region. We have ample free parking. If you choose to fly, the main airport is in Albuquerque, and a smaller regional airport in Santa Fe. You may arrange for a shuttle through Groome Shuttle that will bring you from the Albuquerque airport to SFAI’s front door. You can also take the Rail Runner Express train from Albuquerque to Santa Fe, but you will need to find a way from the train station to SFAI (e.g., bus, Uber, or Lyft). SFAI does not provide transportation to/from airports or transit stations.
How do I get around Santa Fe?
Santa Fe is a western city, meaning that outside the historic downtown plaza area, it isn’t the most pedestrian-friendly. A car is the easiest way to get around, though we are very near a bus stop and an urban trail system for biking and recreational walking. SFAI has bicycles, along with helmets, locks, and a tire pump available for resident use.
Santa Fe does not have a local cab company so Uber and Lyft are the best options for car service.
What’s the weather like in Santa Fe? How should I dress?
Santa Fe is located at 7,260 feet (2,213 meters) above sea level. It usually takes a few days to acclimatize to the elevation gain, which, for some, can cause temporary headaches, dizziness, shortness of breath, and fatigue. Please make sure to drink plenty of water and not overexert yourself during your first week.
The climate for Santa Fe varies greatly by season, so what kind of clothes you pack will depend on when you are here. There are about 300 days of sunshine each year. Santa Fe is dry, normally with less than 40% humidity, however there is a rainy period during the summer referred to as the monsoon season. August is typically the most active monsoon month, but storms can start in July and continue into September, with heavy intermittent rainfall, lightning, hail, strong winds, dust storms, and flash flooding.
Summer in Santa Fe averages daily highs of 86 degrees Fahrenheit (30 degrees Celsius) and nightly lows of about 53 degrees Fahrenheit (12 degrees Celsius). Winter daily highs average about 45 degrees Fahrenheit (7 degrees Celsius) with average nightly lows at about 14 degrees Fahrenheit (-10 degrees Celsius). Santa Fe has roughly 30 to 34 inches (76 to 86 centimeters) of snowfall per year. The first frost is usually about October 10th and the last frost around May 1st.
Can I bring my pet?
SFAI only allows Service Animals as regulated by the ADA. This does not include Emotional Support, Therapy, or Comfort Animals. If you need to bring a Service Animal, we kindly ask that you inform SFAI at the time of scheduling your residency / well in advance of your arrival. Many other residents have allergies and phobias and we want to do our best to ensure everyone is comfortable while they are here.
Can I have overnight guests?
SFAI does not allow overnight guests.
How are rooms and studios assigned?
Local applicants who live within a one-hour drive of Santa Fe are not given a room on site, but are provided a studio, 24/7 access to the building, and included in all residency programming.
Non-local (i.e., National and International) Collaborations will be assigned either one or two rooms, depending on your members’ needs, but both members of a Collaboration always share one studio.
Applicants for the July Family Residency may request one additional room for their children. Additional room assignments are not guaranteed and will be determined based on the overall composition of each year’s Family Residency and each family’s needs. Additional rooms are typically assigned to parent-artists who are either: 1) bringing two children with them, 2) bringing a child or children with special needs, 3) bringing a child who is 12 to 17 years old, 4) bringing their spouse / partner with them, or 5) some combination of the above.
Do I have to bring my own towels and bedding?
No. SFAI provides sheets, blankets, pillows, pillowcases, and towels.
Does SFAI provide food? Do I have to cook?
Residents are responsible for providing all of their own food and preparing all of their own meals while at SFAI.
What kind of materials, tools, or facilities does SFAI provide?
SFAI does not have any specialized facilities or equipment. However, in addition to individual studios and a communal workspace with oversized work tables on casters, we have a tool room with a slop sink and an outdoor work yard where any particularly messy, smelly, or noisy work can take place.
SFAI provides a few basic tools for all residents to share, such as drills / drivers with bits, hammers, pliers, tape measures, levels, step ladder, saw horses, hand saw, palm sander, self healing cutting mats, rulers, scissors, and miscellaneous hardware.
SFAI does not provide computers, printers, monitors, SD cards, or media players. A professional print shop and office supply store are both within walking distance.
We do have one tripod and one digital camera with various lenses and a continuous lighting kit, available to residents for occasional on site use only.
SFAI has a partnership with a local makerspace, MAKE Santa Fe, and these facilities are available to residents for a $30 monthly fee and required orientation.