Penland’s Winter Residency program is a short-term residency opportunity for artists seeking to work independently in one of our 16 studios during Penland’s quiet season.

Practicing artists of all backgrounds and at any stage of their career are encouraged to apply for a 2-week or 4-week session. Shared studio access is provided to a small number of artists each session; we invite enough people to encourage conversation and creative camaraderie, but not so many that focused time in the studio is compromised. Residents’ time is their own; there are no workshops, critiques, or required activities.

Our goal is to support creative experimentation by offering artists the time, space, and equipment they need to advance creative development.

Penland Winter Residencies are for:

• Artists needing access to facilities for research and development that can be supported by Penland’s well-equipped studios
• Art educators and administrators who are seeking focused studio time during a winter break or sabbatical
• Collaborating artists who want to work on a specific project or simply alongside one another in order to share technical expertise and/or creative inspiration
• Art professionals who need time away from daily responsibilities and distractions to focus on a creative project

We encourage practicing artists of all backgrounds and at any stage of career to apply. Penland welcomes everyone and believes that equity, inclusion, diversity, and antiracism are essential to our mission. We want the Penland experience to benefit from varied ideas, world views, and personal experiences. We stand against all forms of discrimination and are committed to creating an environment grounded in our equity values.

Applications are reviewed by a national panel of artist peers, curators, educators, and other arts professionals as well as Penand staff. Panelists rotate frequently to bring a range of new perspectives to the application process, and creating a diverse group of residents is one of the stated goals of selection.

The review panel’s evaluation will focus primarily on the work samples included in each application, scoring the portfolio in the following areas: level of proficiency, clear/unique point of view, their interest in the work, the work’s capacity to expand and/or enrich the field of craft. A second review by Penland staff will evaluate an applicant’s ability to work independently, the feasibility of the proposed project and our ability to support it, and how the project will dovetail with other projects in the same studio/session. The final phase of our process includes a holistic review of the entire application and recommendations for fellowships (See 2024 Winter Residency Fellowships below)

All media supported by Penland’s studios are considered appropriate for the winter residency program. We cannot accommodate writers, dancers, or musicians.

“The winter residency is an amazing experience to dive deep into your art practice with intensity in a short amount of time. The opportunity to be productive in the studio and still have the ability at times to interact with fellow residents is inspiring.”

Donté K. Hayes
Penland Winter Resident

Penland Winter Residencies offer:

• Well-equipped studios, unfettered time, and a beautiful retreat setting
• Self-paced access to one of the following studios: books, clay, drawing/painting, glass (hot shop, flame, or kiln), iron, letterpress, metals, papermaking, photography, printmaking, textiles, and wood

Specific studio and equipment needs must be clearly outlined in your application.

Each of our studios will have an assistant in place to help orient you to the space and make sure that our studio equipment is running properly. Please note that our studio assistants are not instructors. All winter residents should be able and willing to work independently.

Winter Residency Dates & Deadlines:

Apply from June 15 through August 1, 2024 for a 2025 winter residency. You can apply to stay for 2 or 4 weeks:

• 2025 Winter Residency session 1: Posted Soon
• 2025 Winter Residency session 2: Posted Soon

Winter Residency Costs:

 

Application fee

There is a $30 application fee to apply (paid through Slideroom with application). If this represents a barrier to submitting an application, please email Nadia Massoud at winterresidency@penland.org to discuss a reduced application fee.

Residency fee

The residency fee is $500 for two weeks in all studios with the following exceptions:

• The flameworking residency fee is $800 for two weeks (fee includes gas and torches; lathe access available by request only, applicant must include this request in their proposal)
• The hot shop residency fee is $1,500 for two weeks (fee includes 8-hr/day Monday-Friday access minus safety orientation and clean up; use of annealers, torches, hand tools, and garage; 24-hr access to hot shop kilns and cold shop)

Housing fee

You will select your housing preference on the application if you wish to stay on campus for the Winter Residency. Housing options are limited, so we will do our best to honor your preference. Penland housing rates for a two-week session are:

• Double/common bath: $250
• Double/bath shared with roommate: $300
• Single/common bath: $350
• Single/private bath: $500

Studio fees 

Fees for consumable materials used during the residency will be assessed by our staff; our studio coordinators will share a list of equipment and supplies available in your chosen studio once you have been accepted. This will help you determine which materials you can purchase from the studio and which materials you will need to bring from home.

Travel expenses

Winter Residents are responsible for their travel expenses to and from Penland.  Resident arrival is on Sunday between 1:00 and 5:00 pm; departure is on Friday by 10am.

Food

Meals are not provided but all residents will have access to a shared kitchen (please note that your kitchen assignment may not be in the same building as your housing). Winter residents will also be able to purchase meals at the Penland Coffee House.

2024 Winter Residency Fellowships

We are excited to announce that we have received additional grant funding for our 2024 fellowships. Over 50 fellowships will now cover the residency fee and housing fee for a two-week residency.

Available fellowships are limited; anyone is eligible to request funding, but preference will be given to first-time applicants, artists of color, and/or artists holding marginalized identities related to gender, sexual orientation, ability, and class background. Please note that if you apply to attend both sessions and are awarded a fellowship, the fellowship will only be applied to one of the two sessions.

Refund/Cancellation Policy for Winter Residency

Penland makes a substantial investment when planning programs. Vacancies can be hard to fill even if there is a waiting list, so we must charge application fees to offset the cost of these vacancies. If you cancel before December 1, you will receive a full refund minus a $100 cancellation fee and the $30 application fee. If you cancel after that date, there is no refund.

How to Apply

Applications require:

• Project Proposal: a concise description of the project or type of work you plan to pursue during your residency
• Work samples: four images of recent work in digital format; these should be recent, representative of your best work, and relevant to your proposal (i.e. if you are applying to complete a project in the clay studio, your application will be strengthened considerably by examples of clay works)
• Preferred residency dates (session 1, 2, or both); you will be asked to submit your first and second choices
• CV or résumé: a one-page summary with relevant experience including but not limited to exhibitions, studio experience, educational background, teaching, publications, awards, honors, etc
• Reference: contact information (email and phone) for someone who can speak to your level of professionalism, seriousness of intent, and ability to work independently without instruction
• Collaborators must submit individual applications; applications must contain a joint proposal of the work they intend to do while in residence and the same preferred residency dates. The acceptance of one collaborator does NOT guarantee the acceptance of the other.
• Optional demographic information that will inform our equity work and help us optimize the impact of available fellowship funding.
• All applications will be processed through SlideRoom.
  penland.slideroom.com

Questions

If you have additional questions related to Winter Residencies, please contact:

Nadia Massoud
winterresidency@penland.org

This project is supported in part by a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts.