The purpose of the Joshua Tree National Park Artist in Residence Program is to provide opportunities for artists to creatively explore the resources of Joshua Tree National Park, promoting a deeper appreciation of the natural, cultural, and historical resources therein.
Artists are an important part of the national park system. Writings, paintings, photographs, and public outreach provide opportunities for new audiences to experience national parks. In the era of virtual visits, the role of artists is more important than ever in sharing unique perspectives of national parks with online audiences.
The Joshua Tree National Park Artist in Residence Program (AiR) is open to visual artists, performing artists, musicians and writers. Artist are invited for a one-month stay in fall or spring. There are two objectives for this residency. One is to give artists time to explore the park and pursue their own creative practice. The second is for the artist to share their unique perspective of the park’s resources with others.
Most of the artist’s stay will be devoted to their own art practice; however, the park requires one visitor outreach experience, which will be coordinated with park staff. Artists will have agency to design the experience- it could be leading a short hike, performance, or being available for visitor questions while working at a public location.
How to apply:
- Applications for Fall, 2024 and Spring, 2025 residencies will be accepted April 1–May 31, 2024.
- To apply, email one PDF file that includes all three of the following application components to jotr_education@nps.gov and pay the $35 application fee on Eventbrite.
- Link for payment will be available April 1.
- Application components:
- Artist Resume, including link to professional website. Jury members are not able to consider social media profiles as professional websites.
- Statement of Purpose- 2 pages, double spaced, 11 point font
- Describe your artistic practice and proposed work for a residency, including relevance to Joshua Tree National Park.
- Proposals must adhere to principles of Leave No Trace as well as all established park rules and regulations. Proposals that suggest alterations to the landscape or harvesting of material from the park will not be reviewed favorably. Installation artwork is not feasible for this residency.
- Provide preferred residency dates of 3-4 weeks in either the Fall (October-December) or Spring (January-April)
- Work Samples
- For visual work, include 5-7 images.
- For writing samples, include 3-5 pages.
- For time-based works (music, films, performances, etc), submit links to view excerpts of 5-10 minutes.