Artist Retreats: GREAT LAKES

ILLINOIS
Anchor Graphics
, 119 W. Hubbard St., #5-W, Chicago, IL 60610 (312) 595-9598. 4-6 artists a year awarded 2 week residencies. For artists proficient in printmaking who want an uninterrupted block of time to develop a body of print-based work. Residents expected to interact with visitors and students. (visual arts)

The Fields Project, PO Box 444, Oregon, IL 61061 (815) 732-6347. Painters, photographers and sculptors in residence for nine days each summer, housed with farm families, to "bring art and architecture together." Artists can work on their own or do a "field sculpture," by cutting/moving flora on a piece of ground up to 15 acres in size, to create a sculpture designed to be viewed or photographed from the air. Residencies end with a public Fine Arts Festival at Mix Park. Fees charged. (visual arts)

Illinois Arts Council, State of Illinois Center, 100 W. Randolph St., Chicago, IL 60601. Open to out-of-state artists; monthly stipend, studio space, and supplies (visual arts)

Ox-Bow Workshop for the Arts, Academic Administration, 37 S. Wabash, Chicago, IL 49453 (312) 899-7455. 110 acres of wooded dunes, between the Kalamazoo River and Ox-Bow Lagoon, in Saugatuck, MI; housing in pre-Civil War Inn or cabin; fees charged; residencies of 1 week (visual arts)

Prairie Center of the Arts, 1412 SW Washington St., Peoria, IL 61602 (309) 673-5589. Housed in a century-old warehouse listed on the National Historic Register formerly a rope manufacturer. Near the Illinois River, 3 hours from Chicago and St. Louis. Housing and meals not provided; artists are given a stipend to cover those costs. Artists are expected to participate in public programs and studio tours, and to donate a piece of artwork. (visual arts)

Ragdale Foundation, 1260 N. Green Bay Rd., Lake Forest, IL 60045 (847) 234-1063. Studios on the historic Howard Van Doren Shaw family estate, listed on the Register of Historic Places. Residencies for 2 weeks to 2 months; fees charged, some scholarships; dinners served 6 nights/week, residents make all other meals from food provided. (visual, literary, and performing arts)

Studios Midwest, PO Box 291, Galesburg, IL 61402 (309) 344-1177. 8-week summer residencies for 4-6 artists from June through August; free housing and studio space; opportunities for informal community interaction and one group exhibit. Artists supply their own transportation, equipment, food. (visual arts)

Three Arts Club of Chicago, 1300 N. Dearborn Parkway, Chicago, IL 60610 (312) 944-6250. Non-profit residential artist community and public art center. (visual, literary, performing arts)

Writers in the Heartland, c/o Dr. Patricia Brett Erens, 180 E. Pearson St., #3802, Chicago, IL 60611. Residency for up to 5 writers at a time in Gilman, IL, two hours south of Chicago, on a secluded lake surrounded by 32 acres of woodlands and farmland. Property includes hiking trails, a meditation garden, and an outdoor running track. All meals provided (vegetarian, low-fat, low-sodium fare). Open September and October only. Most writers stay one week, but some longer residencies also possible.

 

INDIANA
Art Barn
, 695 N. 400 East, Valparaiso, IN 46383. (visual arts)

Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, AIR Program, 1100 N. Mineral Springs, Porter, IN 46304 (219) 926-7561 x 225. Residencies of 2-4 weeks in houses or campsites from June to September. Artists asked to donate art to park and to interact with interested patrons and staff. Dunes rise 200 ft. above the southern shore of Lake Michigan. Beach, marsh and prairie. (visual, literary, media arts and landscape architects)

Mary Anderson Center for the Arts, 101 St. Francis Dr., Mount St. Francis, IN 47146 (812) 923-8602. 1 week to 3 months; up to 6 writers and visual artists at a time; residents pay what they can afford; 400 acre wildlife refuge located 15 min. north of Louisville, KY in southern Indiana. (literary, performing, visual arts; architects, designers and scholars)

 

MICHIGAN
Doghaven Center for the Arts
, PO Box 283, Three Oaks, MI 49128 (847) 424-9224. Weekend workshops, classes for kids, performance space, and retreat facilities in rural southwestern Michigan; also offers residencies of 2-6 mos. (visual arts)

Alden B. Dow Creativity Center, Northwood University, 3225 Cook Road, Midland MI 48640 (517) 837-4478. Four 10-week fellowships annually for innovative project ideas. "Some past residents created new math curricula, re-thought residential health-care facilities, looked into the politics of the art world, and started creative-writing programs for prisoners." Stipends paid. Annual deadline Dec. 31, with notification by April 1. (all arts, humanities, sciences)

Hiawatha National Forest, Artist*Forest*Community Program, 400 E. Munising Ave., Munising, MI 49862 (906) 387-2512 ext 25. Two week residencies. The National Forest has rugged cliffs, expansive beaches, inland lakes, and a vast wilderness area. Each artist must give a public presentation/workshop. Artists housed in cabins, cottages, or camps, some primitive. 1 artist hosted per quarter. Open to Michigan residents only. (visual, literary, performing arts)

Isle Royale National Park, Artist-in-Residence Program, 800 E. Lakeshore Dr., Houghton, MI 49931 (906) 487-7152. Operates mid-June to mid-Sept. 5 residencies of 2-3 weeks. Island wilderness in Lake Superior; artists housed in shared rustic cabin (pit toilet, no electricity or running water). Artists must purchase food for entire stay in advance; canoe provided for transportation; ability to reside in a wilderness environment and to relate and interpret the park through art work are criteria for selection. Open to 2D visual artists, photographers, sculptors, performers, writers, video/filmmakers, composers. (visual, literary, and performing arts)

Lakeside Studio, 15486 Red Arrow Highway, Lakeside, MI 49116 (616) 469-1377. Residencies of up to 3 mos. include studio space and housing. Mostly supports ceramic artists, by facilities can also accomodate painting. Wheels, kilns (electric and gas), salt firing, clay mixing, and a glaze room are provided. There is a gallery show at the end of the residency. Fees charged. (visual arts)

Ox-Bow, The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, 37 S. Wabash, Room 35, Chicago, IL 60603. (800) 318-3019 or (616) 857-5811. Residency program in Saugatuck, Michigan. Residencies of 1 week; fees charged. Studios for papermaking, glassblowing, ceramics, printmaking, sculpture. (visual arts)

Pewabic Pottery, AIR Program, 10125 E. Jefferson Ave., Detroit, MI 48214 (313) 822-0954. 6 month, 1 year, or 2 year residency includes studio, stipend, health insurance, materials; open to emerging ceramicists making functional pottery and/or architectural tile; artists must work at the Pottery 16 hours per week (may include teaching, design work or production); artists make own housing arrangements. (ceramics)

Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, AIR Program, PO Box 40, Munsing, MI 49862 (906) 387-2607. Artists live and work in the park. Located along the shores of Lake Superior, multi-colored sandstone cliffs have been carved by the lake into towers, covers, and arches. Parkland also encompasses beaches, dunes, inland lakes, forests. Choice of accomodations from campsites to cabin to a former Coast Guard empoyee residence.1 residency per year of 4 weeks. Open to 2D visual artists and photographers. (visual arts)

Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, AIR Program, 9922 Front St., Empire, MI 49630-9797 (231) 326-5134. The massive dune which gives this park its name towers as high as 460 feet above Lake Michigan. Park also encompasses lakes, birch-lined streams, rugged bluffs. Choice of accomodations in campsite or park headquarters; 2 3-week time blocks available. Moderate reimbursement for mileage and out-of-pocket costs; artist asked to contribute one original work and to give one public program (demo, reading, slide talk, etc.) and must be willing to interact with the public while working in public spaces. Open to 2D visual artists, photographers, sculptors, writers, composers. (visual, literary, performing artists)

Urban Institute for Contemporary Arts, AIR Program, 1064 Race St., NE, Grand Rapids, MI 49503 (616) 454-7000. 4 artists at a time; 2 years. (visual, media, performing, literary and inter-disciplinary arts)

 

MINNESOTA
Artist at Pine Needles
, St. Croix Watershed Research Station, 16910 152nd St. N., Marine on St. Croix, MN 55047 (651) 433-5953. Located on a heavily-wooded, 20-acre site along the St. Croix River. Accomodations in rustic cabin built prior to WWI. Residencies of 2 to 4 weeks in Spring and Summer. Open to writers and visual artists who focus on environmental or natural history topics. Artists asked to participate in a community outreach project (school visit, demonstration, workshop, reading, etc.) and contribute one artwork. (visual, literary arts)

Anderson Center for Interdisciplinary Studies, PO Box 406, Red Wing, MN 55066 (651) 388-2009. Residencies of 2 weeks to 1 month from May to October. Room, workspace, and board provided. Residents must provide community service (e.g., talk, lecture, reading, performance, teacher training or workshop). The center is also home to The Environmental Learning Center, Tower View Alternative HS and the Institute of Archeology. Open to those working in anthropology, archeology, biology, botany, children's literature, drama, fiction, geology, history, music composition, nonfiction, painting, photography, poetry, sccreenwriting, and sculpture (visual, literary arts; scientists, humanists)

Banfill-Locke Center for the Arts, 6666 East River Rd., Fridley, MN 55432 (763) 574-1850. Community arts center in an 1847 inn on the National Registry of Historic Sites. Has one writer and one visual artist in residence for a 12 month term beginning in September. Opportunities to teach and mentor, give exhibitions or readings, small stipend.

Blacklock Nature Sanctuary, Artist Fellowship Program, PO Box 426, Moose Lake, MN 55767-0426. Situated on over 440 acres of land, including coniferous and deciduous forests, one half mile of lakeshore on Little Moose Lake, beaver ponds, a heron rookery and a rich assortment of wildflowers and wildlife. The residence is a fully furnished two bedroom house with work station in the living room, fireplace, modern kitchen, bath and laundry. Two additional studio spaces and use of the land for temporary site-specific work are available. Open to Minnesota residents over age 18 who are emerging artists (visual, literary, performing arts, and arts administrators)

Cornucopia Art Center, Lanesboro Residency Program, PO Box 152, Lansboro, MN 55949 (507) 467-2446. Nestled in the valley of southeast MN's Root River, in a small town with a unique atmosphere that is part European hamlet, part tourist destination and part farm town, 2 hours south of the Twin Cities. 2-4 week residencies for sculptors, painters, poets, writers, and other emerging artists who reside in the US. Stipend, living and studio space provided. (visual, literary arts)

Franconia Sculpture Park, 29815 Unity Ave., Shafer, MN 55074 (651) 465-3701. 16 acres in the St. Croix River Valley, 45 miles NE of Minneapolis. Open to established and emerging sculptors. 20 artists per year invited to create site-specific outdoor work. Residency and stipend. (visual arts)

Highpoint Center for Printmaking, 912 W. Lake St., Minneapolis, MN 55408 (612) 871-1326. 3 residencies for emerging printmakers from MN, sponsored by the Jerome Foundation. (visual arts)

Minneapolis College of Art & Design, AIR Program, 133 E. 25th St., Minneapolis, MN 55404. Teaching residencies of 1-12 months, includes room, studio, stipend. Sculptors encouraged to apply. (visual arts)

Minnesota Center for Book Arts, 24 North Third Street, Minneapolis, MN 55401 (612) 338-3634. 1 year residencies; 24 hour access; teaching opportunities. For artists working in book binding, papermaking, printmaking. (visual arts)

New York Mills Arts Retreat, PO Box 246, New York Mills, MN 56567 (218) 385-3339. Studio and housing; some stipends (half of all residencies granted funding); emerging artists who are writers, visual artists, composers, choreographers; artists provide own food; located along the Continental Divide in the town of New York Mills (pop. 1,200). Approximately 12 artists accepted each year for residencies of 2 or 4 weeks; one in residence at a time. (visual, literary, performing arts)

Northern Clay Center, 2424 Franklin Ave. E., Minneapolis, MN 55406 (612) 339-8007. McKnight Artist Residency Program. Open to mid-career ceramic artists who are not residents of Minnesota; 3 month residency. (visual arts)

Split Rock Arts Program, 306 Wesbrook Hall, 77 Pleasant St. SE, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455. Artists-in-residence program at the Duluth campus; workshops also available; fees charged. (visual and literary arts)

Voyageurs National Park, AIR Program, 3131 Hwy. 53, International Falls, MN 56649-8904. (218) 283-9821. National Park encompasses more than 30 lakes, countless bogs, marshes, beaver ponds on land that was once the route of French-Canadian votageurs. Home to moose, deer, timber wolves, bald eagles, ospreys, and loons. Two artists at a time share a one-bedroom cabin with modern bath and kitchen for 2 weeks in August. Canoe provided. Artists asked to donate one work to the park collection and offer a public program. Open to 2D visual artists, photographers, sculptors, performers, writers, video/filmmakers, composers. (visual, literary, performing, media arts)

 

OHIO
Blue Sky Project
, PO Box 10506, Dayton, OH 45402 (847) 287-6702. Artists work collaboratively with teams of 6-8 teens (aged 14-19) for 8 weeks (M-Th) over the summers. Housing, stipend, and project budget provided; use of art and computer facilities. Projects should "use the contemporary art-making process to develop self-awareness, leadership, critical thinking and creative problem solving skills in youth" while giving resident artists a forum "to extend their own exploration and studio practice in a unique collaborative setting with young people." Projects culminate in final public exhibition or performance. Projects can include visual arts, sound installations, folklore, photography, land art, video, more. (visual, performing and media arts)

Charlotte's Hollow Foundation for the Arts, 6993 Wesleyan Church Rd., Pataskala, OH 43602 (614) 927-3566. Open April 1 through Nov. 1. (performing, visual, literary arts)

Collingwood Arts Center, 2413 Collingwood Blvd., Toledo, OH 43620 (419) 244-ARTS. Located in the historic Old West End of Toledo, in a former convent in the Flemish Gothic style, the Arts Center offers an Artist-in-Residence program, as well as a 608-seat public theater, and art classes for adults and children. Resident artists pay low-cost rent and get marketing support, and opportunities to perform and exhibit. Residents asked to volunteer several hours a month (housekeeping, ushering events, or other tasks) and leases are for 6 months minimum. Facilities include 25 visual arts studios, 9 music studios, one dance studio and over 50 dorm-like residential spaces of varying sizes with shared bathrooms and kitchens. (visual, literary, performing arts)

Cuyahoga Valley National Park, AIR Program, 3675 Oak Hill Rd., Peninsula, OH 44264 (330) 657-2796 or (800) 642-3297. 2 residencies per year of 6-8 weeks in Spring and Summer. Run by the Cuyahoga Valley Environmental Education Center and National Park Service. (visual, literary, performing, media arts)

Ohio University, School of Art, 528 Seigfried Hall, Athens, OH 45701 Attn: Ridges Visiting Artist Residency. Residencies of 1-4 weeks includes free lodging, private studio, chance to work with MFA students, and a solo exhibition. Must give a public lecture and private studio meetings. All contemporary disciplines encouraged. Send proposal, artist statement, vc, and 20 slides of JPEGs. (visual arts)

The Thurber House, 77 Jefferson Ave., Columbus, OH 43215 (614) 464-1032. Residency for writers, playwrights, and journalists to live, write, teach. Stipend. Must be published and have college-level teaching experience. (literary arts)

 

WISCONSIN
Apostle Islands National Lakeshore
, Route 1, Box 4, Bayfield, WI 54814 (715) 779-3397. In Western Lake Superior, off Wisconsin's Bayfield Peninsula. Park is 720 square miles of lakeshore and islands. Artists housed in Wellish Cabin, on the southeast shore of Sand Island about 3 miles by boat from the Little Sand Bay Ranger Station. Minimum 2-week residency, June to September; basic cooking utensils and fuel provided, artist must bring bedding, personal gear, food, and art supplies, all of which must be purchased prior to residency. The cabin is a half-mile from the boat dock; whatever you bring must be carried that distance. Artist asked to donate a finished piece of work inspired by the island stay. The cabin is simple but roomy, with a vault toilet, no electricity, no running water. Expect cool temperatures, muddy trail conditions, and insects. "Early summer's brilliant wildflowers give way to the lush blueberry patches in August. Storms rolls in and retreat, leaving rainbows over the low green profiles of neighboring York and Raspberry Islands. The interplay of land and lake, the song of the wood thrushes, and lingering stories of shipwrecks and lightkeepers are among the many sources of inspiration for an artist's creative endeavors." (visual, literary, performing arts)

Dillmans Creative Arts Foundation, PO Box 98, Lac de Flambeau, WI 54538-0098. Located in the Wisconsin Northwoods on a lake. Workshops and retreats. Fees charged. (visual arts)

The Guest House at New Light Studios
, 1610 Town Hall Rd., Beloit, WI 53511 (608) 362-8055. Two-bedroom cottage on a Wisconsin "farmette." Swimming pool, ping-pong, basketball, hiking, cross-country skiing, canoeing nearby; booked on a first-come, first served basis; guests supply own food; fees charged. (visual, literary, performing arts, and "anyone seeking solitude in a peaceful, rural setting")

John Michael Kohler Art Center, Arts/Industry Program, 608 New York Ave., PO Box 489, Sheboygan, WI 53082-0489 (920) 458-6144. 2-6 month residencies offered for 16 to 22 artists annually; room and board, travel costs, materials, access to industrial equipment and engineers for consulting; sculpture, ceramics, crafts; artists working in cast iron, bronze, ceramics, enameling; open access to pottery and iron foundries (visual arts)

St. John's Artist in Residence, St. John's Uihlein-Peters Gallery, 1840 N. Prospect Ave., Milwaukee, WI 53202 (414) 272-2022. Short-term residencies scheduled one year in advance (from 3 days to 1 week). Lodging, weaving equipment, pottery kiln, activity room (visual arts)

University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Center on Age & Community, Residency in Applied Arts, Milwaukee, WI. Residencies of 3 months, stipend plus travel, housing and supplies for artists of all disciplines interested in developing work addressing aging and memory loss. Open to permanent US residents who are profesional artists. Artists must develop a project, engage directly with community participants, provide two one-time master classes (one for students; one for the community); participate in a culmintating exhibit or performance. (visual, literary, performing, and media arts)

Wisconsin Institute for Creative Writing, Dept. of English, University of Wisconsin, 600 N. Park St., Madison, WI 53706. Fellowship of 9 mos. and stipend of $20,000 for poets and fiction writers who have completed an MA or MFA and are working on a first book. 2 awards annually; residency for one academic year. Writers must teach one class each semester and give one public reading. (literary arts)