Your one-stop guide to residencies for visual artists, writers, composers, choreographers, scholars, filmmakers, community artists, architects, and more - around the world and in your backyard. Hundreds of residencies, endless possibilities!
The Alliance of Artist Communities serves on behalf of its members, small and large, leveraging support for the field as a whole; promotes successful practices in the field; and advocates for creative environments that support the work of today’s artists.
Artists' residencies (also called artists' communities, colonies, retreats, workspaces, and studio collectives) provide dedicated time and space for creative work. Beyond this core value, these creative communities are a diverse group, and provide artists of all disciplines with many different styles and models of support. Residencies can be found in urban or rural areas, serving one artist at a time or 50.
Some support one artistic genre while most are interdisciplinary, welcoming visual artists, writers, composers, choreographers, scholars and other creative individuals. There are programs that are active centers for public programs and others that offer solitude and retreat. Many provide room and board as a home-away-from-home; others offer not a place to live, but a community for local artists in which to work and be supported in the creation of new art.
Field at a Glance
- an estimated 500 artists’ communities in the US and more than 1,500 worldwide
- 30,000 artists are provided residencies each year (~10,000 in the U.S.)
- residencies in the U.S. provide an estimated $40 million in support to artists annually
- 70% are multidisciplinary, serving visual artists, writers, composers, filmmakers, choreographers, and others
- 60% are in rural areas and small towns, while 40% are in urban areas
- 90% have public programs that engage the local community
Explore the The Alliance of Artist Communities website and its many resoures here.
