CLERMONT, Ky. — The application period is now open for Bernheim Arboretum and Research Forest’s 2023 Artist in Residence programs for regional, national, and international artists. The deadline for submissions is midnight EST, November 27, 2023.
Throughout the program’s 44-year history, artists from across the globe have lived on-site and used Bernheim’s natural beauty as inspiration for site-specific artworks.
Bernheim’s Artist in Residence Program promotes multi-disciplinary explorations of our relationship with the natural environment through artistic expression, expanding upon Bernheim’s long history of art in the landscape. The Artist in Residence Program is available to all visual and mixed media artists in any medium, including sound and architecture.
Artists are invited to apply for one of the four residency slots awarded annually, each with a $2,500 stipend. One residency is dedicated to a regional artist living in Kentucky or Clark and Floyd counties of Southern Indiana. One residency is dedicated to an artist who addresses environmental issues and climate change. The selected artists will live at Bernheim for six to eight weeks in 2024, where they are encouraged to explore new avenues in creating site-specific ecological and environmental artwork.
The Artist in Residence program is the centerpiece of Bernheim’s Arts in Nature program and is integral to Bernheim’s mission, said Bernheim Arts in Nature Curator Jenny Zeller.
“Through this program, we strive to fulfill the vision of founder Isaac Wolfe Bernheim to unite in people their love of nature, beauty, and the arts,” Zeller said. “Art created through this program allows our visitors to experience nature in a new way while enhancing awareness of Bernheim’s mission of connecting people with nature.”
Bernheim Executive Director Dr. Mark K Wourms is excited to build off the momentum of the 2023 creation and implementation of the Environmental Artist in Residence program and the success of the 2023 Artist in Residence program.
“At Bernheim, we deeply believe in the crucial role that the arts can play in shaping environmental action and the future health of our planet,” said Wourms. “Art can provide hope and inspiration to the challenges of a warming planet by promoting opportunities to overcome them.”
In exchange for comfortable rustic housing, access to studio space, and financial and staff support for developing new work, artists will create a site-inspired artwork, temporary installation, or project as a donation to the I.W. Bernheim Foundation. Recipients are also asked to engage the public with their work and process, which may include (but are not limited to) demonstrations, workshops, lectures, and participation in one of Bernheim’s programs or annual events.
To apply or learn more about the Artist in Residence program, visit bernheim.org/air. Bernheim will accept artists’ entries through midnight EST on November 27, 2023. Visual and mixed media artists of all mediums, with the broadest range of diverse perspectives and experiences, are encouraged to submit work for consideration.
