Visual Arts Residency
The Visual Arts Center of Richmond (VisArts) invites visual artists to apply for the organization’s 11-month residency program, funded in part by a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Windgate Foundation.
Three visual artists will be invited to spend the year (September 1- July 31) making new work, which will be included in a group exhibition set to open in the spring of their residency year. The exhibition will be curated by a consulting curator contracted by VisArts.
Residents will have the opportunity to:
- Work in residence at VisArts’ residency space
- Attend a free class at VisArts during each session they’re in residence
- Teach up to two classes at VisArts in the winter and spring sessions – Please note that residents are paid for teaching under a separate contract
- Host open studio events during major events throughout the year
- Contribute work to the final resident artist exhibition
- Give a gallery talk and/or organize programming in relation to exhibition
- Host studio visits with donors, funders and friends of the organization, as requested
VisArts will provide residents with:
- $5,000 honorarium
- $500 materials budget
- Private instruction by VisArts instructors to learn new techniques
- Small, private studio with additional shared studio space available
- Access to all VisArts’ tools and equipment
- An exhibition in the True F. Luck Gallery with curatorial guidance and written catalogue
- Professional photography of the final exhibition
- Video of the resident artists at work
- Printed copies of the exhibition catalog
- Professional headshots
- Annual membership to the Visual Arts Center of Richmond
ELIGIBILITY
VisArts Artist Residency participants can be established and emerging artists working in a range of visual art and craft-based materials. Applicants must be over the age of 18. This residency is best suited for artists interested in furthering or expanding their studio practice, as well as connecting with a larger arts community. VisArts will prioritize artists who have a demonstrated creative practice and are either emerging in their field or exploring new ideas or media. VisArts will also prioritize visual artist applications which display an interest in multiple media areas within our facility so that they can make use of our resources during their time with us. This residency is a mutual relationship with VisArts; we support the residents and their work, while the residents connect with our community. When submitting an application to be considered, we highly encourage applicants to provide a description of the work they hope to accomplish while in residency, expand on any specific project outlines and how they will creatively use the studios at VisArts, discuss how this opportunity impacts their professional goals, as well as touch on how they would like to personally engage with our creative community.
All artists are welcome to apply, but in an effort to address systemic inequalities, we will prioritize applications from BIPOC artists and those that come from groups that have been historically underrepresented due to age, disability, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, or socioeconomic status.
Residents are required to live in Richmond for the year of their residency and are expected to become vibrant members of the VisArts community. They cannot be currently enrolled in an undergraduate or graduate program and must commit to spending at least 20 hours a week in the studio. Housing and housing stipends are not available. International applicants can be considered.
HOW TO APPLY
All applications are accepted via the link below and there is no fee to apply. Applications will be reviewed by a jury, and finalists will be invited for a short virtual interview in the final stages of the jury process.
2025-2026 Annual Residency
Residency Dates: September 1, 2025 – July 31, 2026
Application opens: February 3, 2025 at 9:00 a.m.
Application deadline: March 31, 2025 at 7:59 p.m.
We will notify all applicants by June 13, 2025.
Please e-mail [email protected] if you have any questions.