Artist in Residence at Valles Caldera
The creative arts have served an influential role in the history of the National Park Service, inspiring people to travel, dream, and explore. For this reason, artists often rise to the forefront of efforts to preserve America's most treasured landscapes. Today, this legacy continues through Artist in Residence (AiR) programs. Through these programs, selected artists are provided a residency period in a national park to find inspiration, create artistic works, and share their vision with the public.
Valles Caldera National Preserve is one of more than 50 NPS sites that currently host an Artist in Residence program. Selected artists participate in a two- to four-week residency in a historic A-frame cabin overlooking Valle Grande. Lodging is provided to the artist in exchange for 32 hours of volunteer services per week. "Volunteer services" for this position are broad, including (but not limited to) immersion in park landscapes, content research, creation of artwork, public presentations, and program preparation. Artists are responsible for their own transportation to and from the park, but the National Park Service provides a vehicle for on-duty use. Artists are responsible for their own meals; the nearest grocery store is about 35 minutes away in the town of Los Alamos.
We invite artists from all creative disciplines and genres to apply for the Artist in Residence program. Application period will be open March 1-14 for the summer 2025 program.
Provide up to 6 images embedded within a Word or PDF document. Clearly label each image with your name and the work's title. Images should focus only on the actual artwork; extraneous backgrounds, mattes, or frames should not be included. For each work, clearly list: name of work, medium, and dimensions.
Provide up to 6 short works or 1 long work within a Word or PDF document. Clearly label each work with your name and its title. Examples include up to 6 short poems or other short writing samples of artistic merit (1 page each) or one short story, essay, or manuscript excerpt (10 pages max).
Musicians, Composers, Performing Artists, Videographers:
Provide up to 6 short selections (less than 6 minutes total) or 1 long selection (about 10 minutes total). Upload your submission to YouTube/Vimeo or share an existing YouTube/Vimeo link embedded within a Word or PDF document. Uploads may be public or private.
When the application window closes, a panel of judges will select five artists to participate in the program. Selected artists will have a choice of a two- to four-week residency from June through October.
Selected artists will provide at least one public program. At the completion of their residency, the artists will donate a completed piece of work representative of their stay to the park. Valles Caldera National Preserve will hold the rights to the piece of work and the National Park Service will have the rights to share the donated works with the public.
