We are excited to share that we have been selected by the Alliance of Artists Communities (AAC) to be one of sixteen artist residency organizations to take part in a new consortium program created through a partnership between the McKnight Foundation and AAC.

The McKnight Artist Residencies consortium aims to build equitable capacity in the artist communities field while providing McKnight Artist Fellows with funded national and international residency opportunities. In its first three years, up to 98 McKnight Artist Fellows will participate in residencies at the 16 partner sites.

The McKnight Artist Residencies partner organizations are:

• A Studio in the Woods (New Orleans, LA, USA)
• ACRE (Steuben, WI, USA)
• Activation Residency (Woodridge, NY, USA)
• Artists in Residence in Everglades (AIRIE) (Homestead, FL, USA)
• Bunnell Street Arts Center (Homer, AK, USA)
• The Hambidge Center (Rabun Gap, GA, USA)
• Hyde Park Art Center (Chicago, IL, USA)
• Kala Art Institute (Berkeley, CA, USA)
• La Maison Baldwin (Saint-Paul-de-Vence, Provence Alpes Maritimes, France)
• Montalvo Arts Center (Saratoga, CA, USA)
• Mount Tremper Arts (Mount Tremper, NY, USA)
• The New Quorum (New Orleans, LA, USA)
• Ragdale Foundation (Lake Forest, IL, USA)
• The Roll Up CLT (Charlotte, NC, USA)
• The Studios at MASS MoCA (North Adams, MA, USA)
• Wassaic Project (Wassaic, NY, USA)

Read a full description of program partners here.

Partner programs were selected from a competitive pool of residencies around the world. In selecting partners, AAC weighed geographical diversity, creative disciplines supported, organizational approaches to equity and access – among other factors. Partner residencies will receive resources and guidance around assessing and building their equitable capacity through a full-year curriculum, peer working groups, and dedicated training on AAC’s Healthy Residency Framework.

“The McKnight Artist Residencies consortium has brought together a dynamic network of individuals committed to advancing equity in the residency field,” said Deb Dormody, Deputy Director of the Alliance of Artists Communities. “We are grateful to work with the leadership and staff of this exciting group of partner organizations as they build practices that support incredible artist experiences.”

ABOUT THE ALLIANCE OF ARTISTS COMMUNITIES: The Alliance of Artists Communities (AAC) is the international service organization for artist residency programs and artist-centered organizations. AAC’s mission is to advocate for and support artist residency programs as a means of advancing the endeavors of all artists. Founded in 1991, AAC currently has more than 400 members in 50 U.S. states and 20 countries, and works on behalf of 1,500 residency programs worldwide. Since 2004, AAC has provided more than $4 million in direct grant funding to artists and residency centers.

ABOUT THE MCKNIGHT FOUNDATION’S MCKNIGHT ARTIST FELLOWSHIPS PROGRAM: Founded on the belief that Minnesota thrives when its artists thrive, the McKnight Foundation’s Arts program is one of the oldest and largest of its kind in the country. Support for individual working Minnesota artists has been a cornerstone of the program since it began in 1981. The McKnight Artist Fellowships Program provides annual, unrestricted cash awards to outstanding mid-career Minnesota artists in 14 different creative disciplines. Program partner organizations administer the fellowships and structure them to respond to the unique challenges of different disciplines. Currently, the Foundation contributes about $2.8 million per year to its statewide fellowships. For more information, please visit mcknight.org.