Our Mission: The Studio fosters creative responses to the challenges of our time by providing retreat to artists, scholars, and the public in our protected forest on the Mississippi River.

Our Approach: The Studio focuses on interrelated areas of programming, including residencies for artists and scholars, forest restoration, and science-inspired art engagement for children and adults. The Studio’s work is based on the premise that southern Louisiana is a microcosm of the global environment, manifesting both the challenges and possibilities inherent in human interaction with urban and natural ecosystems. We center inter-dependence, wonder, care and inclusivity in all of our work and believe the essential and transformative powers of art and the natural environment are central to a thriving future for all.

Programs

Residencies – Since 2001, the Studio’s residency programs have directly engaged hundreds of artists and scholars from New Orleans, the nation, and the world by providing time, space, scholarship, and staff support to foster critical thinking and the creation of new works. Residencies range from thematic artistic residencies to retreats for scholars to multi-year collaborations conceptualized with partner institutions.

Forest Restoration and Research – Since 2004, the Studio has conducted programs of forest restoration and research. The Studio’s on-site Environmental Curator cares for, researches, and protects the woods, serving as an interpreter of the natural environment for residents and the community, and anchoring all of the Studio’s work within the bottomland hardwood forest. The Studio is partnered with the Tulane ByWater Institute’s Lower Coast Field Station to facilitate additional research projects on the site.

Community Outreach – The Studio cultivates opportunities for the Greater New Orleans community to connect with the woods, artists, and scholars through creative public engagement, summertime youth programming, and an annual festival, FORESTival: A Celebration of Art and Nature. The Studio’s founders were deeply committed to outreach and public education. We continue their legacy by inviting people in to experience the forest and its power to nurture and inspire.

A Studio in the Woods is a program of the Tulane ByWater Institute, a research department dedicated to advancing applied, interdisciplinary research and community engagement initiatives around coastal resilience and the urban environment. The separate 501(c)(3) nonprofit Friends of A Studio in the Woods provides funding, guidance, and direction for all programming.

To protect the uninterrupted work time of our residents, A Studio in the Woods is open to the public by invitation or appointment only.