The Wrangell Mountains Center (WMC) is a nonprofit organization that fosters understanding, appreciation, and stewardship of wildlands and mountain culture in Alaska through scientific and artistic inquiry in the Wrangell Mountains. The Wrangell Mountains Residency Program aims to support artists of all genres, writers, and inquiring minds in the creation of their work. Our organization and community will provide unrestricted work time and space to focused individuals. We invite applicants with creative and inquisitive minds who will both add to and benefit from the interdisciplinary efforts at our campus in McCarthy, Alaska and the surrounding Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve.

Located in a small mountain community and within the boundaries of the nation’s largest unit of the national park system (over 13 million acres), our vast and spectacular setting provides a unique natural and cultural environment for the WMC. Positioned near ice-capped mountains, the roaring Kennicott River and McCarthy Creek, and the raw terminus of the Kennicott Glacier, the local landscape is a dynamic laboratory for study in ecology, glaciology, and geology. The town of McCarthy was established during the copper mining period in the early 20th century. Many historic sites and buildings in McCarthy and Kennecott combine to make the area a rich cultural environment, hosting vibrant communities full of character and dynamic narratives. It is an ideal place for contemplation and creative endeavor.

Currently on the National Register of Historic Places, the WMC campus includes the Old Hardware Store that was built in 1911 as a town general mercantile. In the 1980s, the historic space was converted into an active educational center for place-based learning and understanding. The campus also includes the recently acquired adjacent homestead property, Porphyry Place, which houses programming and models off-the-grid technologies and practices. All facilities at the WMC campus are designed to effectively support a learning community. Residency participants will have the opportunity to experience and to contribute to this sustainable living system.

Program Goals:

• To provide work time and space for committed residents
• Facilitate a personal experience with the dramatic landscape and sense of place
• Foster meaningful connections and educational opportunities with the WMC
• Create lasting collaboration and development between Residents and the public space and local community
• Promote professional and personal relationships between Residents

Program Dates:

Five Residencies are available on the following dates in 2014

• May 26-June 8
• June 11-24
• July 21-August 3
• August 5-19
• August 21-September 3

Facilities:

Each resident will be provided with a private and furnished live/work space. These spaces are rustic but sufficiently equipped to provide basic comforts, a productive space, and privacy as well as the opportunity for immersion in the natural world and the human community. Residents will have access to common areas on campus and simple, healthy meals will be provided and shared communally with WMC staff, students, and visitors.

Our remote location limits the ability of visitors to obtain many goods and services in the area. Participants should come prepared with all the necessary research materials and art supplies since they are not available for purchase locally. Please communicate specific needs for the residency period to ensure enjoyment and productivity. Internet and email access can be purchased on a personal computer, but the ability to charge electronic devices is dictated by solar power availability, which can be limited in inclement weather. Laundry opportunities are available.

Studio Space:

The “Meg Hunt” Studio contains abundant natural light from large windows and features a forested view towards McCarthy Creek. The space includes wood floors, work tables, a newly-installed pull-down bed, hand-washing sink, propane heater, and small library. It is located on the second floor above the workshop and offers a unique sense of solitude.

Selection Process:

Artists will be selected by the following components:

• Artistic merit and merit of the artist
• Importance of the Wrangell St. Elias/ McCarthy experience to the artist’s work
• Need or benefit to artist
• The artists proposed plan to give back to the community
• Feasibility of plan

Selections will be made by late March.

Application Requirements

Eligibility Criteria