Blue Sky Gallery and Sitka Center for Art and Ecology are proud to announce a partnership to provide a residency for an emerging photographer in Spring 2018. The residency is by application and is available only to photographers who have been a part of the Blue Sky Drawers program or have been an exhibitor at Blue Sky.

The residency will take place on the Sitka Center’s campus in Otis, OR, from March 4 - 25, 2018. You may choose to take 2 weeks during this time frame, if a 3-week residency is not possible. Residency includes accommodation in a studio apartment and access to a private separate studio space. Please note that there is no darkroom facility at Sitka Center. Residents will also have access to wireless internet, the Center’s library, other artists and ecologists in residence, and to the stunning natural beauty of the Cascade Head Scenic Research Area, including Cascade Head itself and the Salmon River Estuary. It is truly one of the most beautiful locations on the Oregon Coast.

If desired, we will showcase work created at the Residency on the Drawers Exhibition wall at Blue Sky in Spring/Summer 2018. The artist will also have the opportunity to present a short artist talk in Spring 2018 (mutually agreeable date TBD). Both the exhibition opportunity and talk are optional opportunities and are not required as part of the residency experience.

For more information about the Sitka Center, visit www.sitkacenter.org. For more information on Blue Sky Gallery, visit www.blueskygallery.org.

Eligibility: Photographers who self-identify as emerging artists, and who have shown at Blue Sky Gallery (either in the Drawers or in the Gallery).

Applications will be reviewed by a panel of five judges, two representing the Sitka Center (Program Manager Carrie Hardison and Executive Director Leslie Jordan) and two representing Blue Sky Gallery (Exhibitions Manager Zemie Barr and Executive Director Lisa DeGrace). The fifth judge is David Kressler, Oregon-based photographer and the first recipient of this residency prize.

 To apply, please submit:

1) An artist statement stating your work and approach (up to 4,000 characters)

2) 8-15 images representative of your work

3) An up-to-date resume or CV

4) A one-page (up to 4,000 character) letter of interest addressing the following topics:

    -How would this residency benefit you at this phase in your career?

    -How does your artistic perspective, your work, or a specific project relate to the Sitka Center’s mission “to expand the relationships between art, nature, and humanity”?

Applicants may identify a particular project (new or ongoing) on which they intend to focus during the residency period, but a pre-defined project is not required. The invited resident will be encouraged to spend their time in residence in whatever manner best suits them and supports their creative process and artistic career, with no specific expectations of product or outcomes.

Applications are due Monday, November 27, 2017 at 10:59pm PST. Applicants will be notified of a decision in mid- December 2017. 

Application Requirements

Eligibility Criteria