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Joshua Tree Highlands Artist Residency (California) – Call For Artists

Joshua Tree Highlands Artist Residency (California) – Call For Artists

[Side Arts Certified Sponsored Listing] The Joshua Tree Highlands Artist Residency (JTHAR) announces a call for artists for the 2025 – 26 season.

Each year, JTHAR invites 6 artists from around the world to create artwork amidst the beauty of Joshua Tree National Park. Artists selected for this program are at all stages of their careers and work in all media including drawing, painting, photography, sculpture, film, video, new media, installation, fiction and non fiction writing, interdisciplinary, social practice, and architecture.

Click here for the application / registration

Apply by: 10 December 2024

JTHAR fosters creativity through opportunities for exploring, experimenting, quiet reflection, engagement and cross-cultural exchange with the vibrant local artist community. They establish spaces where inspiration happens on a daily basis. Artists can do the work of innovating, changing the cultural landscape and generating a fresh look at the way we connect to each other and to the world.

Joshua Tree Highlands Artist Residency Artist Benefits

Residency recipients will receive a fifteen hundred dollar scholarship to deter costs of participating in the program. Funds can be used towards art supplies, transportation, and meals.

The residency provides studio space and living accommodations. Each artist will be assigned their own house in which to live and work for the length of the residency. Artists may choose to work in the JTHAR dedicated studio, a large studio space, divided by movable walls, depending on the artist’s needs. Housing Accommodations are located in the Highlands near the West Entrance of the Joshua Tree National Park. Please note that the summer months can be very hot in the high desert. If you are adverse to the heat, this may not be the program for you. All houses are equipped with air conditioning.

I am immensely grateful for my time at JTHAR. The program provides a gateway to an incredibly inspiring landscape while being embedded with an engaged and supportive community. From when I first arrived, to my last day, I felt valued and bolstered to a degree that far exceeded expectations. Personal connections coupled with an impressively outfitted living/working space made this bespoke residency truly special. The seven weeks of uninterrupted focused time allowed for the ample experimentation and iteration necessary for locating new possibilities in my creative research. I have immensely benefitted from the energy of all involved during the residency period and anticipate the momentum gained to carry me for years to come. — David Andree (2024)

The memories I made at the Joshua Tree Highlands Artist Residency will always hold a special place in my heart and mark a pivotal turning point in my artistic journey. The opportunity to spend time in the midst of such natural beauty allowed me to find inspiration, delve into my thoughts, and explore trajectories like never before. JTHAR’s generosity and dedication to fostering artistic growth are truly remarkable. — Justin M Zielke (2023)

Coming from the over populated landscape of New York City, it took me a while to adjust to the wide sky, to the desert’s prickly but fascinating creatures, the overwhelming daylight and the overwhelmingly dark nights, and the dry dry heat. But eventually, thanks to my fellow residents, and to the warmth and kindnesses of the JTHAR board members, Joshua Tree became the place I was able to feel myself again. My time there helped me reengage with my writing in a way I very much needed. It’s a bit counterintuitive perhaps, but the barbed landscape eventually proved itself capable of holding me tenderly. And so I let it. And for that gift, I’m immensely grateful. — Bernard Ferguson (2021)

About Joshua Tree Highlands Artist Residency

Founded in 2007, JTHAR is a nonprofit artist residency, which invites artists from around the world to create work amidst the beauty of Joshua Tree National Park. Connect to the vibrant local artistic community. The residency provides scholarship funds, accommodations, studio space, and a gallery exhibition. JTHAR has been providing a place for artist to create new works for 19 years. It is the only non profit residency in Joshua Tree, California, that has an open call for artists.

Located next to Joshua Tree National Park, which has two distinct desert ecosystems, the Mojave and the Colorado. A fascinating variety of plants and animals make their homes in a land sculpted by strong winds and occasional torrents of rain. Dark night skies, a rich cultural history, and surreal geologic features add to the wonder of this vast wilderness in southern California.

For more information, contact info@jthar.com

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