Artist in Residence
The Grand Canyon Artist in Residence Program elevates the cultural legacy of the park through innovative artwork and compelling programs that create emotional and intellectual ties between the public and this precious natural resource.
Image: Taking a film photo with an old film camera by Artist in Residence 2024, Janelle VanderKelen. Photo: Megan Ford Fyffe
“Art and artists in our parks are important to understanding our collective history – providing lenses and pathways through which we can see and learn about our landscapes, promote a stewardship ethic, and be effective in inspiring dialogue about important societal challenges, how we understand and see others and ourselves.” – Kerrie Bellisario, 2009.
About the Program
Annually, five Artists in Residence are selected to live onsite and provide unique opportunities for visitors to engage with the land, cultures, and histories of the region through emotional and intellectually stimulating contemporary art – including exhibitions, films, performances, workshops, and unique participatory projects.
Three artists are selected through a competitive international application process based on merit of work, project focus, and experience with the public.
2026 represents the pilot year for the addition of two new arts residencies that center local and emerging artists and assure our resources are further invested in the community.
- Local Artist in Residence: One local artist is nominated for a residency by regional arts and culture institutions.
- NAU Emerging Artist Award: One residency is awarded to an emerging artist from Northern Arizona University’s School of Art and Design [LINK] graduating seniors and alumni.
Become an Artist in Residence
“My experience at Grand Canyon offered an intense and strange encounter with time and space, where the actual present and the forever ago were juxtaposed in such a way that time seemed to open and suspend altogether; this encounter continues to generate new work and thought, long after the residency- and remains a force in my mind- a persistent trace of overwhelming presence.” – Daniele Genadry, Artist in Residence 2022
“I met hundreds of visitors …and engaged in so many wonderful conversations. I spoke with folks who had been waiting to come for 50 years and on their wedding anniversary, finally made it. They admitted to being too old to be able to hike down to the bottom and so I was able to take a "green screen" photo of them down by the Colorado River and they were ecstatic. I met folks who have hiked rim to rim for years and families who made a yearly pilgrimage for generations. I met visitors from India, Germany, Korea, Norway, Japan, and all over the US. I even ran into a few friends unexpectedly who were just visiting.” - sTo Len, Artist in residence, 2025
How to Apply
Annually, from May – July, we accept proposals from artists who are interested in living and working at Grand Canyon National Park from 4-10 weeks through our application portal Call for Entry (Creative West). Calls are announced through our mailing list, website, and on social media. Residency Program staff will offer one – two information sessions to support artists with their proposals. Dates of the info sessions have not yet been announced for 2026.
Along with a specific project proposal that outlines the artist’s vision and plan including the research, development, and implementation phases of their work on site, we request an artist statement, bio, and work samples that show the artists ability to carry out the proposed work.
What We Look For
Contemporary artists who have demonstrable success in creating place-based, immersive, interactive, or participatory artworks that center the audience’s experience.
Our artists tend to have a conceptual focus on the environmental sciences, and/or regional histories.
What We Provide
Free accommodation at Grand Canyon National Park, a weekly stipend, travel subsidy, staff support with programs, program supply reimbursement, marketing exposure, opportunities to work with K-12 students, and ongoing opportunities as alumni.
2026 Residencies
Nicole Banowetz and Devin Reilly
Nicole Banowetz and Devin Reilly collaborate on performative sculptures. They find fascinating and beautiful organisms in the natural world to recreate into wearable and inflatable sculptures which they photograph out in the environment or use in surreal performances. Nicole and Devin will work with the community and our visitors to tell ecological stories with giant inflatable sculptures and costumes. Tiny creatures will evolve at a giant scale. The work will address climate change imagining future pollination and species adaptation in Grand Canyon.
Orquidia Velasquez
Orquidia Velasquez earned an Associate of the Arts degree from the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising. Orquidia challenges herself as a salvage textile artist, exploring new methods and mediums, such as machine and hand embroidery, knitting, weaving, appliqué, soft-sculpture, fiber-collage, drawing, painting and eco-fabric dyeing to tell colorful stories on the diversity of people. Orquidia will be working with visitors in hands-on fiber art sessions that involve weaving and stitching various aspects of the Grand Canyon environment.
Alessandra Vertrees
Alessandra Vertrees is a multidisciplinary artist, software engineer, and food storyteller exploring memory, heritage, and belonging through the lens of food. She blends technology, ancestral knowledge, and sensory design to investigate how ingredients, especially Indigenous plants, carry stories of lineage, land, and survival. Alessandra will trace her maternal family roots in nearby Williams, Arizona, where her abuela and great-grandmother were born. Through field recordings, recipe mapping, and culinary experiments, she will create a multisensory body of work that reconnects ancestral memory to the landscape of Grand Canyon.