Arrowmont Artist in Residence

       The Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts is located in the heart of downtown Gatlinburg, Tennessee, just minutes from the North entrance to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Though the school’s most intriguing history dates back to the turn of the 20^th century, the Artist in Residence Program began in 1991. According to the Arrowmont website, “the program provides early career, self-directed artists time, space and support to experiment and develop a new body of work in a creative supportive community environment of 160 rotating visiting workshop artists/instructors and hundreds of students. The Arrowmont Residency Program encourages early career artists who embrace community and enjoy working in a team environment to apply.”
            The five selected artists get the opportunity to participate in the 11 month Residency Program, beginning in mid June through May of the next year. Each AIR (Artist in Residence) is provided a large, private, well lit, and climate-controlled studio space furnished with a basic work table, shelving and sink. The AIR studio building, just up the hill from the Resident on-campus housing, also has a communal outdoor area which can provide additional working space outside the personal studio spaces. The five AIR’s share a well furnished house on the ground floor of the Pollard residence building. All five artists get a private bedroom and bathroom and share the living, dining, and kitchen area. Ethernet and wireless internet access is also provided throughout the Pollard building. The house has laundry facilities and a large “mud room” with ample space for extra storage. The upper floor of the Pollard building houses the studio assistants and those students participating in the Work-Study program during workshop sessions. Meals are provided to the AIR’s down the hill in the dining hall during workshop sessions.
            In addition to the studio, housing, and meals provided to the Artists in Residence, each artist is now generously granted a monthly stipend, which began in 2002. To supplement these funds, abundant opportunities are presented to the AIR’s for paid professional development. These opportunities include both teaching at all age levels and sales of work in Arrowmont’s gallery spaces, as well as directly from the Residents’ personal studios. A retail gallery space in the main building has been designated for the Residents throughout the year. Arrowmont does receives a percentage from sales made within their galleries, but the artist retains 100% of sales made from their personal studio space. Traditionally the AIR’s have an “open –studio” night, one night a week while workshops are in session, for students and workshop faculty to experience Resident work firsthand and make purchases directly from the artist. At the end of the Residency, the AIR’s exhibit their work as a group in Arrowmont’s main gallery.
            During the 11-month residency, AIR’s have the chance to work closely with a plethora of different workshop faculty and students. As Arrowmont is a multi-craft based institution, the selected AIR’s are generally from different media backgrounds. This not only provides the Residents with a highly varied craft environment in which to create work, but also with a chance to experience other artistic avenues they might not have had the opportunity to experience prior to the Residency. Geographically, Arrowmont’s location can aid the Residents’ artistic experience. The rich craft traditions of the Appalachians are well documented and the Arrowmont School has played a pivotal role in the development of the craft history of the region. In addition to the abundance of craft artists within the vicinity of Arrowmont, cities that present large and varied arts and crafts communities such as Asheville, North Carolina, are a couple hour’s drive from Gatlinburg and are a substantial resource to Arrowmont’s Resident Artists.

Arrowmont Artist in Residence application   

in order to apply you will need:

• Resumé
• Personal statement addressing reasons why you want to be an Arrowmont Resident and your goals while at Arrowmont. Include any other personal information you feel best describes you and your work.
• Twenty (20) digital images of your most recent work submitted on a CD. Label images with the title, medium, size and date executed. Images must be high quality JPEGs with a minimum resolution of 800x600 pixels at 300 dpi. An image identification sheet is also required with your submission. This sheet must include your name and contact information at the top of the page, followed by thumbnail images of all work submitted on the CD. Please note submitted CDs will not be returned.
•  2 letters of recommendation (sent with application packet)
•  $25. nonrefundable processing fee. Make check payable to Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts.