Is 2026 your year of "Audacity"?
Here is a compiled list of residencies to apply for,
If you’re even a little chronically online like I am, you’ve probably absorbed two things by now:
A) 2026 is the Year of the Fire Horse.
B) There’s a quiet collective ritual happening across the internet, people setting goals to be rejected. One hundred times. One thousand times. On purpose.
Why? Exposure therapy, resilience training, a willingness to stand in the doorway and knock anyway. The belief that every “no” is simply proof you are in motion. Proof you are playing the game.
Audacity has always been one of my inherited traits. My husband says it’s his favorite thing about me, the way I genuinely believe I can have what I want. And most of the time, I do. Not because I never hear no, but because I’m not afraid of it.
Below is a list of art and writing residencies currently open, some even paid.
The worst they can say is no.
Northeast, USA
Monhegan Artists’ Residency | 10-14 days on Monhegan Island, Maine. Free room and studio. One residency is specific to Maine art teachers. Stipend offered. Stipend and facilities vary between residency types. $25 application fee.
Tides Institute and Museum of Art | 2-4 weeks in Eastport, Maine. Housing provided, meals not provided. Studios located in downtown Eastport. Various media welcome. Artists expected to engage with the community, schedule regular open studio hours, and host an artist talk. $0-$30 application fee.
Annex Arts | Castine, Maine. Summer residencies available. Subsidized. Some form of community engagement expected. Visual, media, and performance artists welcome.
The Sable Project | 10 days off-the-grid on the side of a mountain in Stockbridge, Vermont. $500 for 10 days with a 6-hour work trade in the garden. A BIPOC partial grant is available. $10 application fee.
Hudson Valley Writers Residency | A few days, weeks, or months in Coxsackie, New York. Free to apply.
West, USA
- Djerassi Resident Artist Programs, 2325 Bear Gulch Rd, Woodside, CA 94062, (650) 747-1250
A residency in Scotland:
Hawthornden Castle Literary Retreat, Lasswade EH18 1EG, United Kingdom, +44 131 440 2180
Applications for 2026 have closed- 2027 applications will open March, 2026. Bookmark it!
A residency in the Arctic!:
The Arctic Circle | an expeditionary artist- and scientist-led residency to the arctic. Details available by newsletter only, just subscribe to it!