Franconia’s 2026 Open Call Artist Residencies
Beware of Paradigms!
Franconia Sculpture Park turns 30 years old in 2026, and energy is buzzing around here. As we prepare to announce our next season of artist residencies, my heart is glowing, and my head throbbing. With over 950 artist residencies in our history, and the chance to continue expanding how Franconia serves people, now comes the time to create the future.
Since starting here in 2023, I’ve tried to hone in on what Franconia does well: provide an environment for artists to take big and bold ideas to life. I’m happy to say, it feels like everyone likes this! We’ve asked visitors to be donors, foundations to continue their support, and government agencies to fund the arts. We would not be continuing without some tremendous shared belief in what Franconia can do, including Windgate Charitable Trust, Minnesota Humanities Center, National Endowment for the Arts, and McKnight Foundation, who are supporting this year’s residency program.
I’m a nerd about this, and want to share some updates to help this mission resonate.
1. First and foremost, I’ve been trying to fight fire with fire: increasing our residency awards and stipends.
Nowadays, I use a guidepost of $1000 per week in our artist awards, and new this year, Franconia can also offer additional materials stipends to residents and teaching artists. I’ve never charged an artist to apply for our programs in my tenure, and I’ve simplified our applications. We also get the chance this year to pilot a partnership that provides artists additional production assistance. We will keep fighting for much, much more – and are grateful for the chance to continue growing in this present moment.
2. What kind of residencies does Franconia provide?
Franconia’s core program revolves around artist-residents creating public sculptures for 2(+) year display on site. This is best done while Minnesota weather cooperates from May through October, with Midcareer Artists typically spending 2-3+ months on site, and Emerging Artists 4-5+ weeks.
Application:
1-page Artist Statement, including desired outcomes at Franconia
1-2 page Resume
1-2 page Proposal, including a list of materials and projected budget
5-10 portfolio images and/or supporting materials
Throughout the year, Franconia also hosts residencies for: writers, artist-families, teaching artists, visiting artists, performing artists, eco-artists, and artists-in-leadership.
3. How does Franconia select artists-in-residence?
I’m a believer in the ‘brain trust’ and the value of different perspectives in the process. I’ve instituted a structure of councils that help Franconia make its most important decisions. Councils are similar to committees in a traditional Board, but they also create seats for experts, alumni, and peers to contribute.
Our Artistic Council comprises Franconia’s annual Artists-in-Leadership and an equal number of our Board members. I think it’s also important to know, especially for sculptors, that our Site Council makes an initial review of applications, to help make connections between proposals and the park, and how Franconia can best support big dreams coming to life.
4. Franconia is no one’s last step, but it can be a big one!
We’re looking for the intersection of contemporary big ideas with success in our rural Minnesota environment. The strongest applicants are making it clear how your proposal aligns with your artistic goals, how the project holds something uniquely new for you to explore, and resonate with Franconia’s mission.
Beware of Paradigms! We are constantly evolving how we do things. The single largest influence on our organization is working with contemporary artists from many historically underrepresented communities, where collectively human wisdom exceeds any one way of doing things.
