About the Artist-in-Residence Program

The Museum’s iconic Artist-in-Residence program, envisioned by artist William T. Williams, gives emerging artists an unparalleled opportunity to develop their practice in an eleven-month residency, and offers audiences the chance to view this work in annual exhibitions.

Alumni of the program, who now number nearly 150, include some of today’s most significant and innovative artists, such as Njideka Akunyili Crosby, David Hammons, Titus Kaphar, Simone Leigh, Kerry James Marshall, Julie Mehretu, Wangechi Mutu, Mickalene Thomas, and Kehinde Wiley. These artists have been featured around the nation and the world in solo and group exhibitions, their work entered in important museum collections, and have received prestigious fellowships and awards.

Every year, the Museum offers a studio residency for three local, national, or international emerging artists working in any media. Each artist is granted a free non-living studio space and a stipend. Artists are expected to work in the studio a minimum of twenty hours per week and participate in open studios and public programs. At the end of the residency, an exhibition of the artists’ work is presented.