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Artist-in-Residence Opportunities in the U.P.

Experience the Upper Peninsula and let its swaths of wilderness pocketed with small communities inspire your creations; your music and

Jan 04, 2023/

Amelia Pruiett /

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"White-throated Sparrow at Duncan Bay" by Larry Tucci 1992 Isle Royale Resident Artist

Experience the Upper Peninsula and let its swaths of wilderness pocketed with small communities inspire your creations; your music and paintings, scribblings and songs. A variety of accommodations and amenities give a glimpse of life here; north of the 45th parallel, surrounded by Great Lakes, veins of heritage waiting to be mined from the rocky ridges and shorelines.

Most residencies accept applications in January and February for stays that year’s summer/fall.

*If you have a residency that should be added to this list, please email apruiett@marquettemi.gov

Mackinac State Historic Parks Artist-In-Residence Program

The Mackinac State Historic Parks Artist-In-Residence Program is designed to promote and encourage the creation of artistic works inspired by the history, natural wonders, and beauty of Mackinac Island. The residencies are available to artists of all mediums, including, but not limited to, writers, composers, sculptors, and visual artists including photographers.
The resident artist is housed in the remodeled second floor of the Mackinac Island Visitor’s Center, formerly the 1915 Mackinac Island Coast Guard Station. The residence, which overlooks the Straits of Mackinac, includes a studio apartment with one full size bed with bedding and towels provided, private bath and shower, kitchen with stove, sink, and full-size refrigerator, washer and dryer, WIFI, and basic kitchen and cleaning supplies. It is an historic building and the second floor is only accessible by stairway. The residence is provided rent-free to the selected artist.
The two- and three-week residencies are available beginning in early June and continuing through early October. Deadlines for applications is in January each year.

Isle Royale National Park Teen Artist Exploration

The Isle Royale Teen Artist Exploration is for all aspiring teen artists who want to develop their art through experiencing wilderness. It is open to all visual and performing artists, writers, and composers ages 13 to 18 at time of participation.

Over the course of six days in July, selected teen artists camp on Isle Royale and explore the island in coordination with an artistic mentor–hike and backpack along wave-washed shores, canoe quiet bays of Lake Superior, or take boat tours. The artistic mentor provides coaching, lessons, and assistance during the artistic and wilderness exploration. Let the remote island wilderness inspire your creativity.

The Isle Royale Teen Artist Exploration Program is a camping experience. A desiginated campsite will be provided in Rock Harbor during the duration of the program. All participants must be comfortable camping for 5 nights.

If seventeen or younger, selected artists must have a legal parent or guardian accompany them.

Isle Royale National Park

Each summer, this program provides three to four artists a two to three week immersion in Isle Royale’s wilderness environment.

Complimentary transportation to the park is provided on the National Park Service vessel Ranger III, out of Houghton.

The park offers the use of the rustic Dassler Cabin at a scheduled time from mid-June through early September. This cabin is on Scoville Point, about two miles by boat or trail from the park’s major entrance point, Rock Harbor. The park also offers a canoe for the artist to use.

Isle Royale is a remote wilderness and all visitors must be well prepared. The artist should be self-sufficient, in good health, and expect cool temperatures, solitude, and simple facilities.

Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park

The Artist-in-Residence program at Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park is open to artists and artisans whose work can be influenced by this unique northern wilderness setting. It offers writers, composers, and all visual and performing artists and artisans the opportunity to experience the natural beauty of the Porkies and express it through their particular art form.

A rustic, timber frame cabin provides accommodations for the artist in residence. “Dan’s Cabin” was built as a tribute to Dan Urbanski, founding president of the Friends of the Porkies and award-winning photographer.

Rabbit Island Residency

Rabbit Island is a 91-acre forested island in Lake Superior three miles east of Michigan’s Keweenaw Peninsula.

Rabbit Island Residency programs provide time and space to investigate and challenge creative practices in a wilderness environment. Artists live and work on the island for 2-4 weeks, engaging directly with the landscape, responding to notions of conservation, ecology, and sustainability via their research and cultural practices. The residency reflects on the American continent’s four hundred year history of settlement and division of land and stems from the idea that in a developed society intelligent organization of wild spaces is one of the most civilized things we can pursue.