Bismarck, ND – The North Dakota Parks & Recreation Department and North Dakota Council on the Arts are accepting applications for the Artist in Residency program. Artists of all disciplines are encouraged to apply.
The Artist in Residency program provides artists the opportunity to stay and work in our state parks, offering unique environments where they’ll draw inspiration, demonstrate their skills, and invite park visitors of all ages to connect art with the outdoors.
Three artists will be invited to stay at one of the following parks as a collaborative effort to incorporate arts into the educational programming conducted by the North Dakota Parks & Recreation Department:
- Cross Ranch State Park August 4-13, 2025
- Turtle River State Park August 10-17, 2025
- Fort Ransom State Park June 2-8, 2026
“This partnership with North Dakota Council on the Arts allows us to create meaningful connections between the arts, nature and outdoor education,” said Cody Schulz, North Dakota Parks & Recreation Director. “These residencies invite artists to interpret our landscapes through their unique lenses, while giving park visitors the chance to experience nature and creativity in a new way.”
Artworks generated from this program portray North Dakota’s beauty through the eyes and ears of contributing artists to enrich generations of park visitors. The ND Parks and Recreation Department has highlighted several artists’ work with video interviews which can be viewed at https://www.parkrec.nd.gov/art-parks.
This project is supported in part by a grant from North Dakota Council on the Arts, which receives funding from the state legislature and the National Endowment for the Arts.
“At NDCA, we recognize that the arts are part of everyday life, and there’s no better setting for that than our state parks,” said Jessica Christy, Executive Director of North Dakota Council on the Arts. “This residency provides artists with the time and space to create, while allowing visitors an opportunity to engage with the arts in meaningful ways.”
Participating artists are required to be North Dakota residents, and provide a minimum of two onsite presentations, one of them being a hands-on workshop providing park visitors of all ages an opportunity to try out the artist’s skills, methods, and/or tools. Artists are also required to donate a piece of art representing their style and reflecting their residency to the park’s collection.
Interested artists can obtain additional information and an application at https://forms.office.com/g/y14EkKJRwx. Applications must be sent via email to josh.steffan@nd.gov on or before May 23, 2025.
The mission of the North Dakota Parks and Recreation Department is to enrich generations through experiences that connect people and places.