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Houghton, MI – Applications for Isle Royale National Park’s 2018 Artist-in-Residence Program will be accepted between January 2 and February 16, 2018. This program provides artists the opportunity to become part of a long-established tradition of interpreting national parks through art.
The Artist-in-Residence Program is open to professional artists whose work can be inspired by the park’s unique character and offers writers, composers, and all visual and performing artists the opportunity to capture the moods and magic of Isle Royale through their particular art form.
The selected artist will be given the use of a canoe and a rustic cabin while on the island. The program runs from July through early September. Complimentary transportation to and from the island is provided on the Ranger III, a 165-foot ship operating from Houghton, Michigan. Each residency is scheduled for two to three weeks.
The Artist-in-Residence Program is co-sponsored by Isle Royale National Park, Isle Royale and Keweenaw Parks Association, and the Copper Country Community Arts Council. Artists will be enrolled in the National Park Service’s Volunteer in the Parks Program. During the residency, the artists will be asked to share their experience with the public through a weekly presentation or demonstration. The artists are required to donate to the park an art piece that is representative of their Isle Royale residency.
A panel of professionals from various art disciplines and a park representative will select the finalists. The selection is based on artistic integrity, ability to reside in a wilderness environment, a willingness to donate a finished piece of artwork inspired on the island, and the artists’ ability to relate and interpret the park through their art medium. The program is open to all art forms except those that would manipulate or disturb the parks fragile environment.
Isle Royale is ideally suited for an Artist-in-Residence Program. Wave-washed shores, boreal forests of spruce and fir, miles of ridge and valley topography, island-evolved wildlife, and a variety of wildflowers and other interesting plants inspire many. The island’s cultural history includes prehistoric copper mining, lighthouses, commercial fisheries, and maritime culture. Ninety-nine percent of the island is federally designated Wilderness, and in 1981 the park was designated as a U.S. Biosphere Reserve.
For 2018, there is a new online application process. Please visit the park’s Artist-in-Residence Program website for the new submission process: www.nps.gov/isro/getinvolved/artist-in-residence.htm.
To be considered, all application components must be digitally received by 11:59 pm on February 16, 2018. Entries received after February 16 will not be considered. Notification to all applicants will be made by May 1, 2018. For further information, visit the park’s website, call (906) 482-0984, or email isro_parkinfo@nps.gov.
