The Newport artist residency, AiR/Newport is designed to encourage the creative, intellectual, and personal growth of emerging to established visual artists and designers by giving them the time, space, and solitude needed to create, apart from the daily demands of production and deadlines. Our hope is that some aspect of Newport County’s architecture, flora, history, or oceanfront geography will result in resident artists further developing their current practice or the creation of new work. And in turn, we anticipate learning from those creatives who join us. In addition to having access to the Newport Art Museum’s collection and archives, we will introduce resident artists/designers to the leaders and rich holdings of other cultural and history museums in Newport, as well as Rhode Island’s universities and art schools. Since its founding in 1912, the Newport Art Museum has valued art and artists as essential components of a vibrant, healthy, and informed community. Therefore, we consider a community engagement activity, to be determined by the resident artists, a priority. We are committed to cultivating a culture of inclusion and believe the collective sum of our individual differences, life experiences, knowledge, identities, and histories help ensure that our Museum is and will continue to be, a welcoming place for all.

The mission of the Newport Art Museum is to share a diversity of art and experiences that spark reflection, inspiration, discovery, and connection within our Newport community and beyond. While in residence, all artists/designers will reside in a studio apartment located on the Museum’s 3-acre campus and have access to a dedicated ‘clean’ studio space within the Museum’s school building, as well as the Museum’s galleries, grounds, permanent collection (by appointment) and behind-the-scene tours of other Newport cultural organizations. Artists in residence will be expected to share their work with our audiences through an artist talk, and drop-in workshop or experience accessible for all ages, free and open to the public. Willingness to provide studio visit opportunities for students are welcomed but are not required.

We encourage artists from BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, and other historically marginalized communities to apply.

AiR Newport 2024 is generously supported by:

EJMP Fund for Philanthropy
Edward Kane