Hurry! New Residency Project being offered for WNC Artists Impacted by Helene

For artists that live in Western North Carolina, Trillium Arts, based out of Mars Hill, is launching a new residency project in response to Hurricane Helene, with an application deadline of Friday, January 3.

Trillium Arts’ project, the Helene Emergency Artists Residencies (HEAR), gives four named artists the chance to take part in a regional residency that includes private accommodations for up to seven days along with a host of other offerings.

The four winners, in addition to the seven-day artist suite, will receive: a $700 relief stipend; a shared use of facilities at the location including a fire pit, hot tub and waterfall area; the access to use a variety of supplies and onsite creative spaces that include a contemplation gazebo and a 380-square-foot open air, covered workspace; basic kitchen supplies. household goods, access to high speed fiber optic internet; and laundry.

There will also be a welcome dinner for the chosen residents, and those who gain the award are encouraged to use the time for restoration and rejuvenation, along with creating in their various fields of art.

Trillium Arts, the organization offering the HEAR artist awards, is a residency center located in the Blue Ridge Mountains that provides areas for regional, national and international artists in multiple disciplines to have time and space to create in. The center not only poses itself as a “creative home away from home,” it offers a variety of programs that foster creativity, generating deeper appreciation for the arts in an ecological environment. Since launching its residency programs in 2020, more than 125 dancers, writers, visual artists and others have been in residence for one or two weeks.

Western North Carolina artists of all disciplines substantially impacted by Hurricane Helene are invited to apply.  This regional residency is open to arts professionals 18 years or older who reside in the 26 counties in Western North Carolina impacted by Hurricane Helene. 

The last day for applications is on Friday, January 3. After the residency winners are chosen, additional information will be sent out, detailing what to expect for the stays during February and March 2025. For more details, check out the application form online at their website.