Residency Program
November 2022 cohort Olga Herrera, Joe Mama-Nitzberg, and Iliana Emilia García in front of Surf Point Foundation. Photo by Heather Henriksen.
Overview
Surf Point’s Residency Program launched in September 2019 with the goal of giving time, space and support to visual artists and art professionals. The year-round program offers residents three weeks of live-work space at Surf Point.
Basic Details
Since our launch, we have operated year-round with capacity for up to four residents in separate live/work quarters for three weeks per month. Each resident receives an honorarium of $1500, and is responsible for funding travel and shipping supplies. All residents are nominated through our nomination system and given access to a handbook with details of our program and events, including a studio visit, a museum visit, a portrait photography session, a guided nature exploration, and more.
Philosophy
Surf Point de-prioritizes fixed notions of productivity, performance, and urgency to give residents the opportunity to focus on their practice, connect with peers and community, and enjoy the natural environment. We are committed to fostering a diverse and inclusive arts community where members from all backgrounds can thrive.
Nomination & Selection Process
SPF uses a nomination system (rather than an open call for applications) to ensure a diverse pool of U.S.-based nominees while maximizing staff resources. SPF invites alumni and a limited number of select and rotating art leaders from around the country to nominate one person. Once nominated, nominees are selected by lottery to ensure that all are considered equally. Surf Point balances accepted residents with a waitlist in case of cancellations.
Resident must be:
Visual artists and/or curators, art writers or other art professionals with a work history of 5+ years in their field
Those who seek a rural, self-directed experience in concert with a small group of fellow residents.
U.S. residents or citizens.
No age minimum or maximum.
Kind and considerate of others.
Surf Point Prioritizes:
People with a variety of identities, past experiences and career trajectories.
Women, BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, those with accessibility needs, and those with a connection to or residing in Maine.
People for whom an experience like this would be meaningful and transformative.
People who have had fewer opportunities to participate in residencies.
Alumni Statistics
from 9/19 launch to 3/23
Age Range
At the time of their residency, residents ranged between the ages of
24 - 75
Ethnicity
46%
BIPOC Residents
Locale
NY (36%) ME (22%) MA (12%)
Alumni reside in 25 states, top 3 include
Gender
68%
Women or Non-Binary
Occupation
Arts Professionals
36%
Occupation
Artists
87%
FAQ’s
Do you accept unsolicited applications?
Unsolicited applications are not accepted due to the fact that an application system is administratively burdensome for a staff of two and a year-round program for 36 people.
How do I nominate someone or get nominated to apply?
Our nomination process works in the following way: We canvas selected arts professionals throughout the US for a few names based on our criteria, and all the past residents can offer one nomination. Unfortunately, as of right now, there is no way to request to be nominated or to nominate someone without being invited through our process. We invite you to sign up for our email list and/or Instagram to follow the program as it develops.
Elaine K. Ng ‘19 at work in the Pool Room Studio, December 2019. Photo courtesy Elaine K. Ng.
Program Nominators, 2019-2024
Surf Point’s program is fueled by a robust nomination system that includes past residents and arts professionals from across the U.S. researched by the staff and board. Listed below are the names of the nominators and their affiliations at the time of their nomination. Nominators are invited to nominate one time.
Tracy L. Adler
Johnson-Pote Director, Ruth and Elmer Wellin Museum of Art, Hamilton College
Alejandro Anreus
PhD Professor of Art History/Latin American/Latinx Studies; William Paterson University (retired); President Emeritus, Joan Mitchell Foundation (2014-2018)
Rachael Arauz
Independent Curator
Stephanie Atkins
Director of the Local Program, National Performance Network
Yona Backer
Founder, Third Streaming
Horace Ballard
Curator of American Art, Williams College Museum of Art
Stephen Benenson
Artist, Maine
Jordia Benjamin
Deputy Director, Indigo Arts Alliance
Mark Bessire
Director, Portland Museum of Art
Katherine Bradford
Artist, Maine and New York
Isolde Brielmaier
PhD Deputy Director, New Museum
Natasha Bunten
Director, Culture Workers Education Center
Sarah Calderon
Managing Director, Artplace America
Emma Chubb
Charlotte Feng Ford '83 Curator of Contemporary Art, Smith College Museum of Art
Janie Cohen
Director, Flemming Museum of Art, University of Vermont
Gianna Commito
Artist; Professor of Painting, Kent State
Sharon Corwin
President and CEO of the Terra Foundation for American Art
Luis Croquer
Henry and Lois Foster Director and Chief Curator, Rose Art Museum
Jenna Crowder
Artist and Writer; Editor of The Chart
Dina Deitsch
Director and Chief Curator, Tufts University Art Galleries
Ryan Dennis
Curator & Programs Director, Project Row Houses
Daisy Desrosiers
Director and Chief Curator, The Gund Gallery at Kenyon College
Grant Drumheller
Artist, New Hampshire
Kristina Durocher
Director, Museum of Art of the University of New Hampshire
Kristy Edmunds
Center for the Art of Performance UCLA
Rich Entel
Artist, Maine
Ruth Estevez
Director and Chief Curator, Amant
Diane Fraher
American Indian Artists Incorporated
Pamela Franks
Class of 1956 Director, Williams College Museum of Art
Laura Freid
President, Maine College of Art and Design
Lisa Freiman
Professor of Art History, Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU)
Lee Glazer
Director, Lunder Institute for American Art
Lisa Gold
Executive Director, Asian American Arts Alliance
Aimee Good
Director of Education and Community Programs, The Drawing Center
Anne and Frank Goodyear
Directors, Bowdoin College Museum of Art
Diana Greenwold
Lunder Curator of American Art, National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian
Esther Grimm
Executive Director, 3Arts
Marcela Guerrero
DeMartini Family Curator, Whitney Museum
Naiomy Guerrero Curatorial Fellow, Perez Art Museum
Danny Gugger
Artist + Designer, NY
Paul Ha Director
ARTS - MIT List Visual Arts Center
Kelsey Halliday
Johnson Director, SPACE
Mary Harding
Director, George Marshall Store Gallery
Margaret Hickey
Professor, Mass Art
Avery Willis Hoffman
Artistic Director, Brown University
Randi Hopkins
Director of Visual Arts, Boston Center for the Arts
Heather Hubbs
Executive Director, New Art Dealers Alliance
April Hunt
Founder and CEO, sparkplugPR
Kemi Ilesanmi
Executive Director, The Laundromat Project
Marisa Mazria Katz
Eyebeam Center for the Future of Journalism
Jon Kessler
Professor, Columbia University
Stuart Kestenbaum
Poet
Katy Kline
Independent Curator
Corina Larkin
Director, CUE Art Foundation
Clara Lieu
Founder, Art Prof
David Little
Director, Mead Art Museum
Michael Mansfield
Director, Ogunquit Museum of American Art
James McAnally
Director, The Luminary
Suzette McAvoy
Center for Maine Contemporary Art
Donna McNeil
Director, Ellis-Beauregard Foundation
Dan Mills
Director, Museum of Art and Lecturer in the Humanities Bates College
Jess Muise
Director, Engine
Sina Najafi
Cabinet Magazine
Kristina Newman-Scott
President, BRIC Arts & Media
Alyssa Nitchun
Executive Director, Leslie-Lohman Museum of Art
Meg Onli
Associate Curator, Institute of Contemporary Art Philadelphia
Larry Ossei-Mensah
Museum of Contemporary Art, Detroit
Tricia Paik
Director, Mount Holyoke College Art Museum
Kymberly Pinder
Deputy Director, MassArt
Laura Raicovich
Writer and Curator
Carolyn Ramo
Executive Director, Artadia
Richard Saunders
Director, Middlebury College Museum of Art
Hilary Schaffner
Independent Curator
Sadia Quraeshi Shepard
Assistant Professor of Film Studies, Wesleyan University
Brian Sholis
Independent writer, editor, curator, and consultant
Stephanie Sparling
Williams Addison Gallery
Molly Surno Davis
Founder, Push Projects
Leila Tamari
Founder + Principal, This Place Works
Jacqueline Terrassa
Carolyn Muzzy Director, Colby College Museum of Art
Grant Wahlquist
Director, Grant Wahlquist Gallery
Abbey Williams
Artist; Director, Art Matters Foundation