artist residency

As a Studio Resident, you’ll have access to CAFAC’s well-equipped facilities in a range of fire arts forms. You’ll choose to focus on one or more of these areas:

• Blacksmithing: Shape metal with forge, hammer, and anvil to create decorative ironwork, tools, and more.

• Enamel: Fuse pigmented glass powder to metal to create durable graphical designs. An excellent way for illustrators and painters to dip a toe into the fire arts. CAFAC is home to a unique resource nationally: a public art-scale enameling kiln.

• Glass Lampworking/Torchworking: Melt and fuse glass rods with an oxy-fuel torch to create small sculptures, beads, and more.

• Stained Glass: Cut colored glass pieces and solder them into place using copper foil or lead came. 

• Jewelry/small sculpture: Create small pieces using precious metal clay, centrifugal and vacuum casting, soldering, and metalsmithing techniques.

• Metal Casting: Create molds of sand, clay, investment, or ceramic shell to cast pieces of aluminum, bronze, or iron.

• Neon: Bend glass tubing by hand to create glowing electric sculptures

• Welding: Fuse, cut, and color metals using gas torches and electric welders.

Residents will have access to CAFAC during all open hours (at least 50 hours per week) with the expectation that you’ll work in the facility about 15 hours per week. If you’re working in areas that require scheduled or intensive resources, such as casting or enameling, you may be asked to coordinate your work with our class schedules.

Prior to beginning project work, you’ll participate in a two-week training period that introduces our safety and equipment usage protocols so that you’re able to work independently.

Studio Residency Artist Benefits

In addition to four months of access to a well-equipped and maintained shop based in a dynamic learning environment, you’ll also receive:

• Private 8x8’ studio for storage (shared between two residents).

• Artist stipend of $1500.

• Materials and training stipend of $1200, for project supplies and 1-on-1 training by CAFAC teaching artists. CAFAC will manage this stipend initially, to provide connections to our vendors and resources, and turn over any balance to the resident at an agreed-upon point in the residency.

• Weekly one-hour check-ins with CAFAC’s Artistic Director and informal feedback from other community members.

• Opportunity for gallery exhibition and public opening at the end of the residency, including marketing and support from CAFAC’s Gallery Coordinator. Should residents choose to sell work in CAFAC’s gallery, sales are split 70/30 between the artist and CAFAC’s scholarship fund.

• A scholarship of up to $400 for classes taken at CAFAC during the residency period.

2025 Timeline:

• February 3rd: 2025 Studio Residency applications open

• February 22nd: Studio Residency info session

• March 17th: Studio Residency applications close

• Mid-Late April: Applicants are notified of decisions

• July 7th: Studio residency begins

• October 31st: Studio residency ends

New! More information coming soon.

CAFAC is home to a small gallery known as the Nokomis, which also provides artist consignment opportunities and hosts community events. As a Creative Exhibition Resident, your focus is this gallery space and curatorial exploration. You can mount a solo exhibition of your own work and/or incorporate the work of others through a group call. Unlike Studio Residency, the aim of Creative Exhibition is not to create a new body of work, but instead to creatively curate and display existing work. Your exhibition may include work in mediums not supported at CAFAC, but the intention is that you’ll draw on our fire arts resources in some way to realize your vision (e.g., creating ways to display artworks, activating the space beyond the typical show opening/closing).

The goal is to creatively utilize the Nokomis Gallery at CAFAC, including through events and activities that engage the public. The Creative Exhibition Residency is your opportunity to explore what curating is and what it can be, to push boundaries, and to try new things.

The residency provides opportunities for:

• Participation in classes, one-on-one training, and/or studio access at CAFAC.

• Additional community events, led by you, beyond our regular exhibition opening and closing. These may be revenue-generating events and you may choose to bring in additional collaborators.

• Transformation of the gallery space to create an immersive experience of your vision.

• Hands-on involvement in curatorial and exhibition mounting activities with support of the Gallery Coordinator.

Creative Exhibition Residency Artist Benefits

• Private 8x8’ studio for storage.

• Curatorial stipend of $1500.

• Materials and training stipend of $1200, for project supplies and 1-on-1 training by CAFAC teaching artists. CAFAC will manage this stipend initially, to provide connections to our vendors and resources, and turn over any balance to the resident at an agreed-upon point in the residency.

• Weekly one-hour check-ins with CAFAC’s Gallery Coordinator and informal feedback opportunities from other community members.

• Marketing support from CAFAC staff to promote gallery exhibition, public opening and other events hosted as part of the residency.

• Should exhibitors choose to sell work in CAFAC’s gallery, sales are split 70/30 between the artist and CAFAC’s scholarship fund.

• A scholarship of up to $400 for classes taken at CAFAC during the residency period.

2025 Timeline:

Specific dates will be announced in August 2025.

• September: 2025 Creative Exhibition Residency applications open

• October: Creative Exhibition Residency applications close

• Mid-Late November: Applicants are notified of decisions

• January: Creative Exhibition Residency begins

• April: Creative Exhibition Residency ends