How To Become An Artist-In-Residence: What It Is and Career Path

What is an artist-in-residence and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Quoted Expert

Nathaniel Foley

Are you looking for a new and inventive way to use your artistic talents? If you'd like a change of scenery, then becoming an artist-in-residence may be exactly what you need. Artist-in-residence programs give artists the opportunity to live and work outside of their usual environments. During their residency, they contribute to programs incorporated within larger institutions, such as museums, universities, or galleries. These programs provide artists with time to reflect, research, or produce work. Depending on the talent or skill involved, the program may be entitled composer-in-residence or writer-in-residence.

Residencies vary in length, lasting from two weeks to six months or sometimes even a year. The artist-in-residence frequently gets special access to the institution's collections, spaces, and expertise necessary to inspire and do their job. In return, they provide the institution with new knowledge, ideas, and products. They may also facilitate a learning environment that encourages knowledge and respect for other cultures or backgrounds.

Many institutions establish terms that guest artists have to comply with, such as an exhibition at the end of the period or a project, achieved by collaboration with other artists or cooperation with the public. If you're interested in finding a residency, no specific education is required. However, you'll need to apply to the program you're interested in by providing documentation, a curriculum vitae, a motivation, and, if necessary, a project proposal.

What general advice would you give to an Artist-In-Residence?

Nathaniel Foley

Assistant Professor of Art & Design, University of Indianapolis

Creatives must possess the confidence to sell and speak about themselves and their multifaceted and transferable skill sets. As creative problem-solvers, artists place themselves in a unique position to be able to engage all facets of the job market to positively contribute to today's society. Never place yourself in a mindset of only being able to function as a starving artist as you have gone through extensive training to think, take risks, communicate, and make differently than other disciplines, which sets you apart and provides you a unique opportunity to craft your own path. Do not be afraid to take risks by pursuing jobs that might not completely fit your perceived path because they will open doors and opportunities in the future.

ScoreArtist-In-ResidenceUS Average

Salary

4.2

Avg. Salary $53,528

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability Level

3.5

Growth Rate 6%

Growth Rate 0.3%

Diversity

3.9

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.63%

Asian 7.64%

Black or African American 4.38%

Hispanic or Latino 14.49%

Unknown 5.57%

White 67.29%

Gender

female 59.20%

male 40.80%

Age - 39

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 39

Stress Level

3.5

Stress level is moderate

7.1 - high

Complexity Level

6.1

Complexity Level is intermediate

7 - challenging

Work Life Balance

7.7

Work Life balance is good

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become an artist-in-residence

Explore artist-in-residence education requirements

Most common artist-in-residence degrees

Bachelor's

66.2 %

Master's

21.6 %

Associate

5.2 %

Start to develop specific artist-in-residence skills

Skills	Percentages
Fine Arts	13.57%
Graphic Design	11.55%
Art History	8.22%
Printmaking	7.08%
Sculpture	6.32%

Research artist-in-residence duties and responsibilities

Demonstrate effective communication skills, well-execute and expedient application of makeup to achieve the look guests desires.
Subject matter cover has include color theory, rules in creating pictorial space, and mathematics in art.
Create and implement class syllabus, day to day exercises, and monthly supply list pertaining to assign budget.
Schedule afterschool art making classes to grades k-12 where students collaboratively create permanent large-scale murals that are install into the school.

Prepare your artist-in-residence resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your artist-in-residence resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on an artist-in-residence resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose From 10+ Customizable Artist-In-Residence Resume templates

Build a professional Artist-In-Residence resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your Artist-In-Residence resume.

Apply for artist-in-residence jobs

Now it's time to start searching for an artist-in-residence job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

Browse job boards for relevant postings
Consult your professional network
Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
Watch out for job scams

How do artists-in residence rate their job?

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Artist-In-Residence reviews

A zippia user wrote a review on Mar 2019

Cons

1) High school degree is not always requested, mainly AS degree or BS degree is on high demand so those who graduated should head to college afterwards. 2) since college degrees are in higher demand, there are no jobs for me. So I am left to sell my art on t-shirts or textiles. 3)Masters had it easy these days artist have fucked up life if they don't belong to community or special grouping they are considered frauds.