Winter residents work out of ~100 square foot studios in Maxon Mills: a historic grain mill in the heart of town. They have 24-hour access to their studios and our ceramics studio. (Please note that our wood shop and print shop are closed in the winter.)
All residents live just a short walk away in one of our three residency houses, the Schoolhouse, the Lodge, and the HVA, where accommodations include a private bedroom, shared living room/study, dining room, kitchen, and bathrooms.
Two to three times per month, creative professionals will visit to give short lectures on their work and make one-on-one studio visits with our residents. Our embedded critics, Adam and Lauren of Ghost of a Dream, lead monthly group studio visits, while Co-Director Eve Biddle and our Director of Artistic Programming, Will Hutnick, make one-on-one studio visits with residents. All residents are also invited to participate in a monthly evening of artist’s talks and presentations, and are encouraged to be available on the last Saturday of every month to participate in our Open Studios program.
Our winter residency open call is usually open from early March to early May. We finish review and notify applicants by early August.
Applicants are evaluated by a review panel composed of our Co-Directors, Director of Artistic Programming, and professionals in the field. Residents are selected based on the quality of their work, commitment to their practice, and ability to engage with the community at large.
We offer our Winter Residency on a sliding scale, from $0–600. It costs us $5,000 per person to host the residency. Most of this is covered by the generous support of donors and grants, but we recommend a contribution of $600 per month per person from artists who are able to contribute. We also offer 10+ fellowships per year, which include a no-fee residency plus an honorarium.
"I had a really great time in Wassaic thanks to you, and I love being with our cohorts, we kinda thought and felt that you and juries considered our fits a lot.
Actually I already a bit sappy and miss my studio, room, and even a train sound. Thank you four your studio visit, kindness, and welcoming which is so special. Everybody appreciated so highly of your studio visits too—that means you have such a great energy and insight!"
Hyunjin Park
2025 Winter Resident
"The sense of community at the Wassaic Project is something special! I had a wonderful time meeting amazing artists and art professionals who showed genuine interest in my work and growth as an artist. This has been an unforgettable experience, and I’m confident I’ll stay connected with the project and previous residents, who have now become an integral part of my network."
Diana Guerra
2025 Winter Resident
"I wanted to say thank you so much for having me as an artist in residence at Wassaic Project in January. I had a wonderful stay and everyone was so welcoming and generous. I got a lot out of my time in the studio and from the studio visits and artist talks. I'm very grateful to have been able to attend and meet so many fantastic and dedicated artists. I also wanted to say thank you for your studio visit with me as well! Your feedback and advice were incredibly helpful, especially at this time. The drawings I made while at the Wassaic Project are a new direction for my practice, and our conversation helped me think about how I would like to evolve the work. I was very encouraged and motivated after our chat!"
Erin Goodine
2025 Winter Resident
"Just wanted to say a huge thank you for making us all feel so welcome and supported over the last few weeks. Selfishly, I got a ton or writing and thinking done. More collectively, I met some truly lovely humans — both fellow residents and project team members — who I hope I’ll know for many years to come. Thanks again, enjoy the spring, and hopefully see you soon."
Martin Jackson
2025 Winter Resident
"Our experience at the Wassaic Project during the winter of 2025 is forever etched in our family’s memories. It’s already remarkable that the program accommodates families and provides housing. Not only for a foreign artist like me, I think the experience becomes unparalleled if you also have a personal studio but can share with a group of people (team, residents, and visitors) from whom you can learn a lot. And one cannot omit the surrounding tranquility of a village worthy of a movie: to see daily the river and the forests deal the low temperatures, to witness in the snow the tracks of the deer (or to imagine that maybe even a bear passed by). Simply, thank you."
Gerardo Pulido
2025 Winter Family Resident
“Thank you, Will for all you did to make our stay truly welcoming, memorable, and productive. I hope you enjoyed your birthday weekend. I sincerely appreciate you including us all. Every residency should have a dance party.”
Erin Kono
2025 Winter Resident
"My time at Wassaic was truly magical, allowing me to connect with so many incredible artists and share my work in a meaningful way. Amazingly, I'm still able to stay connected with them, which has made the experience even more special."
Heejo Kim
2025 Winter Resident
"I'm incredibly grateful for my time there, and to have the opportunity to contribute to the space and paint a mural for the exhibition. It really was an absolute dream. I loved spending time with you all, and so can't thank you enough for your support and generosity!"
George Goodnow
2025 Winter Resident
Thank you so much for a wonderful residency, and for all of the hard work you put into making it so wonderful! It really was a pleasure getting to know you better. I enjoyed our studio visit immensely and was able to make a "level 8.5" test while there — and am in love with it! I also made some great friends at the residency and really enjoyed the staff and cohort as a whole. My studio visit with Carolina was phenomenal, thank you for making that happen. She is really just so great on so many levels. I am thrilled to be a part of the Wassaic alumni community and look forward to staying in touch."
Heather Renée Russ
2025 Winter Resident
"Your residency is excellent, folks! I left feeling inspired and rejuvenated. The connections I made too were beautiful. I love my cohort. We all suited each other so well."
Nanci Amaka
2025 Winter Family Resident
"Thanks so much for including my work in the last exhibition. That was really a great propeller to get me back into my practice and remembering what I used to make and why. And then doing the residency off the back of that was a really nice transition. I'm thinking a lot about what's next. Special extra thanks to Will + Dani (and shout out to Cate) for helping with install and de-install of the work. Would've been so hard without you. And thanks for the great time at the residency! For all the rides, studio visits, hangs... Feels like I did a lot and so little at the same time. But best of all made some great connections."
Judy Suh
2025 Winter Resident
