Jobs & Opportunities » Opportunities

2026 Interdisciplinary Residency

Type: Residencies, Workshops, Exchanges [View all]
Posted by: Oak Spring Garden Foundation
Deadline: Sat, May 31st, 2025

Purpose

The goal of this program is to provide individuals with the time and space to pursue their own creative projects alongside other Residents who may be examining plants, landscapes, gardens, and the natural world from different perspectives. Artists, conservation practitioners, researchers, scholars, scientists, and/or writers are encouraged to apply to our Interdisciplinary Residency Program. This is OSGF’s flagship Residency program that was started in 2021.  Now, in 2025, OSGF has hosted over 150 Interdisciplinary Residents, and they plan to award about 40 Interdisciplinary Residencies annually. OSGF hopes their Residents will develop meaningful relationships around shared creative interests, and find abundant inspiration while at OSGF.

Interdisciplinarity is a key value of OSGF, and this Residency provides ample opportunities for Residents to explore OSGF’s various resources.  Beyond the time devoted to their projects, an Interdisciplinary Resident’s typical day at Oak Spring might include a walk to enjoy the landscape or birds; an appointment to visit the Oak Spring Library; and/or a morning spent volunteering at the BCCF or in the formal garden.  These optional activities provide Residents time to learn from, and interact with OSGF staff.  None of these kinds of activities are required, and OSGF understands that many Residents might want to spend most of their time in their writing or studio space.  This program supports varying Residents, needs, and strikes a balance of socialization, and independent work time.

Residents are not required to make work that addresses OSGF’s site specifically, but they should work on projects related to OSGF’s mission.  OSGF often finds that Residents who use their time for research and inspiration are most satisfied with this Residency experience.

Learn More and Apply Here: https://www.osgf.org/residencies/interdisciplinary-residency

 

What We Provide

The first week of the Residency will include required tours of the formal garden, landscape, and library.  This orientation period is important to introducing Residents to OSGF’s site, resources and staff.  After this, Residents will be provided about 3 meals per week, and these are a important means of building community among Residents, OSGF staff, and other visitors who might be on-site.  OSGF’s Chef Jason creates artistic, delicious meals, that are inspired and crafted using the fresh produce grown on-site at the BCCF.  Residents are required to join all provided meals, and will take turns helping clean the dishes and space afterwards.  Beyond the weekly meals, OSGF trusts Residents to use their time as they best see fit, and there will generally be a few optional weekly activities or field trips for Residents to participate in.  The final week of the Residency, Residents are asked (but not required) to participate in a Residency Showcase. The Residency Showcase is an informal opportunity for staff and other program participants who might be on-site to visit with the Residents and learn about what they have worked on during their time at Oak Spring.

Residents are housed in nicely appointed shared accommodations. Each Resident will have a private bedroom and bathroom, and share a living space and kitchen with 1 - 3 other Residents. Visual artists will have 24/7 access to a studio within 0.75 miles of their accommodations, and other Residents will have a designated writing space in their accommodations.

Award

Residents selected for a 5-week session receive a $2,000 individual grant, and Residents selected for a 2-week session receive an $800 individual grant. Residents will be asked to arrange transportation to Dulles International Airport or Union Station, and OSGF will provide ground transportation to our site in Upperville, VA.

Residents who complete this program will be able to apply to our annual Perennial Residency Program.

Eligibility

OSGF recognizes that individuals may be at different stages in their lives when they arrive at a point where a dedicated period in residency may would helpful to their work. There is no expectation that Residents be at a particular point in their career to apply for this program. OSGF does, however, expect that Residents be considerate, able to live with a housemate who might be in a different stage than themselves, and Residents must be interested in interacting with the other members of their cohort, as well as other program participants who might be at OSGF.

OSGF does not allow pets or overnight visitors during the Residency. Residents must arrive on the first day of the program and depart on the last day of the program.

Dates

5-week Session I: Monday, March 2, 2026 – Sunday, April 5, 2026

5-week Session II: Monday, June 1, 2026 – Sunday, July 5, 2026

5-week Session III: Monday, July 13, 2026 – Sunday, August 16, 2026

5-week Session IV: Monday, September 21, 2026 – Sunday, October 25, 2026

2-week Session I: Sunday, April 14, 2026 - Sunday, April 26, 2026

2-week Session II: Sunday, August 23, 2026 - Sunday, September 6, 2026

Application process

The application portal is now open and will close May 31st, 2024. Please note that there is one application for all of OSGF’s 2025 Residency and Fellowship programs, and you will be prompted to select which programs you would like to be considered for. You will be asked to submit:

a resume/curriculum vitae (not to exceed two pages),

a 200 - 300 word statement on your artistic practice,

a 200 - 300 word statement about how your work relates to Oak Spring Garden Foundation’s mission to “perpetuate and share the gifts of Rachel (“Bunny”) Lambert Mellon, including her residence, garden, estate and the Oak Spring Garden Library, to serve the public interest. OSGF is dedicated to inspiring and facilitating scholarship and public dialogue on the history and future of plants, including the culture of gardens and landscapes and the importance of plants for human well-being,”

a 200 word or less response to the prompt: Please describe a time that you were part of a community. What role did you serve in the community, and what aspects of being in community did you enjoy the most?

Work Samples

For visual artists: 5 - 10 images, please include the dimensions, year, medium, and title of each work sample. 
For creative non-fiction, fiction, essayists, or other writers: 7 - 10 pages total that demonstrate your current interests. Please use 12-point font, 1-inch margins, and double-space your writing sample.  Do not include photocopies of published work, title pages, tables of contents or HYPERLINKS.  Please be sure to state the genre of the work sample.
For time-based artists, including: filmmakers, musicians, dancers, and performance artists: 10 minutes cumulatively of work samples.  OSGF encourages video files to be uploaded directly to Submittable, but when necessary, we also accept links to vimeo or other external sites as long as the appropriate passwords are provided.
For poets and playwrights: you may submit 7 - 10 pages total.  Poetry may be spaced as needed, and scripts should follow standard script formatting. 

Selection Process

Residents are carefully selected through a multi-round review process in which OSGF staff, Residency alumni, and external jurors review and score applications. Residents are ultimately selected by panels of external reviewers who are established and working in fields or practices relevant to OSGF’s mission. The primary criteria for scoring applicants include: an applicant’s current work’s relationship to the OSGF mission; potential of applicant; and quality of work samples. 

Due to the high volume of applications OSGF receives, unfortunately we are not able to provide individualized feedback to applicants who are not selected for a Residency.  In most cases, we do not allow selected Residents to defer their award.

 

Posted on Fri, March 21st, 2025
Expires on Sat, May 31st, 2025

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