2026 Erie Canal Artists in Residence (Due Sep. 7)
2026 Erie Canal Artists in Residence
Deadline: September 7th, 2025
In partnership with the New York State Canal Corporation (Canal Corp.), the Erie Canal Museum is seeking two (2) Erie Canal Artists-in-Residence for a period of one (1) year. The Erie Canal Museum is committed to building a diverse and inclusive team. We strongly encourage members of traditionally underrepresented communities to apply.
The Residencies will focus on a year-long creative inquiry into the Erie Canal, reflecting on its past, contemplating its current condition, and considering its future. These Residencies are for Artists who wish to engage with the Canal and adjacent Canalway Trails, Canal Corp. and Museum staff, Canal facilities, New York’s Canal communities, and Canal visitors.
The 2026 Residencies will be dedicated to projects that reflect upon the Canal’s physical, environmental, and social condition and history; materiality; and context. The Artist’s project must directly address the Canal.
Applicants shall propose a specific creative visual project for their Residency. Projects may be journalistic, documentary, representational, or conceptual, and may include and/or be accompanied by text/writing, but must be able to be exhibited in a gallery setting. The subject of the project shall be identified by the applicant, but proposals must be a creative inquiry of the Canal and consider a fuller, more complete account of the Canal’s past, present, and future than what has traditionally been told. The applicant shall identify their target audience(s) and how their project will be shared with that audience and with the public-at-large. While studies of Canal communities are encouraged, the Canal and its context must be central to the project. Projects may focus on key areas of the Canal or the entire system. The New York State Canal System includes 524 miles of navigable waterways. Artists should consider that scale when developing their proposal.
Artist Stipend: The total funding for each Artist for the one-year Residency is $10,000, which will be paid in (4) equal quarterly payments.