About the Residency

Great Meadows Foundation is proud to announce its support of a fully funded, month-long residency at ARTEFORA - Centro per l’Arte Contemporanea in the heart of the Langhe countryside in Piedmont, Italy, taking place from June 8 to July 10, 2026. Eligible artists must have been full-time residents in the Great Meadows Foundation region (the 120 counties of the Commonwealth of Kentucky and Floyd and Clark counties in Indiana) since January 2025. 

Artefora will support the artist through curatorial and professional mentoring, aimed at enriching and deepening the research and production process, as well as promotion of the visibility of the artist’s work among the public and professionals active in the field of contemporary art. The selected artist will be expected to participate in talks, workshops, and/or public activities agreed upon during the residency, with the aim of presenting and sharing their artistic research in the most effective way.

Priority will be given to project proposals aligned with the values of the program and oriented toward research-based practices that engage with the territory, nature, and landscape as central elements of the artistic process. Particular emphasis will be placed on projects that center on the expressive languages of painting and drawing, oriented toward the creation of  site-specific three-dimensional and wall-based installations. The residency will coincide with the Festival La Collina Sale Sempre, an annual contemporary art event that brings together national and international artists through a widespread program of exhibitions and cultural events, offering the artist a unique opportunity for deeper engagement with international audiences and professionals.

About ARTEFORA – Centro per l’Arte Contemporanea 

ARTEFORA – Center for Contemporary Art was founded in 2021 as a space for research and production dedicated to contemporary art, in dialogue with scientific and humanistic disciplines, with the aim of fostering the cultural growth of the territory and environmental sustainability. Through exhibitions, cultural projects, seminars, and workshops, ARTEFORA develops collaborations with national and international artistic and cultural institutions, promoting relational practices between art, nature, and landscape. It also coordinates artistic projects and residency programs in collaboration with institutions and entrepreneurial partners, contributing to the development of a distributed cultural network based on the exchange of knowledge, skills, and professional practices.

ARTEFORA is based in a late 19th-century farmhouse in the heart of the Langhe, a territory recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, in the municipality of Castiglione Tinella (CN). Operating in close connection with institutions and cultural realities across the surrounding area, its more than 700 m² of spaces—once dedicated to wine production—are now devoted to research, exhibition, and the sharing of experiences, allowing contemporary art to engage in constant dialogue with other forms of humanistic knowledge.

About the Festival La Collina Sale Sempre 

ARTEFORA is the creator and promoter of the Festival La Collina Sale Sempre, an annual event dedicated to contemporary art that brings together artists of national and international standing through a widespread program of exhibitions and cultural events, developed in collaboration with public and private institutions of the region. The festival also fosters collaborations with international institutions, curators, and art centers, encouraging the exchange of contemporary artistic practices and strengthening the cultural projection of the territory on a global scale. 

 

What the ARTEFORA Residency Provides

  • Accommodation in Castagnole delle Lanze 
  • Access to a studio with a table, chairs, and easel, with both natural and artificial light
  • Production and curatorial support
  • A final public presentation (exhibition, talk, or screening)
  • Opportunities for professional development and networking

Eligibility

To be eligible for this residency, applicants must

  • be full-time residents in the Great Meadows Foundation region: the 120 counties of the Commonwealth of Kentucky and Floyd and Clark counties in Indiana
  • have held their primary residence in the region since January 2025
  • hold a current driver’s license and be comfortable driving through rural countryside roads
  • have research-based practices that engage with the territory, nature, and landscape as central elements of the artistic process
  • be available for agreed upon talks, workshops, and/or public activities
  • be comfortable engaging with an international artistic context

Artist and Proposal Priorities

Priority will be given to project proposals aligned with the values of the program and oriented toward research-based practices that engage with the territory, nature, and landscape as central elements of the artistic process. ARTEFORA is seeking artists interested in developing projects capable of establishing a dialogue with the local context and its communities, through practices of observation, exchange, and participation. Particular attention will be given to projects that demonstrate a sensitive and conscious engagement with the natural environment and the cultural landscape of the Langhe and Monferrato regions.

Particular emphasis will be placed on projects that center on the expressive languages of painting and drawing, oriented toward the creation of site-specific three-dimensional and wall-based installations. These practices are understood as tools for research into the definition of space as habitat and the natural context as a sensitive and generative matrix, capable of activating processes of observation, relation, and imagination, and of offering the artist a space for dialogue and openness toward new perspectives of meaning and vision.

Application Process

Applications will open on Monday, February 2, 2026 and close at Midnight EST on Sunday, March 1, 2026. All applicants are required to submit their completed application through the online form available here or by emailing Natalie Weis at natalie@greatmeadowsfoundation.org. 

APPLICATIONS SUBMITTED AFTER THE DEADLINE WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED. We recommend submitting your application well before the deadline in case you encounter any technical difficulties. Please email info@greatmeadowsfoundation.org with any questions; we are happy to help.

Review and Notification

All applications are reviewed by a panel of professional curators within the grant region who will produce a shortlist of five candidates, who will be notified by March 8, 2026. The shortlisted candidates must be available for video interviews with a panel of arts professionals at ARETFORA during the week of March 9, 2026.

The winning applicant will be notified on or before March 14, 2026. The artist awarded the residency will be given further instruction and will be required to submit a final report no later than 14 days after the completion of their residency. 

Application guidelines

Read through these guidelines before filling out the online application. We strongly recommend applicants compose their answers to Questions 1 - 5 (Section 4) in a separate document before copying and pasting them into the application.

When ready, the application form is available at this link. 

APPLY

 

Section 1: Personal Information

We ask artists to supply contact information as well as their website and/or Instagram handle if they have one.

Section 2: Formatting Your CV

CVs should be submitted as a one-page PDF with 12-point Arial font, single line spacing. Please include your name and a link to your website and/or Instagram handle on this page.

CVs more than one page in length will not be accepted, so be selective and include only significant exhibitions and accomplishments in your artistic career. We recommend including these categories: Education; Exhibitions (group and solo); Publications and/or published reviews; Residencies, Fellowships, and Grants; Public Collections.

An example of a properly formatted CV can be found at this link.

Section 3: Submitting Images

Applicants are required to submit evidence of ten recent works, or works that are relevant to their project proposal. On a ten-page PDF, list one work on each page. Use a still of each work on each page as an identifier and provide the following information.

  • The title of the work
  • Date
  • Medium or format of presentation
  • Dimensions and/or duration

Section 4: Application Questions

Question 1 (artist statement)

Give a brief outline of your artistic practice. What motivates your practice? Please describe your subject matter and the intention behind your work. (maximum 1500 characters)

Question 2 (proposed residency activities)

Give a brief description of your proposed residency activities. What materials and equipment do you plan to bring (if any), and what materials or equipment will you need at the residency? (maximum 1000 characters)

Question 3 (interest in ARTEFORA)

What draws you to a residency at ARTEFORA? In what ways does your artistic practice engage with nature and the scientific and humanistic disciplines? How would your project help foster the cultural growth of the territory and environmental sustainability? (maximum 1500 characters)

Question 4 (previous residency experience)

Have you previously attended an artist residency? If so, please state the program, duration, and your experience. (maximum 1000 characters)

Question 5 (impact on your practice)

How would this residency impact your artistic practice? Why is this the right time in your career for this residency? (maximum 1000 characters)

About the Great Meadows Foundation:

Established in 2016 by contemporary art collector and philanthropist Al Shands (1928–2021), the Great Meadows Foundation is a non-profit, grant-giving organization based in Louisville, Kentucky. The foundation supports visual artists and professionals throughout Kentucky by providing opportunities for travel, research, and international engagement in contemporary art, in addition to hosting critics, curators, and arts professionals from outside the state. The Artist Professional Development Grant and Curator Travel grant programs strengthen the contemporary art discourse in the region by fostering critical dialogue, expanding networks, and raising the visibility and caliber of artists working in the state. Learn more at greatmeadowsfoundation.org.