The Catskill Center offers an Artist-in-Residence Program every year, open to visual artists, writers, poets, composers, performing artists and environmental researchers who have an affinity for the natural world. Residencies can last up to five days, from Sunday night through Friday evening, from June 17 through October 25. The work produced should foster an appreciation of the environment through the aesthetics of art.
Since the early 19th century and the beginning of the American Landscape movement, the Catskill escarpment has remained an enduring source of artistic inspiration for generations of artists. The residency provides a tranquil and rustic workplace located in the landscape where American landscape art began.
The residency takes place at the Platte Clove cabin, situated at the Catskill Center’s Platte Clove Preserve, near the villages of Tannersville, Hunter and Windham. Artists will reside in a rustic cabin on the edge of 208 wild, pristine acres full of hiking trails, multi-tiered waterfalls and old-growth forests. The cabin is located along Plattekill Creek in a remote section of the Catskills near several popular trailheads; hikers are commonly seen in the area. The nearest grocery store and hospital are seven miles away. It is suggested that applicants have access to a car during the residency.
There is electricity in the cabin, along with a gas-heat stove and cooktop oven, a refrigerator and a telephone. The cabin does not have running water; there is an outhouse behind the building and there are no showers. The cabin has three twin beds on the second floor and a trundle bed on the main floor. Residents are required to bring their own linens and/or a sleeping bag. Local telephone service is provided, but cell service is weak in Platte Clove and there is no Wi-Fi available. Residents are expected to bring their own food, potable water and supplies for their stay. Pets are not allowed.
One artist is selected to stay at the cabin during the week. No children are allowed in the cabin. If there are multiple artists who are working on the same project, they may apply as a group. Up to three artists working on the same project may stay in the cabin at one time.
The Artist-in-Residence Program accepts residents based on talent. It does not discriminate against anyone on the basis of age, race, sex, sexual orientation, religion, marital status, national origin or any other protected class. Applicants should be able to walk some steep grades and carry personal items down steps into the cabin, which is not wheelchair-accessible.
A mandatory orientation meeting will be held on Saturday, June 15 with all accepted applicants. There is a $40 fee to apply for the program. The stay in the cabin is free of charge. The application fee includes a one-year membership to the Catskill Center. Applications must be received by April 12. Final decisions are shared in early May. To apply, visit https://catskillcenter.submittable.com.
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