Valles Caldera Seeks Five Artists for June-October Residencies March 1 to 15

Valles Caldera National Preserve is accepting applications from March 1–15, 2026 for five artists to participate in two- to four-week residencies between June and October, the National Park Service announced after posting the notice March 6. Selected artists will live in historic on-site lodging provided by the preserve in exchange for delivering one public art program and donating an original work inspired by the residency; the preserve will hold the rights to donated pieces and the National Park Service will have the rights to share them with the public.

To apply, the preserve follows a two-step process that requires a Volunteer.gov submission followed by emailed supplemental materials to the program coordinator. The NPS instruction reads in full: “To Apply: 1. First, submit an application via Volunteer.gov. Note: Application period is open from March 1-15, 2026. 2. After submitting your Volunteer.gov application, interested applicants must send in the following documents to lauren_ray@nps.gov: Your Resume (4 pages maximum; do not include personal photographs) Statement of Purpose (2 pages maximum). Share why you are interested in serving as an Artist in Residence, what you hope to gain from this experience, how you expect to grow as an artist, how your work contributes to the National Park Service values of stewardship, education, recreation and preservation, and also describe your ability [...]” The truncated ellipsis in the Statement of Purpose text appears in the preserve’s public materials.

Supplemental submission formats are explicit by discipline. Visual, textile and sculpture artists must provide up to six images embedded in a Word or PDF file, each labeled with artist name, title, medium and dimensions and showing the work without extraneous backgrounds, mattes or frames. Language artists may submit up to six short works or one long work (up to 10 pages) in Word or PDF with each piece labeled. Musicians, composers, performing artists and videographers should provide up to six short selections (less than six minutes total) or one long selection (about 10 minutes) via YouTube or Vimeo link embedded in a Word or PDF; uploads may be public or private.

Residency logistics are set out in the announcement. Artists are responsible for transportation to and from the park and for their own meals; the NPS provides a vehicle for on-site use and the nearest grocery store is about 35 minutes away in the town of Los Alamos. The preserve states it “invites artists from all creative disciplines and genres to apply for the Artist in Residence program,” and social posts from the program reiterated: “Applications will be accepted from March 1-15 via Volunteer.gov. Supplemental materials must be emailed to the program coordinator to complete.”

A panel of judges will select five artists when the application window closes, and selected artists may schedule residencies within the June-through-October window. Local coverage by Los Alamos Reporter carried the preserve’s details and used a “Photo Courtesy NPS” credit. The public posting does not specify whether a stipend or travel reimbursement is available, when selected artists will be notified, or the full remaining text of the truncated Statement of Purpose prompt; those items were not provided in the preserve’s materials. Applications must be started on Volunteer.gov and supplemental materials emailed to lauren_ray@nps.gov by March 15, 2026.