Djerassi Resident Artists Program | Application Guidelines

The Djerassi Resident Artist Program has awarded over 2500 writers, visual/media artists, composers, choreographers, filmmakers and scientists for the past 41-years the gift of time and space with a one-month residency on our 583-acre ranch in Northern California's Santa Cruz Mountains. All at no cost to the artists.

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The application period for the 2026 Djerassi Resident Artists Program is now open and will remain available through November 14, 2025.

Residencies are awarded competitively, at no cost, to national and international artists in the disciplines of choreography, literature, music composition, visual arts, media arts, technology and science.

We seek applications from emerging and mid-career artists, for whom appointments as resident artists may make a significant difference to their careers, as well as from established artists with national and/or international reputations. Applicants are evaluated by panels of arts professionals in each category.

Djerassi Resident Artists Program is designed as a retreat experience to pursue personal creative work and share collegial interaction within a small community of artists. In this spirit, residents are expected to commit themselves for the entire residency session they are awarded.

No shortened or partial residencies are offered and all session dates are based on the availability and sustainability of the program and are subject to change or cancellation.

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Eligibility & Re-applications

National and international visual artists, composers, choreographers, media artists, writers, and scientists (for Leonardo@Djerassi) are eligible. Alumni must wait five seasons before re-applying for a return residency. Example: 2017 residents can re-apply for the 2022 residency season. Artists who were placed on alternate status may re-apply for the next season. Please note the application form, resume, and all support materials must be in English.

Eligibility recently expanded to include degree-seeking students. Please feel welcome to apply.

Djerassi Statement of Equity

All people, their culture and their art contribute to the meaning and understanding of our humanity and should be honored and celebrated.
Artists, their art, their process, and the organizations they create and support, play a unique role in witnessing, demonstrating, and providing inspiration to resolve societal inequity and injustice.
The Program encourages and welcomes the participation of artists and scientists from all backgrounds and does not discriminate with regard to age, race, sex, sexual orientation, disability, religion, marital status, or nation of origin in its admission policies.
The Program structures its selection process and residency partnerships to value a continuum of aesthetic points of view, ensuring each resident session reflects a microcosm of the world of creative professionals.

Residency Application Categories

Applicants should apply in the category that best represents their primary area of practice.
Applicants may apply to only one category per application cycle. If your work spans multiple fields, you may indicate this within your application materials or contact the Program Manager for guidance before submitting.

Literature — Fiction, nonfiction, poetry, drama, translation, and librettos.
Visual Arts — Painting, drawing, sculpture, photography, mixed media, and installation.
Music Composition — Instrumental, vocal, electronic, and film or multimedia scoring.
Choreography — Artists working in dance and movement-based practices.
Media Arts / New Genres — Film, video, sound, performance, experimental theater, and interdisciplinary or technology-driven work.
Leonardo@Djerassi — Artists and scientists engaged in research or creative practice within biology, chemistry, physics, mathematics, environmental, agricultural, or related scientific fields.

Work Sample Requirements

Applicants should upload recent work samples that best represent their creative practice.
Provide 1–5 items total in the formats listed below.

Accepted file types:
Images (up to 5 MB each)
Video (up to 250 MB each)
Audio (up to 30 MB each)
PDFs (up to 10 MB each)
3D Models (Sketchfab)

Links to external media are also accepted (YouTube, Vimeo, SoundCloud).

Visual Artists
Up to 5 JPEG images.

Choreographers, Composers, Media, and Film Artists
Upload MP3 or MP4 files, or provide Vimeo / YouTube / SoundCloud links.

Literary Artists

Poetry: Up to 10 pages combined in a single PDF.
Fiction / Nonfiction / Scripts: Up to 30 pages, double-spaced, in PDF format.
Graphic Novelists: May exceed 30 pages in PDF.

Leonardo@Djerassi
Upload up to 5 items (images, PDFs, video, audio, or documentation of scientific / creative research).
Work samples may include research visuals, experiments, publications, or other hybrid forms that bridge art and science.

Collaboration, Couples, and Guests

Collaborations: Artists who plan to collaborate during the residency must submit individual applications. Work space needs should be clearly specified (i.e. whether or not separate studios are required). Also indicate if you are interested in attending as an individual artist.

Couples: Couples must apply separately with the understanding that each applicant will be reviewed separately by their discipline’s panel. If both artists are selected, we will make every effort to schedule you at the same time and arrange appropriate accommodations. Separate studios will be assigned unless otherwise requested. Please note on your applications if you would like to share the same living quarters.

Guests: Accommodations are limited to selected individual residents only. No accommodations for spouses, partners, or children are available. Friends or family who are in the area for brief visits cannot be accommodated overnight at the facility. They are welcome for day visits and dinner at the ranch. No personal pets are allowed.