Josef & Anni Albers Foundation

Albers Foundation Residency

Bethany, Connecticut, United States

Set in a broadleaf New England forest, two artist studios on the Foundation’s main campus in Connecticut offer space and solitude in idyllic working conditions. Artists have the added benefit of access to the Foundation’s archives and library.

About the Residency

The Albers Foundation Residency is designed to provide time, space, and solitude for artists working in any medium.

The Josef and Anni Albers Foundation, located eighty miles northeast of New York City on seventy acres of wooded property in Bethany, Connecticut, maintains two residential studios for visiting artists. Each studio is in an independent building equipped with a 400 sq/ft (37 sq/m) workspace with 16-ft (5m) ceilings, a kitchen, bath, and bedroom. Residents can walk the forest trails, swim in or paddle on the pond, and visit galleries and museums in nearby New Haven. The residency is designed to provide time, space, and solitude, with the benefit of access to the Foundation’s archives and library.

The residency is well suited for artists that would like to focus on their work in a calm setting, surrounded by forest, while being close to the Foundation. A car is available for residents.

It is by no means necessary for artists to work in styles bearing any resemblance to that of Anni or Josef Albers; all that is required is that they have the Alberses’ seriousness of purpose and dedication to advancing vision. 

History

The Albers Foundation Residency provides idyllic working conditions throughout the year, whether with winter snowfall or the lush greenery of summer.

The Albers Foundation has been in Bethany since 1998, when it moved from the Alberses’ former home in nearby Orange, Connecticut. Historically the homeland of the Naugatuck Native American tribe, Europeans settled in Bethany in the late eighteenth century. The glaciated rolling hills were cleared and farmed until the early twentieth century, after which the forest of oak, maple, birch, beech, hickory, cedar, pine, and hemlock returned.

The buildings of the Albers Foundation were designed by Tim Prentice and Lo-Yi Chan. Prentice, who studied with Josef Albers at Yale in the 1950s, considers the project an expression of thanks to his former mentor. The residency program commenced in 1999 and has to date hosted over 200 artists.

Applications

The recent application cycle has now ended. If you are selected for a residency, you will hear from us by the end of March 2026. Due to the number of applications, we will unfortunately only be able to respond to selected candidates. The next open call will be announced in December 2026.

Our residency programs are aimed at individual visual artists, though we also sometimes accept writers, musicians, and dancers, as well as artist duos or small collectives.

For any questions, please contact Matthias Persson, Artist Residencies Director.

Duration

Typically two months long, residencies take place throughout the year. The scheduling is flexible and determined in advance with the individual artists.

Financing

Residencies are free of charge, but there is no stipend. We will provide an acceptance letter that can be used for fundraising. In special cases, there is the possibility of assistance from the Regina Tierney Fund for Visiting Artists.

Previous Residents

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Overview

Overview