The Public Lands Collaborative Residency supports creative teams engaged in storytelling projects that have the potential to help re-imagine and shape the future of public lands in the United States.  

Rooted in the belief that storytelling is a powerful tool for stewardship, the residency offers space, time, and financial support for residents to develop a project about public lands that leads to public engagements such as readings, publications, workshops, or collaborative community projects.   

America’s public lands span more than 600 million acres of mountains, deserts, forests, and shorelines. From iconic National Parks to remnant prairies, from beloved recreation areas to critically important wildlife refuges, these lands are one of the largest shared experiments in collective stewardship on Earth. 

Public lands remind us that democracy extends beyond human communities to include the soils, waters, and species with whom we share this continent. These lands are living systems and civic institutions, shaped by the push and pull between conservation and exploitation, recreation and restoration, and legacies of dispossession and the promise of shared stewardship. In this ever-shifting context, every trail, forest, and canyon can become a site of negotiation and debate. The stakes are high.  

In a time of ecological and cultural transformation, these lands call us to rethink stewardship — not as ownership or control, but as an ongoing conversation across generations, disciplines, and cultures. Public lands invite questions about who belongs, who decides, and what values guide our shared future.  

During the Public Lands Collaborative Residency, we invite residents to explore questions like: How does caring for the land reflect how we care for one another? How does caring for and managing these lands reflect who we are and who we aspire to be? How do public lands shape our cultural identity and our sense of what is possible in a changing world? How can collaborative inquiry across disciplines help us imagine alternative futures for public lands? 

The residency takes place at a cabin on a 70-acre nature reserve that reflects a long-standing commitment to shared stewardship. Residents are invited to be in relationship with the land as both refuge and inquiry site while they reflect, ask questions, and shape their collaborative work.  

Eligibility

The Public Lands Collaborative Residency is open to interdisciplinary collaborative pairs. One person in the pair must be a creative writer. The other person in the pair may be: 

• An artist working in any discipline (e.g., visual arts, performing arts, sound, etc.) 
• Someone working in the humanities (e.g., historian, philosopher, theologian) 
• Someone working in ecology or a related science field 
• Another writer working in a different field or genre (e.g., a creative nonfiction writer working with a poet, a fiction writer working with a policy writer, etc.)

The pair must demonstrate a work trajectory that addresses environmental issues or involves place-based inquiry, either through previous solo or collaborative projects.

We encourage applications from people whose work is informed by lived experience, cultural knowledge, or long-term engagement with place, including Indigenous, rural, and historically underrepresented communities. Applicants must be based in the U.S. and at least 18 years old at the time of application. 

Residency Offerings 

Selected residents will receive: 

• Exclusive use of the Cabin at Shotpouch Creek for up to three weeks from August 2026 to September 2027. The residency can be consecutive (i.e., three full weeks) or broken into shorter stays (e.g., three residencies of one week each). While most of these stays should include overlapping residency time with both collaborators present (the space has two bedrooms), some days may be split between the pair. For instance, two weeks might be completed together, but each resident might complete a third week solo. 
• Please read about the Cabin at Shotpouch Creek to make sure the space works for your collaboration.  
• An honorarium of $3,000 per recipient, which may be used to cover travel costs to the Cabin at Shotpouch Creek during the residency period(s) and travel to Corvallis for the public event.  
• Professional documentation of outcomes and promotional support for related events.   
• A culminating opportunity for public presentation at PRAx at Oregon State University (e.g., participation in an exhibition, reading, performance).  
• Additional funding for shipping artwork to PRAx for an exhibition if needed.  

Terms & expectations 

Residents are expected to: 

• Develop a creative storytelling project related to public lands during the residency year. 
• Schedule and complete residency time at the Cabin at Shotpouch Creek within the award period. 
• Participate in a public program, exhibition, or presentation at PRAx between September 2028 and June 2029.  
• Acknowledge Spring Creek Project and PRAx in public presentations and publications related to the residency.  
• Provide their own transportation to the cabin, which is not accessible by public transportation. 

Program and Application Dates 

• Application deadline: June 1, 2026 
• Notification of acceptance: July 15, 2026  
• Residency period: August 2026 – October 2027. Residencies at the Cabin at Shotpouch Creek.  
• Public presentation at PRAx:  Between September 2028 and June 2029 (Exact dates TBD) 

How to Apply 

Applications are due June 1, 2026. Choose one collaborator to be the primary applicant and to submit one application for the collaborative pair.  If you have questions, contact residencies.prax@oregonstate.edu. 

Review & Selection 

A diverse panel composed of artists, writers, scientists and arts professionals will evaluate applications based on selection criteria that include:  

• Quality and strength of work samples 
• Demonstrated trajectory of work engaging environmental issues or place-based inquiry 
• Likelihood that the residency will result in work that engages communities in thinking about public lands. 

Final selections will reflect a balance of disciplines, perspectives, and approaches. 

Sponsors & Co-sponsors 

This program is supported by the Spring Creek Project.  

The Patricia Valian Reser Center for the Creative Arts (PRAx) and the Division of Extension and Engagement at Oregon State University invite submissions for the PRAx Open, a juried art exhibition featuring work from across Oregon. The exhibition emphasizes work that speaks – in any number of conceivable ways – to the places where the contributing artists live.    

The exhibition will be installed primarily in the 3000-square-foot Kate and John Stirek Gallery at PRAx and is anticipated to feature the work of 25-40 artists. The goals of the exhibition are:  

• to feature artworks from across the state that engage with the physical landscapes, histories, cultures, economies, issues or other dimensions of the places – whether rural, urban, or suburban – where the contributing artists reside,  
• to present a body of artworks representing the breadth of the state and tribal nations in Oregon, and 
• to represent the energy and vitality of the Oregon arts economy by exhibiting works that are available for public purchase.  

Artists who are current Oregon residents may submit up to three completed works for consideration. Selected artists receive a fixed $300 stipend intended to cover the costs of shipping/transporting the works to/from PRAx. Professional gallery staff at PRAx will unpack, install, and repack the works. The majority of selected art will be in 2D or small 3D (self-supporting) mediums. Digital or time-based works may be submitted but must be formatted for a single screen with headphones.   

The deadline to apply is July 1, 2026. Contact Joy Jensen at joy.jensen@oregonstate.edu with technical application questions.

ELIGIBILITY

• Artists must be current Oregon residents to submit work for consideration. For a collaborative work to be considered, both artists must currently reside in Oregon. 

SUBMISSISON REQUIREMENTS

• Artists currently residing in Oregon may submit up to 3 completed artworks. A collection/series of no more than 3 linked small-format works that will be considered a single work if that series can be installed in a space no larger than 3’ x 3’ (wall-hung works). Works in progress will not be considered.

• Submitted work must be original. Works may be in traditional, emerging, or new mediums. 

• PRAx supports the use of new technologies for artmaking purposes, but works that incorporate computational methods must be based on code/scripts written by the artist or commissioned by the artist for the specific purpose of that artwork. Artwork that is generated by publicly available AI tools is not accepted.

• Artists will submit a 2-3 sentence explanatory statement about each work. Statements should define the relationship of the work to the major goal of the exhibition: “to feature artworks from across the state that engage with the physical landscapes, histories, cultures, economies, issues or other dimensions of the places – whether rural, urban, or suburban – where the contributing artists reside.”  

• Artists will submit a short biographical statement, including their place of residence. Artists must be residents of Oregon. For collaborative works, biographical statements for each artist in the collaboration must be included and all artists in the collaboration must reside in Oregon. 

• The majority of selected works are anticipated to be in 2D wall-hung or 3D self-supporting mediums. Digital or time-based works may be considered but must be formatted for a single screen with headphones, and must play on a media player, USB drive, or similar technology provided by the artist. Works may not be networked or connected to remote servers. The number of works selected in digital or time-based mediums will be limited. PRAx recognizes that not all time-based works are linear or loop the same content, but the general intent is to include shorter works (<10 minutes) in such cases.

• Works may be of any scale, and PRAx does contain larger open wall space inside and outside the gallery. However, the number of large-format works will be limited by the total available space and the number of large-format submissions. Artists are responsible for shipping and delivery as described in the guidelines, and no extra support is provided for larger or heavier works. Installation feasibility is a criterion that will be considered within the selection process.

 SHIPPING, INSTALLATION, & PURCHASING

• Artists are responsible for shipping or transporting the works to PRAx by the deadline. Works not received by the deadline will not be included in the exhibition. Professional gallery staff at PRAx will unpack, photograph, install, and repack the works. PRAx will retain the shipping materials for the purpose of repacking in those materials.

• Shipping logistics and costs are the responsibility of the artist. All correspondence with the artists’ selected shipping method will be conducted by the artists, with pick-up of the works from PRAx being arranged during normal business hours. Artists may also self-transport the works to/from PRAx.

• Insurance on all works is the independent responsibility of the artist. In the application, artists may indicate if the work must be located in the gallery (locked during non-open hours) or if it may be located in a public space within PRAx. The exhibition will be curated to include some works that are not located in the gallery and flexibility of installation location is a criterion that will be considered within the selection process.

• All installation decisions – including location and method – will be made by staff in PRAx. Artist statements about each work may be edited for grammatical consistency across the entirety of the exhibition. 

• If works require support structures for display (e.g. cases, stands, or similar), the submission must indicate if the artist can provide such structures and must include a picture of the structure. PRAx has a limited ability to provide pedestals, plinths, casework, or similar items. If such structures are needed, artists will describe that need in the application.

• PRAx will make contact information for each artist available to the viewing public. Sale of work is conducted by the artists directly. If the work is to be shipped to a location other than the location whence it came, PRAx as well as the shipping company must be informed.

• While it is not a requirement that artworks are available for sale, the exhibition will be curated with the intent that a significant majority of the works may be purchased via direct correspondence with the artist. Artists are expected to include an asking price for each work on the application. PRAx will share that information with the viewing public, but artists and purchasers will arrive at the final price independently. All financial transactions occur directly between the artist and patron.

• Selected artists receive a $300 stipend to reimburse costs for packing, shipping, and/or transporting works to and from PRAx. 

PROGRAM & APPLICATION DATES 

• April 15, 2026: Submission window opens. 
• July 1, 2026: Electronic submissions due. 
• September 15, 2026: Decisions announced. 
• November 1, 2026: Deadline for works to arrive at PRAx. 
• November 30, 2026: Exhibition Opening and Reception. 
• January 25, 2027: Works shipped back to artists or to purchasers .  

HOW TO APPLY

Complete the short application form and upload files for up to 3 completed artworks. Works in progress will not be considered. In addition to basic personal information, applicants will provide the following: 

• A short biographical statement, including their place/region of residence in Oregon. For collaborative works, biographical statements for each artist in the collaboration must be included and all artists in the collaboration must reside in Oregon. Submitted statements may be used for interpretive material connected with the exhibition. 

• One file upload for each submission. Upload one image/media file or up to two images combined into a single file (e.g., two images in one pdf document). Note: Digital or time-based works may be uploaded for consideration but must be formatted for a single screen/headphones.

• The title, medium, and asking price of each submitted piece. 

• A 2–3 sentence explanatory statement for each submitted piece. Statements should define the relationship of the work to the major goal of the exhibition: “to feature artworks from across the state that engage with the physical landscapes, histories, cultures, economies, issues or other dimensions of the places – whether rural, urban, or suburban – where the contributing artists reside.” 

• If works require support structures for display (e.g. cases, stands, or similar), there is space in the form to indicate if the artist can supply such structures, and if a structure will be self-supplied, a photo of the structure must be uploaded in the space provided.

REVIEW & SELECTION:

PRAx and the Division of Extension and Engagement will curate the exhibition with an eye to achieving the goal of broadly representing the state and sovereign tribal nations in Oregon. Reviewers will also consider the following during evaluation: 

• The connection with the exhibition goal of showcasing work “engaged with pertinent places, themes, issues, concerns, cultures, landmarks, ecosystems, or other region-specific topics” across Oregon.  
• Artistic and thematic interest. 
• Logistical feasibility of display.  

Selected artists will be invited to the opening reception. 

What is Polar STEAM for Artists & Writers? 

Polar STEAM, which stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math, is not just a national program, but a journey for all of us to become closer to what is so physically distant, to understand the Polar regions and people, and to commit to share what we learn with the world so others, too, can let their curiosity thrive.  

The Antarctic Artists & Writers program facilitates deployments to the Antarctic for creative practitioners within the arts and humanities.  Collaborations between polar researchers and artists and writers help increase the public’s understanding of and appreciation for human and scientific endeavors in Antarctica through the resulting works. Polar STEAM welcomes applications from working artists, writers, and creative practitioners in a variety of genres, from traditional to experimental. You can view 2025–26 fellows as well as those from past years on the website.

This application is for four to ten weeks during the 2027–28 Antarctic summer season, typically October through February, with a possible option for early season (August through September). In the past two seasons, deployments have been 6-8 weeks in length.

Because the potential creative scope of projects will be determined in part by logistical considerations in the remote Antarctic environment, we strongly encourage applicants to attend the informational webinar on April 30, 2026 at 2:00PM PST or to view the recording that will be made available on the Polar STEAM YouTube channel in order to prepare the strongest possible application. Information about the webinar is posted on the "Apply Now" page of the Polar STEAM website.

Before applying, please read the FAQs on the Polar STEAM website. Note: Only individuals can apply, and only individuals will be awarded fellowships. Due to limited resources, we are only able to deploy individual artists or writers. Collaborative projects may begin or resume upon return from deployment, but teams cannot be involved during deployment or logistics planning. 

All applicants will be notified of status by early September, 2026.