Wassaic Project

United States

Mediums Welcome

About This Residency

The Wassaic Project is a contemporary arts institution that has been a cornerstone of upstate New York’s cultural landscape since 2008, fostering positive social change through art and education. It brings together emerging artists and local communities through world-class contemporary art exhibitions, vital education and public programs, and a highly regarded year-round artist residency program. Based in the historic Maxon Mills—an 8,000-square-foot, seven-story former grain elevator transformed into a vibrant arts space—the Wassaic Project serves as a dynamic incubator for new voices in contemporary art. Since its founding, it has welcomed more than 45,000 visitors, 1,200 artists, 145 musicians, 52 dance companies, and 38 filmmakers. Annual programming includes the residency, monthly open studios, ten major community events, and three exhibitions. Its arts education programs reach more than 1,000 students each year through after-school art clubs, summer camps, mentorship opportunities, and the free family drop-in space, the Art Nest, open every Saturday from 12–5 PM. The residency program and exhibitions give emerging artists time and space to experiment and grow their practices. In recent years, Wassaic Project artists have gone on to exhibit at the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Brooklyn Museum, MoMA, the New Museum, the Studio Museum in Harlem, the Bronx Museum of Art, El Museo del Barrio, the International Center of Photography, MASS MoCA, and many others.

Experience & Atmosphere

As we bring artists together with diverse experiences, we invite everyone to come with a spirit of loving curiosity, openness, respect, and self-accountability. We recognize that being part of a community and sharing spaces for a set period can be vulnerable, intimate, and rewarding. We ask that you participate with kindness and responsibility for yourself and the community you’re a part of. The Wassaic Project is not a product-oriented residency. You are not required to participate in any programming during your residency besides orientation (although participating in artist presentations at the start of your residency is highly encouraged). If you do not want to participate in any programming, please let us know so we can all be on the same page. We want to respect your time and space, and having a clear line of communication is key.

Mission & Goals

Mission: The Wassaic Project, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, uses art and arts education to foster positive social change. We nurture connections between our artists and our neighbors, facilitating a mutual broadening of perspectives and respect across economic and cultural boundaries. Vision: The Wassaic Project envisions a community in the Hamlet of Wassaic and its surrounding region that is socially inclusive, generous, cooperative, and economically vibrant. We engage in a collaborative effort with members of our community to develop programs that are creative, experimental, and accessible across the economic spectrum. We strive to be actively anti-racist and to have diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility as an integral part of our programs and initiatives. We will continually evaluate, solicit feedback, and evolve our efforts to ensure their effectiveness. We build local pride and community vitality through an informed sense of the past and a clear, contemporary, innovative, and compassionate look toward the future. We foster the youth in our community and help them realize their full potential. We aim to be financially stable with a creative staff and multiple partners — nonprofit, public, and private. It is our hope that the work that we do in Wassaic will be shared nationwide and serve as a toolkit for community revitalization through the arts and the spirit of generosity. Above all else, we honor and respect our community. Values: Take pride. We’re proud of the programs we run, the artists we support, and our community. It’s better to work together. We nurture partnerships between artists and our community, rooted in the belief that collaboration, creativity, flexibility, and accessibility improve the reach and quality of our work and that connecting artists of diverse disciplines and viewers of varying backgrounds inspires new ways of looking at art and the world. Be accessible in all we do. Aim to communicate equally with as broad an audience as possible, through our programming, events, and initiatives, regardless of race, gender, orientation, as well economic, mental, or physical ability. Promote open conversation and dialogue. Connecting artists of diverse disciplines and viewers of varying backgrounds inspires new ways of looking at art and the world. Be generous and respectful. We live in a diverse community, and we celebrate that through our actions and our programs. Be cool. We strive to be flexible, transparent, good-humored, and open-minded. Create things that are wonderful!