Residencies

Residency	Location	Duration	Cost	Notes
Art Farm	Healdsburg, CA	Variable	Free	A retreat and residency program for artists and farmers, focused on land-use, ecosystem health and climate solutions.
Bathers Library	Oakland, CA	3 months (4 cycles/year)	Free	Private studio with 24-hour access; ability to host events and exhibit work in the space. Concludes with an artist-created edition object or publication released by Bathers Library.
Black Space Residency	San Francisco, CA	~2 months	Free	For Black creatives; hosted at Minnesota Street Project Studios. Visual disciplines include printmaking, photography, ceramics, and digital printing.
Djerassi Resident Artists Program	Woodside, CA	1 month (Feb–Nov)	Free — includes housing, studio, and meals	583-acre ranch in the Santa Cruz Mountains overlooking the Pacific. Co-founded 1979 by Carl Djerassi and Diane Middlebrook. Over 2,700 artists hosted across 42 years, drawn from 54 countries. Notable on-site sculpture collection.
Headlands Center for the Arts	Fort Barry, Marin Headlands, Sausalito, CA	4–10 weeks	Free — includes studio, meals, housing, and travel reimbursement	Renovated 1907 military buildings in the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. Founded 1982. Hosts all disciplines, including arts professionals (curators, writers, administrators). Over 1,600 artists supported to date; alumni include MacArthur, Guggenheim, and Rome Prize winners.
The Lab — Living Wage Residency	Mission District, San Francisco, CA	1 year	Free — living wage stipend	Experimental and interdisciplinary; visual artists included, though program skews toward performance, sound, and new media.
Lucid Art Foundation	Inverness, CA	3 weeks (Mar–Nov)	No stipend; $100 refundable cleaning deposit	Bordering Point Reyes National Seashore. Founded 1998 by Fariba Bogzaran and Gordon Onslow Ford. Focus on non-representational, consciousness-oriented work. MFA or equivalent required; car needed.
Makaan Arts	San Francisco, CA	2 weeks–2 months	Free	500 sq. ft. private studio; access to Minnesota Street Project Foundation’s shared making spaces (woodshop, darkroom, digital lab, kiln, kitchen, and presentation space). Supports curatorial and exhibition projects, screenings, performances, workshops, and publications. Artists may be invited or may apply with a proposal.
Mesa Refuge	Point Reyes Station, CA	2 weeks	Free (residents cover own travel/food); fellowships available	Founded 1997 in painter Sam Francis’s former home/studio. Focused on writers and journalists working on nature, social justice, and economic equity. Over 1,000 writers hosted, including Michael Pollan and Terry Tempest Williams.
Montalvo Arts Center	Saratoga, CA	Varies	Free — includes housing and studio	Historic 175-acre estate in the hills above Silicon Valley, built in 1912 by California Senator James Phelan. Hosts artists across all disciplines.
Recology San Francisco — Artist in Residence	San Francisco, CA	4 months (non-live-in)	Free — stipend + materials provided	“Art at the Dump” — visual/sculpture/installation artists scavenge and work with reclaimed materials. Founded 1990 by artist Jo Hanson, the first program of its kind in the U.S. Open to Bay Area residents only.
Stochastic Labs	Berkeley, CA	variable	Free — $1k monthly stipend provided	Housed in a Victorian mansion, funding engineers, artists, scientists, and entrepreneurs working at the intersections of art, technology, and science. Residents get a private apartment, workshop access, and a materials budget, plus weekly dinners.
UCSF Library Artist in Residence	San Francisco, CA	Project-based (annual)	Free — $8,000 award to artist	Health humanities focus; artist works with Archives & Special Collections and Makers Lab. Requires Studio Arts degree or equivalent exhibition history. Work becomes UCSF property.
Verge Center for the Arts — Verge Regional Residency	Sacramento, CA	3 months	Free workspace + stipend	Visual artists only. Restricted to artists within a 35-mile radius of Sacramento — limits applicability for most Bay Area-based applicants.
Winslow House Project	Vallejo, CA	1 month (Jan, Apr, Jul, Oct cohorts)	Free	Historic 1860 Gothic Revival farmhouse, Vallejo landmark No. 23. Hosts 5 artists per cycle (20/year) across film, dance, visual art, music, literature, and more. Founded 2021. Includes gallery space and a radio program.

Residency	Location	Duration	Cost	Notes
Chalk Hill Artist Residency	Healdsburg, CA	2–4 weeks (up to 6)	$500/week; limited scholarships	280-acre Warnecke Ranch & Vineyard. Founded 2010. One artist at a time in a 1925 farmhouse plus repurposed-barn studio. No internet on site.
Elevated Spaces Artist Residency	Santa Cruz Mountains, CA	2 weeks (spring or fall)	$25 application fee; cabin use is free	Off-grid cabin on 10 acres of redwood, oak, madrone, and fir. Solar/battery power, outhouse, heated outdoor shower, small A-frame studio. Run by Jeff Waldman. Car required.
Jonathan Carver Moore Residency	966 Market St, San Francisco, CA	~2 months	by invitation	Visual arts residency (painting, sculpture, mixed media); rolling program.
KALA Art Institute	Berkeley, CA	Varies by track	Varies by track	Multiple residency tracks: AIR, Fellowship, Veterans, Parent Artist, Media Arts. Covers printmaking, photography, sculpture, ceramics, fiber, and film/video.
Mendocino Art Center — Greenhouse Residency	Mendocino, CA	4 weeks	Sliding scale, $500–$2,500 contribution	Coastal redwoods setting on Pomo land. Broad disciplines including writers.
The Midway Studio Residency	Dogpatch, San Francisco, CA	6 months	Below-market rate	All mediums; emerging to mid-career. Rolling applications.
Salmon Creek Arts	Albion, CA	Varies — 1–2 week cabin stays, multi-week residencies, and 2-month “Schools of Salmon Creek” program	$20 application fee; stipend offered for artist residency track	Land-based artist sanctuary on 33 acres of coast redwoods on Central Pomo land, 3 hours north of SF, 2 miles from the Mendocino coast. Originally a 1971 counterculture commune, revived 2014 by artist Fritz Haeg. Rustic hand-built cabins; no conventional studio space. Hosts 150+ artists annually; especially welcoming to queer, BIPOC, and underrepresented artists.
Sonoma Community Center — Ceramics Artist in Residence	Sonoma, CA	6 months	$750/month stipend + free housing	Ceramics-specific. Housed in a 100±year-old former grammar school. ~20 hrs/week studio commitment, culminating in a solo exhibition.
Space 124 / Project Artaud	San Francisco, CA	1–3 months	$2,800/month	Rolling applications; all disciplines.

¶ Free Residencies

¶ Paid Residencies