Rocky Mountain National Park Announces the Opening of the 2026 Artist-in-Residence and Scholar-in-Residence Program Applications

Contact: Park Information Office, (970) 586-1206

Rocky Mountain National Park and the Rocky Mountain Conservancy are pleased to announce that the summer 2026 Artist-In-Residence and Scholar-in-Residence Programs will begin accepting applications beginning on Monday, December 15, 2025.

RMNP's Artist-in-Residence program is open to artists of all creative disciplines and genres. Interested artists are invited to apply. Selected artists will serve in a two-week residency within Rocky Mountain National Park during the summer season. During their residency, selected artists will reside in a rustic cabin located inside RMNP where the artists can gain inspiration and create artistic works. Participating artists will also host and facilitate two public programs for audiences of all ages.

For all details on application requirements and how to apply, visit Rocky Mountain National Park's Artist-in-Residence webpage at https://go.nps.gov/romo/air.

Applications will be reviewed by a panel of judges. The panel will select up to six artists to participate in the 2026 Artist-in-Residence program. Selected artists will be notified in April, and upon selection, the artist will be able to choose a time block for their two-week residency from a list of available options.

Selected artists will stay at the William Allen White Cabin, a rustic, historic cabin located near Moraine Park. During their residency, artists will have the opportunity to explore the park, gain inspiration, share their art with the public, and create new works. At the completion of their residency, the artists will donate a fully furnished piece of work representative of their stay to the Rocky Mountain Conservancy. Rocky Mountain Conservancy will hold the rights to the piece of work and the National Park Service will have the right to share the donated works with the public.

Recognizing the important role that art has played in the history of our national parks, Rocky Mountain National Park was among the first national parks to offer an Artist-In-Residence Program. Since 1984, Rocky Mountain National Park has hosted over 200 artists through this program. Participants have included authors, composers, jewelry makers, musicians, painters, photographers, poets, quilters, sculptors, textile artists, and more.
Rocky Mountain National Park is one of over 50 National Park Service sites that currently host an Artist-In-Residence program. For those with scholarly inspiration, consider applying for the Scholar-in-Residence program. This program follows the tradition of connecting scholars, historians, scientists, writers, and other professionals to the community and educational programming in Rocky Mountain National Park. Proposals for the Scholar-In-Residence program should be specific to the natural and cultural resources of Rocky Mountain National Park, but could include projects from across fields, including social science, history, natural science, or communication. For details on Scholar-In-Residence application requirements and how to apply, please visit https://rmconservancy.org/work-with-us/employment/

The Artist-in-Residence and Scholar-in-Residence programs are both generously supported by the Rocky Mountain Conservancy. For more information on Rocky Mountain National Park, please call the park Information Office at (970) 586-1206 or visit our website at www.nps.gov/romo.