erie canal artist-in-residence

Position Summary: In partnership with the New York State Canal Corporation (Canal Corp.), the Erie Canal Museum is seeking two (2) Erie Canal Artists-in-Residence for a period of one (1) year. The Erie Canal Museum is committed to building a diverse and inclusive team. We strongly encourage members of traditionally underrepresented communities to apply.

The Residencies will focus on a year-long creative inquiry into the Erie Canal, reflecting on its past, contemplating its current condition, and considering its future. These Residencies are for Artists who wish to engage with the Canal and adjacent Canalway Trails, Canal Corp. and Museum staff, Canal facilities, New York’s Canal communities, and Canal visitors.

The 2026 Residencies will be dedicated to projects that reflect upon the Canal’s physical, environmental, and social condition and history; materiality; and context. The Artist’s project must directly address the Canal.

Applicants shall propose a specific creative visual project for their Residency. Projects may be journalistic, documentary, representational, or conceptual, and may include and/or be accompanied by text/writing, but must be able to be exhibited in a gallery setting. The subject of the project shall be identified by the applicant, but proposals must be a creative inquiry of the Canal and consider a fuller, more complete account of the Canal’s past, present, and future than what has traditionally been told.

The applicant shall identify their target audience(s) and how their project will be shared with that audience and with the public-at-large. While studies of Canal communities are encouraged, the Canal and its context must be central to the project. Projects may focus on key areas of the Canal or the entire system. The New York State Canal System includes 524 miles of navigable waterways. Artists should consider that scale when developing their proposal.

Residency Structure: Two (2) Artists will be selected for Residencies in 2026. The NYS Canal Corporation will facilitate introductions and connections to Canal Corp. staff and access to Canal facilities as needed.

Artists must engage with the public. The two (2) selected Artists will participate in two (2) joint panels discussing their work. One panel will be a brief introduction in early 2026 during a program concluding the 2025 Erie Canal Artist Residencies, and the second one in early 2027 in coordination with an exhibit. Artists must also develop, in collaboration with the AIR partners, at least one (1) additional public-facing event during the course of the Residency for the public to engage with and understand the Artist’s process.

While a project must be proposed as part of the application, a final work plan will be required by March 1, 2026. Each Artist’s project should include work that can be displayed in a gallery setting.

Artists may incorporate text and other media into their work. It is intended that final products from the Residencies will be used to develop a joint exhibition at the Everson Museum of Art and catalog in early 2027, as well as add to the Erie Canal Museum collection.

In consultation with the Artist, project organizers will retain work(s) from the project, as well as the right to publish, with prior Artist approval, selections from the project.

It is expected that the Residency is a part-time commitment for the Artist.

Location:

The Artists shall focus on the New York State Canal system which includes the Erie, Oswego, Cayuga-Seneca and Champlain Canals, and the Erie Canalway Trail. A workspace is not included in this Residency.

Schedule:

The Residency begins on Jan. 1, 2026.

• Finalist Interviews: Between Sept. 29 – Oct. 17, 2025. Interviews will be conducted virtually.
• Artist Notification: By Nov.7, 2025
• Residency Start: Jan. 1, 2026
• Residency End: Dec. 31, 2026
• Exhibit at the Everson Museum of Art: Opening late-January 2027