glean 2026/27

GLEAN is a juried program that gives five selected artists from the Portland area (Multnomah, Washington, and Clackamas counties) access to the Metro Central transfer station (“the dump”) to glean materials to use to create art. 

The GLEAN program will provide studio visits, marketing support, a stipend of $3,000, group critiques with GLEAN artists and partners, and help you work through your creative practice, culminating in an exhibition. 

Residents and businesses in the Portland area generate more than 2.4 million tons of waste every year. While we can be proud that we recycle and compost a significant amount, there is an opportunity to do better. GLEAN taps into the creativity of artists to inspire people to think about their consumption habits, the waste they generate, and the resources they throw away. 

We reserve one residency position for a student currently enrolled in an art program at a local college or university. Student applications will be considered separately from other artist applications. GLEAN seeks to hear from artists with a broad range of experiences and perspectives from the many communities in the Portland area. We encourage artists working in a variety of media to apply. You can learn more about past GLEAN artists on our website. 

GLEAN is a partnership between Recology, an employee-owned integrated resource recovery and recycling company; Metro, the regional government that manages the Portland area’s garbage and recycling system; and ReClaim It, an environmental arts non-profit.