Vizcaya launches new artist residency and commission program

The program, part of the newly expanded Vizcaya Arts umbrella, replaces the museum's former Vizcaya Contemporary Arts Program. Applications are open to emerging, mid-career and established artists working in any discipline in South Florida through Monday, Nov. 2.

The selected artist will receive a $12,500 artist fee and a production budget of up to $25,000, along with dedicated studio space during museum operating hours, curatorial support and opportunities for public engagement.

The residency is also tied to the revitalization of Vizcaya Village, where a new 375-square-foot artist studio is scheduled to open in the historic Chicken House. The space will allow the selected artist to work on the commissioned project through research, experimentation, fabrication and discussions with Vizcaya staff.

“This year’s residency theme, Holding Time, asks artists to consider what happens when the past, present and future occupy the same space,” said Helena Gomez, Vizcaya’s curator. “The residency gives artists the time, space and support to explore those tensions and create new work that could only emerge from engaging with the site.”

For the inaugural residency, Vizcaya is asking artists to consider the Main House both as a setting and as a subject. Proposals should respond to the theme Holding Time and result in a site-responsive exhibition involving the first and second floors of the Main House.

The theme explores Vizcaya as a place where different dimensions of time intersect, including architectural history, material transformation, collective memory and environmental change. The program also comes as South Florida faces broader questions involving environmental uncertainty, technological change and evolving perspectives on history and identity.

The residency will run from May through November 2027. The resulting exhibition is scheduled to be on view at Vizcaya from November 2027 through May 2028.

Public interaction will be part of the project as well. The selected artist will lead two public programs during the exhibition period and participate in open studio hours during Vizcaya’s Sunday Farmers Market, allowing visitors to see aspects of the creative process behind the commissioned work.

Applicants must submit contact information, a brief biography, artist statement, CV or résumé, portfolio of recent work, a statement of interest addressing the Holding Time theme and one letter of support.

Vizcaya will hold a virtual information session for prospective applicants at noon on Sept. 23. Eligibility requirements, application instructions and information about the session are available at vizcaya.org/opencall online.