Announcing the
2026 COHORT
The Center is delighted to announce the six artists selected for the fourth annual Artists Residency at the Center, taking place this September in New York City. Please join us in congratulating these remarkable artists whose work spans artistic disciplines and continents.
Learn more about each resident by clicking on their photo below.
Development
GRANT WINNERS
Underwritten and awarded by the Center’s Board of Directors, six $1,000 grants were also awarded to one applicant in each artistic discipline.
Barrett Burgin (film, Tennessee)
Talavou Fitisemanu (visual art, Utah)
James Goldberg (literature, Utah)
Bronté Hopkins (choreography, Utah)
Ellie Prisbrey (graphic design, Indiana)
Justin White (music composition, Florida)
The purpose of the Residency is simple: To help Latter-day Saint artists make their best work.
Each year, the Center brings a group of artists (writers, composers, choreographers, designers, filmmakers, and visual artists) to New York. Artists soak in the city’s abundance, have dedicated time to work on new projects, and form a community with other Latter-day Saint artists.
The Residency offers a tailor-made experience for each participant's creative and professional development. Those interested will describe the project they intend to work on in their application materials, and the Center for Latter-day Saint Arts will curate workspaces to facilitate the participants' specific needs. (For instance, a composer may work in a Juilliard practice studio while a painter requires a sunlit studio in SoHo.)
We are interested in artists who are working at all stages of their career.
Selected artists will receive travel to and from New York City, living accommodations, tickets to curated group and individual events and entertainment, and a daily stipend to cover food and travel in the city for those accepted to the Residency.
A key feature of the Artists Residency is the community built between cohort members throughout the week of their stay. In addition to their individual time working, artists-in-residence bond over meals, outings, and end-of-day gatherings and share their ideas and experiences together.
ABOUT THE PROGRAM
Artistic Excellence &
Creative Community
What’s in store at the Residency?
This special program is designed to bring six LDS artists to the heart of New York City to create at the intersection of cultural relevance and divine creativity.
The 2025 Residents
3rd annual Residency: September 2025, New York City
Jury: Vanessa Cook, Tim Boyle, George Handley, Emily Larsen, Julián Mansilla, Jeff Simpson, and Doug Thomas.
The 2024 Residents
2nd annual Residency: October 9-14, 2024, New York City
Jury: Tacey M. Atsitty, Richard Bushman, Rose Datoc Dall, Nancy Heuston, Susan Elizabeth Howe, Jared Oaks, and Aaron Toronto.
The 2023 Residents
Inaugural Residency: October 15-22, 2023, New York City
Jury: Sheri Dew, Stanley Hainsworth, Melissa Leilani Larsen, Lance Larsen, Deon Nielsen Price, Walter Rane, and Ricardo Rendón.
“Can a residency in the nation’s art capital of one week change an artist’s life? Of course it can, but it probably won’t take the full week to do it. ”
Application Resources
Submissions for 2027 will open January 2027
Frequently Asked Questions
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Yes—all artists are welcome and encouraged to apply again! Four members of our 2025 cohort had applied previously.
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Yes. The residency is open to artists at all career stages, and emerging artists are encouraged to apply. For the purposes of this program, an emerging or early-career artist is someone whose first professional work was within the past three years, or who is a current or recent student. In keeping with the Center’s commitment to fostering rising talent, two seats in the 2026 residency cohort will be designated for artists who meet this definition.
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No. Projects do not need to be explicitly spiritual or religious to be considered. The Center understands artistic creation itself as a meaningful, even spiritual, act, and welcomes projects across a wide range of subjects and approaches.
Projects are evaluated primarily on artistic quality and potential. In keeping with the Center’s mission, jurors may also consider how an applicant’s work engages questions of divine creativity and cultural relevance, but exclusively devotional content is not required. -
No. While the residency provides lodging, workspace, and travel, the Center is not able to supply additional personnel such as dancers, photographers, actors, musicians, or assistants. Artists are welcome to arrange their own collaborators.
That said, in your application, feel free to describe your ideal or “dream” version of the project. It’s also helpful to let us know whether there’s a scaled or alternative version that could work with limited human resources, so we can better understand how feasible your project is within the residency.
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No. While the residency provides lodging, workspace, and travel, the Center cannot guarantee access to specialized equipment. However, we will make best efforts to place artists in workspaces that meet their needs (such as natural light, sink access, non-precious floors, or a piano).
In your application, feel free to describe your ideal or “dream” version of the project. It’s also helpful to note whether a scaled or alternative version could work with limited equipment, so we can better understand how feasible your project is within the residency.
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Your project does not need to be New York–specific. The residency is held in New York City to offer artists access to a rich and varied cultural landscape, and jurors often appreciate when applicants think intentionally about how place might inform their work, whether through research, inspiration, engagement with the city’s artistic communities, or simply time and focus to create.
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This week-long residency is designed for work, and intended to aid you in advancing your artistic practice. You might start, extend, polish, or continue a project during the duration of the residency.
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The writer of your recommendation letter should be someone who can speak to the quality of your work, the potential impact of this Residency on you, and your contributions to your chosen discipline.
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Applicants must be at least 21 years of age, speak english, and self-identify as part of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints community, whether by faith, heritage, and/or culture. We also ask that selected residents are able to provide their own supplies for their work, and agree to be photographed or filmed during their time at the residency.
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Fluency in English is required for all participants.
Participants should be confident conversing in English in a variety of settings, such as attending a live Broadway show, having group conversations with many people, and following written navigation or itinerary instructions.
The Residency cannot provide an English-language interpreter for artists.
If your application has work samples submitted in a language other than English, they will be translated via Google Translate.
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Send an email to residency@centerforlatterdaysaintarts.org and we’ll get back to you soon.
Acknowledgments
We gratefully acknowledge the many people who have provided assistance for the Residency, including the Center’s donors.
2023:
Application screeners
Guest speakers: Tara Bench, Allyson Chard, Walter Rane, and Joël René Scoville
Host: Stanley Hainsworth
Residency photographer: Sam Zauscher
Marketing and communications: Emily Larsen Doxford
Illustration: Isabelle Walton
Special event donors: Georgia and Warren Blosil family
2024:
Application screeners
Guest speakers: Richard and Claudia Bushman, Stanley Hainsworth, Walter Rane
Residency filmmaker: Chris Moore
Residency headshots: James Ransom
2025:
Application Screeners
Residency videographer: McCall McClellan
Residency Headshots: Kah Poon
For the Center:
Mykal Urbina, executive director
Richard L. Bushman, emeritus chairman of the board
Stanley Hainsworth, chairman of the board
Glen Nelson, director of special projects
Veronica Harvey, director of marketing & communications
Emily Spung, residency project manager
Ron Schneider, finances