2026 Residency Open Call

About the Open Call

The Luminary 2026 Residency Open Call is a nationally recognized, research-driven initiative supporting emerging and mid-career artists, curators, and critics in developing new work. It offers an intensive two-week residency designed to foster focused inquiry and meaningful engagement with the cultural landscape of St. Louis. The program emphasizes a two-fold approach to research: providing artists dedicated time to pursue new lines of inquiry within their practice, while encouraging deep immersion in St. Louis’s vibrant arts community through exploration, dialogue, and relationship-building. Residents are supported with spacious housing, financial resources, and structured opportunities for public engagement, creating a collaborative environment where creative development and national artistic discourse intersect. Offered in three seasonal sessions—winter/spring, summer, and fall—each cohort centers on critical contemporary themes such as artificial intelligence, climate futures, and free speech. Residents engage with local artists, organizations, and institutions, expanding their work beyond the studio and into the public sphere. This residency program is integral to The Luminary’s commitment to positioning St. Louis as a hub for critical and experimental work. Many past residents maintain ongoing ties to the city through exhibitions, public projects, and institutional collaborations, contributing to a growing national dialogue rooted in this dynamic region.

What is Offered

Each resident receives a weekly stipend and funded travel to The Luminary in St. Louis. Housing is provided in a three-bedroom, one-bathroom apartment located above the gallery on Cherokee Street. The apartment includes a full kitchen, dining area, living room, free laundry, and Wi-Fi. The Luminary team is available to help coordinate research-focused visits. There is no requirement to produce a final outcome at the end of the residency.

Requirements

The residency is open to national and international artists, curators, writers, critics, and researchers working across all disciplines. We do not accept applications from currently enrolled students at any level (including MA, MFA, and Ph.D. programs) or from artists based in the St. Louis region. Residents must be able to climb a flight of stairs; the bathroom is not wheelchair accessible. Collaborative teams may apply, but the stipend will remain the same per week.

How to Apply

Applicants must apply via Submittable. The application will request basic information, two brief responses, and submission for work samples via a single PDF or website links. To request a fee waiver, contact Kristina Murray at kristina@theluminaryarts.com.