“The 2026 Joan Mitchell Center Artists-in-Residence reflect the rich diversity of creative practices throughout the US and within the vibrant arts scene of New Orleans,” said Christa Blatchford, Executive Director of the Joan Mitchell Foundation. “We are proud to provide each of these artists with time and space to pursue specific projects or develop new ideas, continuing the generosity that Joan Mitchell showed to other artists who came to live and work at her home in France. The Foundation’s ongoing support for artists is particularly meaningful and important in this challenging moment of diminishing opportunities, and we continue to be committed to our values in ensuring that the Joan Mitchell Center is a safe and inclusive space for creative work and exchange.”
The Foundation’s residency program grew out of decades of grantmaking that included support for artists and arts organizations nationwide, with a notable focus on providing resources to the arts community in New Orleans post-Katrina. To deepen its relationship with its community both in New Orleans and of past grantees across the US, the Foundation began offering residencies in 2013 through a pilot program in the French Quarter. In 2015, the Joan Mitchell Center officially opened its two-acre campus on Bayou Road in the Seventh Ward, with residencies open by application to two groups: the Foundation’s past grant recipients and visual artists local to or born in New Orleans. Each year, both groups’ applications are reviewed by a rotating jury of artists and arts professionals, who evaluate the artists’ overall bodies of work and dedication to maintaining a studio practice, while considering which of the applicants are at a pivotal moment in their careers when they would most benefit from participating in the residency program.
The jurors for 2026 were: Hannah Chalew, a New Orleans-based artist, activist, and residency alum; Rian Crane, an independent curator, organizer, and artist from Houston, TX; Ama Rogan, managing director of A Studio in the Woods at Tulane University, New Orleans; Dewey Tafoya, a visual artist and master printmaker based in Los Angeles; and Allison K. Young, Associate Professor of Contemporary Art History at Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA.
“As an artist, I always learn a great deal by serving on grant juries. With the Joan Mitchell Center attracting such a strong applicant pool, it was inspiring to get to see so much compelling work,” reflected Hannah Chalew. “I gained valuable insights from hearing the diverse perspectives of my fellow jurors while contributing my own as a former Artist-in-Residence at the Center. I especially appreciated the Center’s commitment to an intentional jury process that cultivates cohorts of talented artists dedicated to their practices, including a roster of local artists that reflects the population of our city.”
Artists begin arriving at the Joan Mitchell Center campus on February 2 for the Spring session, with artists in residence for either 6 or 14 weeks, as their schedules permit, through May 8. Nine artists will be in residence for the Summer session, which runs June 22–July 31. For the Fall session, artists again rotate in for 6- or 14-week residencies, from September 8–December 18.
“With each residency season, we see the transformative impact a residency can have on an artist’s practice—whether through uninterrupted time to focus on their work, connections made through studio visits and public events, exchange with fellow residents, or immersion in the unique culture of New Orleans,” noted Veronique LeMelle, who was recently named Senior Director of the Joan Mitchell Center. “We’re excited to welcome each of the 2026 Artists-in-Residence to campus and support their diverse practices and residency goals.”