Fine Arts Work Center and Walker Youngbird Foundation Launch Inaugural Native Artist Residency in Provincetown

Provincetown, MA. October 20, 2026 – The Fine Arts Work Center and the Walker Youngbird Foundation today announced the Walker Youngbird Native Artist Residency, a new residency for Native artists, with the inaugural residency taking place in spring 2027. The partnership pairs the Work Center’s nearly 60 years of hosting artists and writers with the Walker Youngbird Foundation’s work expanding funding and access for Native artists.

“Talent has never been the problem for Native artists. Access has. Too often, the funding and professional relationships that build careers have been out of reach. This residency gives an artist the freedom to experiment and take risks, alongside a community of peers. The work begins in Provincetown, but the relationships built here can carry an artist’s practice well beyond those four weeks,” said Reid Walker, founder of the Walker Youngbird Foundation. 

As founding residency partner, the Walker Youngbird Foundation is committing $10,000 to the residency’s inaugural year, including a $2,500 stipend for the selected artist. The Fine Arts Work Center will provide a private apartment, a 400-square-foot studio, access to its facilities and creative community, staff support, and a public program.

The residency is open to emerging- to mid-career Native and Indigenous visual artists age 18 and older residing in the United States and Canada. Artists working in any visual medium are eligible.

The inaugural resident will be selected through a joint review process by a committee comprising Reid Walker, founder of the Walker Youngbird Foundation; Duane Slick (Meskwaki and Ho-Chunk), artist and educator; and Mala Iqbal, artist and chair of the Fine Arts Work Center’s Visual Arts Committee. Selection will be based on the strength and vision of the artist’s work and the potential for the residency to meaningfully advance their practice.

Applications will open October 26. Members of the selection committee may encourage artists to apply, but all candidates will be considered through the same review process.

The selected artist will spend four weeks in Provincetown from May 23 through June 19, 2027. The residency will culminate in a public program celebrating the artist’s work, with professional photography, documentation, and promotion.

“We are delighted to partner with the Walker Youngbird Foundation in this new residency,” said Sharon Polli, Executive Director of the Fine Arts Work Center. “I’ve been so impressed with the work the Foundation is doing, lifting up artists and bridging gaps in support for Native American artists and art. This residency aligns with that work, welcoming a Native American artist to the historic art community of Provincetown, providing time and space and the possibilities they hold, and engaging artists throughout the arc of their careers. We are deeply grateful for this partnership and what it offers to both the artist and Provincetown.”

The residency builds on the Work Center’s ongoing efforts to broaden access for Native artists and writers, including partnerships with the Institute of American Indian Arts and Indigenous Nations Poets and outreach across Cape Cod and the region. For the Walker Youngbird Foundation, the program reflects a broader strategy of building lasting infrastructure for Native artists by connecting them directly with an established creative community where relationships and opportunities can continue well beyond the residency itself.

For more information visit walkeryoungbird.org/fawc-apply