Helene Wurlitzer Foundation — 2028 Artist Residencies (Taos)

A fully funded, rent-free writing-and-composing residency in Taos, New Mexico: a private, utility-paid casita for the length of a 10- to 12-week session, with no teaching, performing or public obligations attached. There is no cash stipend — residents cover their own food and travel, and a strict no-work policy means no local jobs during the stay — though limited grocery assistance is sometimes available through a dedicated fund. Bicycles are provided, Wi-Fi is available but residents set it up and pay for it themselves, and only one session per year is awarded even if you list several preferences.

Composers and songwriters working in any style — classical, contemporary, songwriting, film scoring — can apply alongside visual and literary artists, with no restrictions on age, nationality, or career stage; the foundation notes prior experience creating in relative isolation helps, since the setting is remote. There is a non-refundable $30 application fee, and anyone selected pays a $300 deposit, half of it refundable.

Applying means an online form covering your background, references and session preferences, plus five anonymised work samples — audio recordings up to 10MB each, also mailed on a USB drive with at least five tracks — with your name stripped from every file and description. The deadline is 18 January 2027 at 11:59pm Mountain time, and mailed samples should be sent early since the site is not fully consistent on the postmark cut-off for that route. No formal scoring criteria are published; applications move through semi-finalist and finalist rounds before references are contacted, with decisions announced by June.