The Studios of Key West - Residencies for Artists, Writers, and Performers

The Studios of Key West, the premier arts organization at the Southernmost Point of the United States, offers a residency program for emerging and established artists and writers from around the world. We provide residencies to visual artists, writers, composers, musicians, media artists, performers, and interdisciplinary artists, as well as research and development residencies. The Studios of Key West’s mission is to support artists, inspire creativity and build community.

The Peyton Evans Artist Residency (PEAR) program grants nearly 40 artists each year the time and space to imagine new artistic work, engage in valuable dialogue and explore island connections. The PEAR Program is community-based and built upon the hope that visiting artists will take inspiration from Key West’s rich artistic past and present, and will engage with — and be inspired by — the remarkable people and culture that surrounds them. Key West’s official motto, “One Human Family” reflects our commitment to living together as caring, sharing neighbors dedicated to making our home as close to paradise as we can. To that end, we encourage artists of all races, nationalities, gender identities, sexual orientations, and abilities to apply.

The Studios of Key West was founded in 2006 with the initial inspiration of simply providing space for artists to live and work, thereby drawing creative people to our island and enriching the lives of all who live here. In those earliest days, our founder Peyton Evans gathered fourteen of Key West’s most successful artists and writers and arranged for them to participate in artist residency programs throughout the country, then return to help us craft our own program combining the best of what they’d seen and learned. Hundreds of writers and artists have since come to Key West through the PEAR Program, many returning and several relocating permanently. Each has benefited from the island’s unique character, and left something of themselves behind. The PEAR Program celebrates the spirit of exploration with which it was founded, the artists it was established to serve, and the vision, wisdom and generosity of the woman for whom it’s named.

Our residencies are one month; they run from the 2nd day of the month to the last day of the month. The newly renovated guest house has 4 artist residencies including 1 ADA-accessible unit, with a shared kitchen, covered courtyard and lushly landscaped grounds.

Applications are accepted via Slideroom and are evaluated by selection committees comprised of working artists and professionals in the applicants’ respective fields of discipline under the five categories: Visual Arts, Literary Arts, Media Arts, Musical Arts, and Performing Arts. Acceptance to The Studios’ residency program is based on the merit of past work and the potential for creative, intellectual and personal growth. Year-to-year, the acceptance rate averages at 12-13%.

The Studios asks that applying artists submit supplementary materials to provide more information on their residency proposal (a guide to submissions is available at tskw.org), as well as propose a special project as a component of the residency. This could be in the form of a workshop, artist talk, public reading, etc. and would be offered at The Studios of Key West in exchange for the residency, if awarded one.

05/15/2025

$45.00