Artists join Rocky Mountain program

Rocky Mountain National Park and the Rocky Mountain Conservancy have picked six artists for the park’s 2026 Artists-in-Residence program. (nps.gov) The 2026 group includes musicians Francisco Lujan Villalobos, Antonio Pereira and Santiago Suarez of Pavolv’s Bell, sculptor and ceramic artist Daniela Mihaita, painter and drawing artist Alexandra Bassett, painter and writer Kara Lynn Bressler, photographer Theodore “Ted” Tahquechi, and textile artist Rebecca Shewmaker. (nps.gov) Each residency lasts two weeks and runs during the summer season, with dates stretching from late May through mid-September. During each stay, every artist is scheduled to host two public programs in the park. (nps.gov) The program places artists inside Rocky Mountain National Park rather than asking them to work from afar. The park says the residencies are open to artists across disciplines and are built around creating work tied to Rocky’s landscapes and sharing that work with visitors. (nps.gov) That public piece is formal: the park’s program page says each artist gives one 60- to 90-minute lecture-style presentation at Beaver Meadows Visitor Center Auditorium, and the residency also includes a second public program. (nps.gov) The application cycle for this year’s cohort opened on December 15, 2025, and closed on January 15, 2026. The park told applicants that only the first 150 applications would be accepted for review and that final selections are historically announced in April. (nps.gov 1) (nps.gov 2) The residency also leaves something behind. The park’s application rules say each artist must donate a completed piece inspired by the stay, and Rocky Mountain Conservancy manages that unofficial collection. (nps.gov 1) (nps.gov 2) Rocky’s artist program is also part of a broader rebuild of residency programs at the park. Rocky Mountain Conservancy says its Scholar-in-Residence fellowship for summer 2026 was modeled on the artist program, and the conservancy offers a $5,000 stipend for that separate residency. (rmconservancy.org) The artist program itself returned recently after a long gap. Rocky Mountain Conservancy’s 2024 spring newsletter said the residency came back to the renovated William Allen White cabin after a hiatus of more than five years. (rmconservancy.org) Now the 2026 artists will rotate through Rocky over the height of the visitor season, making new work in the park and presenting it to the public before summer ends. (nps.gov)