Rocky Mountain names six artists
Rocky Mountain National Park and the Rocky Mountain Conservancy selected six artists for the 2026 Artists-in-Residence program, each doing two-week residencies across the summer season from late May through mid-September. (eptrail.com) The program schedules the residencies during the park’s busiest months for public accessibility. (eptrail.com)
Rocky Mountain National Park has picked six artists for its 2026 artist-in-residence program, with summer residencies running from late May to mid-September. (nps.gov) The 2026 group includes musicians Francisco Lujan Villalobos, Antonio Pereira and Santiago Suarez of the band Pavolv's Bell, plus sculptor and ceramic artist Daniela Mihaita, painter and drawing artist Alexandra Bassett, painter and writer Kara Lynn Bressler, photographer and 3D tactile print artist Theodore “Ted” Tahquechi, and textile and thread-painting artist Rebecca Shewmaker. (nps.gov) Each residency lasts two weeks, and each artist will present two public programs: a lecture-style event at Beaver Meadows Visitor Center and a hands-on session at Fall River Visitor Center. (nps.gov) Rocky Mountain National Park schedules the program in summer, when visitation is highest and the public programs can reach the most visitors. The park said details for the 2026 events will be posted on its public calendar when they are available. (nps.gov) The program gives artists a stay inside the park rather than a studio in town. Selected artists live in a rustic cabin in the park, use the landscape as source material, and create new work during the residency. (nps.gov; nps.gov) At the end of the residency, each artist must donate one finished piece tied to the stay. Rocky Mountain Conservancy holds the rights to that work, and the National Park Service can share it with the public. (nps.gov; nps.gov) Rocky Mountain National Park said it was among the first national parks to launch an artist-in-residence program, starting in 1984. Since then, the park has hosted more than 200 artists across mediums including writing, music, painting, photography, quilting and sculpture. (nps.gov; nps.gov) Applications for the 2026 cycle opened on December 15, 2025, and the park said a panel of judges would choose up to six artists and notify them in April 2026. The six names released on April 14 close that selection process and start the public-facing summer season. (nps.gov; nps.gov)
