Artists-in-Residence

Welcome Shawn Smith, JSP Artist-in-Residence

Josephine Sculpture Park is ecstatic to welcome Shawn Smith as the incoming Artist-in-Residence! During Shawn's residency in September 2026, visitors will witness his sculpture come to life and explore a variety of art and environmental education programs, like insect hotel building workshops and discussions with local ecologists, farmers, and artists. Shawn's sculpture will invite visitors to connect with themselves and nature through the eyes of beneficial insects.

Shawn Smith received his BFA in Printmaking from Washington University and his MFA in Sculpture from the California College of the Arts. He has been commissioned to create public artworks in San Francisco, New York City, Fort Worth, Austin, and at the US Embassy in Niamey, Niger. His work is in the permanent collection of the National Museum of Wildlife Art in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, the Explora Science Museum in Albuquerque, NM, the Nasher Sculpture Center in Dallas and the Smithsonian American Art Museum.

Explore Shawn's work at shawnsmithart.com.

Residency Overview

JSP posts calls for residency proposals each spring. The best way to learn about upcoming artist opportunities is to sign up for our newsletter at the bottom of the website menu.

AiR Program

Josephine Sculpture Park's Arist-in-Residence (AiR) program is hosted at the 40-acre park in Franklin County, Kentucky. The AiR program will welcome 1 artist for a site planning visit in 2025 and a residency period of up to 10 weeks in 2026. The goal is to provide artists a career-boosting opportunity to make new outdoor work on a large-scale, with the physical space and technical and financial support to succeed.

What JSP Offers

Access to robustly equipped studio + outdoor work pad
Residency stipend
Materials stipend (plus access to some materials on-site)
Studio assistance & training
At least 1 mentorship session with Executive Director & Chief Curator
Residency planning and communication support pre-, during and post-residency.
Exhibition of created work

What JSP Expects

Artists are encouraged to challenge themselves and push beyond their comfort zones, supported by experienced artistic staff and specialized equipment to create new, large-scale works on-site. The artwork is intended to be on exhibition for 2 years at JSP. During the residency, artists will informally interact with JSP visitors and participate in at least one community engagement event.

Selection Process

Scoring Rubric

Submissions will be scored by a Curatorial Committee based on the following:

Body of work: Does the applicant exhibit a high level of skill in their medium(s)?
Artistic growth: Does the applicant present a compelling proposal for how this residency would expand their artistic practice? JSP encourages AiRs to be innovative, take risks, and try something here that they could not create elsewhere.
Appropriateness of artwork: Is the proposed artwork physically and thematically suitable for exhibition at Josephine Sculpture Park?
Feasibility: Does the proposed timeline and budget reflect the scale and scope of the proposed artwork?
Clear interest in being part of the JSP AiR program: Does the applicant appear to have researched Josephine Sculpture Park and the Frankfort community?

Submissions with the highest scores may be invited to interview with JSP staff committee members. JSP staff make the final selection based on the committee’s recommendation.

Curatorial Committee

The Curatorial Committee includes:

1-2 JSP board members
3 JSP staff
2-5 artists and curators

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