Elizabeth Murray Artist Residency 2026
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About The Elizabeth Murray Artist Residency by Collar Works
The Elizabeth Murray Artist Residency (EMAR) program by Collar Works is designed to provide emerging, underrepresented, and established artists an immersive, supportive, productive, and communal atmosphere for art-making and dialogue on a bucolic 77-acre farm in Granville, NY. The summer residency offers 2-week residencies for individual artists and 1-week residencies for families.
In 2017, the Murray-Holman family partnered with Collar Works to design a summer residency program for visual artists, with unique opportunities for individuals and families. Dedicated to supporting the legacy of Elizabeth Murray, Collar Works believes there is a kindred connection between its mission and what Murray’s story symbolizes to emerging artists, to those who are artists as well as parents, and to individuals who overcome adversity to achieve their vision.
EMAR creates opportunities for artists to take risks and develop new contemporary works across many art forms, primarily visual and literary arts, while engaging in meaningful dialogue with fellow residents and arts professionals.
Our goal is to create a residency program that addresses the critical needs of emerging and underrepresented artists, as well as artists with children, while offering a program that reflects the rich cultural environment of today through an active commitment to diversity, equity, accessibility, and inclusion. Since its inception, the Elizabeth Murray Artist Residency has been committed to creating an environment that stands out as a safe space for creative risk-taking, personal growth, and respite.
The late, visionary artist Elizabeth Murray believed that each person deserves an opportunity to make their art and for their art to be visible on equal platforms. With that in mind, our goal is to provide space and access for all, regardless of differences of race, age, color, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, religion, national origin, migratory status, disability/abilities, political affiliation, veteran status and/or socioeconomic background.
For more than two decades, Elizabeth Murray and her husband Bob Holman, together with their children, split their time between a Tribeca loft and a classic farmhouse in Washington County, New York. Murray, who passed away in 2007, was a groundbreaking artist. Her many honors include a Skowhegan Medal in Painting in 1986, a MacArthur “genius” grant in 1999, and a career retrospective at MoMA in 2005. Holman, a poet and arts activist, founded the Bowery Poetry Club in 2002 and produced the PBS series The United States of Poetry (1996) and Language Matters (2019). In 2017, the Murray-Holman family partnered with Collar Works to design a summer residency program for artists.
For many years, the farm served as both a summer home for the Murray-Holmans and a creative retreat for Elizabeth Murray, whose studio was located in the large, cathedral-like dairy barn. Given the history, location, and amenities, the family felt that the creative use of the property and its natural surroundings would carry on Elizabeth Murray’s legacy.
For more information about the residency, please visit www.collarworks.org/murrayresidency
About Collar Works
Collar Works is a nonprofit contemporary arts organization located in Troy, New York. Our mission is to support emerging, underrepresented artists and curators working in any media, creating provocative and culturally relevant artworks as a way of enriching the cultural life of the region. Collar Works provides a venue for community dialogue focused on serious and spirited artworks, educating the public through exhibitions, gallery talks, lectures, workshops, residencies, and community outreach activities.
2026 Residency Information
Application Deadline: September 15, 2025
2026 Individual Artist Residency Dates:
Session 1: May 23- June 6, 2026
Session 2: June 10 -June 24, 2026
2026 Family Residency Dates:
Session 3: August 1-8, 2026
Finalist Interviews: November 2025
Final Notification of Acceptance: December 2025
About the Individual Residency Program
The summer residency program is designed to accommodate up to 5 artists in residence per session, including onsite artist-staff members. Artists can apply to be considered for a 2-week individual experience or a 1-week family residency. Artists are provided with 24-hour access to semi-private studios in the large, cathedral-like barn, which houses the late Elizabeth Murray's studio, private bedroom accommodations, and shared bathroom facilities in the large farmhouse, with communal living room spaces, kitchen, and a library featuring Elizabeth Murray's personal art book collection. Property amenities include a swimming pool, pond, and 77 acres of fields and wooded areas. Food will be provided, with dinner being prepared together and served in a communal atmosphere to foster dialogue between residents. Artists will have the time and space to work in their studios, developing new works, and the opportunity to share their ideas in conversation with peers and engage with the surrounding art communities. Accepted artists will receive a $500 stipend to be used at their discretion towards travel, materials, or other associated costs related to this opportunity.
About the Family Residency Program
The Elizabeth Murray Artist Residency by Collar Works will invite up to 3 artists together with their families to spend one week in residence at EMAR. Artists and their families will be provided a private bedroom (families may need to room together) with shared bathrooms in the large farmhouse, as well as communal living room spaces, kitchen, and a library featuring Elizabeth Murray's personal art book collection. In addition, artists have a semi-private studio in the same barn that Elizabeth Murray worked in during the summers with her family. The property also features a 'Kids Studio' for children and family members. Property amenities include a swimming pool, pond, and 77 acres.
The 2026 Elizabeth Murray Family Residency is a fully-supported opportunity available for up to 3 artists and their families during August 1-8, 2026. There is no cost to participate for accepted artists in the Family Residency program. Food for meals will be provided. Accepted artists will receive a $500 stipend to be used at their own discretion towards travel, materials, or other associated costs related to this opportunity. An integral aspect of our program is that we provide full-day (9AM-3PM) child care in the form of a parallel creative residency for children ages 5 through 12, which focuses on art and nature programming. While parent artists have uninterrupted time in the studios, their children and families are spending time in their very own EMAR Kids Art Studio, engaged in meaningful art projects, outside exploring nature through guided activities, playing, swimming, reading, and at times, going on guided field trips to local farms and museums. Although we welcome partners to join and participate in the care of their children if desired, we are committed to fully supporting artists and families who want or need to attend solo with their children. Given the rural nature of the program, Collar Works will work with each artist on a case-by-case basis to ensure the necessary support and equipment is in place prior to arrival as much as possible.
The goal of the Elizabeth Murray Artist Residency for Families is to provide the time, space, and connections parent artists desire, together with an immersive, enriching experience for the entire family.
To submit your application for EMAR 2026, you will need to provide the following:
•Artist Information
•Statement of Intent (250-500 words)
• Artist Biography (250 words)
• 10 examples of Recent Works
(Visual Arts: .jpeg image file size: 150 ppi, 1200 pixels max length. If applicable, please provide a .pdf with links to video/media files or a curated URL page. Please include passwords for password-protected works.)
(Literary Arts: Up to 3 poems, max 6 pages; Prose 10 pages max)
• List of Works (title, medium, date, size)
Questions or need technical assistance? Please email us at info@collarworks.org
We offer the first two weeks of the application period be FREE to apply. Beginning August 1st, there is a $35 application fee.