Artist-in-Residence Program

The BLM Artist-in-Residence program offers opportunities for painters, photographers, potters, sculptors and other artists to promote deeper understanding of, and dialogue about, the significance of natural, cultural, and historic resources on public lands managed by the BLM – including the National Landscape Conservation System.

The BLM Artist-in-Residence program is managed at the local level by a participating BLM field office. Each participating field office has the flexibility of crafting their Artist-in-Residence program as it best suits their needs and resources while keeping within the overall program guidelines.

Combine your passion for creativity and the outdoors in the BLM Artist-in-Residence program. Whether you paint, sketch, compose, sculpt, take photographs, make pottery, or create other types of art, you can be inspired by the beauty of the public lands and your work can inspire others.

Learn more about the program!

Spotlight: Artist-in-Residence Painted Mountains Tour

In 2022, for the first time in bureau history, the BLM Artist-in-Residence program featured a multi-site tour when Native American jazz trumpeter Delbert Anderson and his ensemble D’DAT visited six National Conservation Lands sites. Anderson and D’DAT spent time at each location researching Indigenous land stories and music, then held workshops in which students collaborated to create music. They concluded a final day with an outdoor public performance to celebrate America’s public lands. Learn more about the 2022 Painted Mountains Tour.