2015 Wrangell Mountains Center Residency—McCarthy, Alaska

The Wrangell Mountains Center (WMC) is a nonprofit organization that fosters understanding, appreciation, and stewardship of wildlands and mountain culture in Alaska through scientific and artistic inquiry in the Wrangell Mountains. The Wrangell Mountains Residency Program aims to support artists of all genres, writers, and inquiring minds in the creation of their work. The organization and community will provide unrestricted work time and space to focused individuals. Applicants with creative and inquisitive minds who will both add to and benefit from the interdisciplinary efforts at the campus in McCarthy, Alaska and the surrounding Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve are invited to apply.

Located in a small mountain community within the nation's largest unit of the national park system (over 13 million acres), the setting provides a unique natural and cultural environment. Positioned near ice-capped mountains, the roaring Kennicott River and McCarthy Creek, and the raw terminus of the Kennicott Glacier, the local landscape is a dynamic laboratory for study in ecology, glaciology, and geology. The town of McCarthy was established during the copper mining period in the early 20th century. Historic sites and buildings in McCarthy and Kennecott combine to make the area a rich cultural environment. The WMC campus includes the Old Hardware Store (built in 1911) and the recently acquired adjacent homestead property, Porphyry Place, which houses programming and models off-the-grid technologies and practices.

Four residencies are available in 2015: June 3-16, June 24-July 7, July 22-August 4, and August 19-September 1. Each resident will be provided with a private and furnished live/work space. The "Meg Hunt" Studio contains abundant natural light, wood floors, work tables, a pull-down bed, hand-washing sink, propane heater, and small library. Residents will have access to common areas and classes on campus. Simple, mostly-vegetarian meals will be provided and shared communally. Participants should come prepared with all necessary research materials and art supplies as they are not available for purchase locally. Internet and email access can be purchased on a personal computer. The WMC utilizes outhouses, an outdoor shower, and a simple sauna available to residents. Laundry opportunities are also available. Artists will be selected based on artistic merit, importance of the Wrangell St. Elias/McCarthy experience to the artist's work, need or benefit to the artist, the artist's proposed plan to give back to the community, and feasibility of the plan. Entry fee: $30. International applicants are eligible.