Hold Space Retreat for Artists of Color

Ox-Bow School of Art & Artists’ Residency is now accepting applications for the 2025 Hold Space Retreat for Artists of Color. The funded program provides communal living, making, and the opportunity to organize and be in community on Ox-Bow’s campus in Saugatuck, Michigan. 

People of color across the creative spectrum including artists of any discipline, writers, curators, teachers, and Ox-Bow Alumni are encouraged to apply. The retreat supports individuals or groups of up to twenty for any length from one to seven nights between September 15–23, 2025. Participants who qualify for a Hold Space Retreat receive lodging, three meals per day, and access to Ox-Bow studios and spaces are provided. 

Ox-Bow encourages applicants to consider how they would like to use its facilities and resources to best suit their interests and goals. Some proposal examples are listed below, but are not limited to;

–An individual artist utilizing the metals, ceramics, printmaking, fiber, painting, or writing studio, with guidance from Ox-Bow’s on-campus studio managers. You can see more about our studios and equipment here.
–A self-organized group gathering with collaborative creative projects and BIPOC speakers. 
–Other nonprofits in need of time and space to plan and organize, with comfortable lodging, and space to talk and make.
–BIPOC curators may utilize the campus gallery spaces for exhibitions, with assistance from the campus team.
–A set of existing collaboratives coming together to design a suite of dinner parties and conversation with assistance from Ox-Bow’s culinary team.

Application information
Applications are now open and are due July 6 at 12am EST. Apply here. Proposals are reviewed by a panel of BIPOC curators and artists who are familiar with the Ox-Bow experience. Hold Space Retreat recipients should be 21 years or older at the start of their residency and have the option of bringing their children to campus. Children must be accompanied by a legal guardian while on campus. Ox-Bow does not provide childcare or additional care support at this time. 

If you have questions regarding the applications process or the Hold Space Retreat please email oxbow@ox-bow.org.

Ox-Bow’s DEIA Statement
Ox-Bow School of Art & Artists’ Residency fosters an environment that rejects injustice, oppression, and racism through radical hospitality and care. We are committed to continued listening, learning, and direct action that will result in sustainable change within our organization to ensure that Black, Indigenous, Asian, and Latine artists, trans and queer artists, and artists with disabilities are seen, heard, and supported at Ox-Bow. 

Our leadership team is working toward being an anti-racist organization. Recent tangible actions include a year-long educational relationship with Enrich Chicago, expanding funding  opportunities in support of BIPOC participation in Ox-Bow programs, the Peter Williams Award for teaching and mentorship by a BIPOC alum, revised hiring practices that support equity, the adoption of ethical storytelling in our communications, and the development of the Hold Space Retreat  for Artists of Color.

As we complete our current strategic plan, audits of facilities and programs will continue this work to inform Ox-Bow’s future. 

About Ox-Bow School of Art & Artists’ Residency
As an artist-built and run school and residency, Ox-Bow School of Art & Artists’ Residency is dedicated to the creation and preservation of time and space for arts education, research, practice, and community-building for artists at all stages of their artistic journey. Founded in 1910, Ox-Bow’s egalitarian and intimate environment encourages all artists, regardless of experience, to find, amplify, rediscover, and share their impulse to create. Faculty, Visiting Artists, Residents, staff, and students live together in community on our campus in Saugatuck, Michigan, where they share meals, social time, and the exchange of ideas. We actively encourage our participants to engage across differences in age, regional location, race, and gender identity, learning what it means to be a community by participating in one. Ox-Bow is a 501c3 not-for-profit organization. 

*Images above: (1) Artist from WILD YAMS, a Black Mothers Artist Residency from Chicago, works in the studio during the 2024 Hold Space Retreat. (2) 2024 Hold Space partcipants from WILD YAMS, a Black Mothers Artist Residency from Chicago. WILD YAMS provides Black Mother Artists and Caretakers the opportunity to focus and recenter their artistic practice and grow their creative careers. (3) CATALYZE, a BIPOC Writing Circle, began meeting virtually online in 2020. During the 2024 Hold Space Retreat the group spent time in-person for the first time. (4) Artists from WILD YAMS working on the riso in the Ox-Bow print studio. (5) Artists of WILD YAMS making paper during their 2024 Hold Space retreat. (6) Artist of WILD YAMS pours some iron in the Ox-Bow metals studio during their 2024 Hold Space retreat. (7) Members of CATALYZE worked with Ox-Bow staff to hold a papermaking demo.