Open Calls: 2027 Artist Residencies in Hawai‘i and Banff, Canada

What's open and who should apply

Two residency opportunities announced for 2027 invite artists to work in settings defined by dramatic natural landscapes. One is a four-week residency at Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park run by the National Parks Arts Foundation. The other comprises two distinct residency programs at the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity in Banff, Alberta.

Both programs welcome a range of media, but their stated priorities differ. Hawai'i emphasizes immersive engagement with the park environment and supports visual artists, performance artists, musicians, and writers. Banff's programs are framed around sound, place, and embodied performance, and include faculty-led components.

Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park residency (National Parks Arts Foundation)

• Dates: October 6–31, 2027.
• Eligible applicants: individual artists, artist couples and their families, and artist collectives.

• Site context: Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park contains rainforests, active volcanoes (Kīlauea and Mauna Loa), active lava flows and vents, and is near several beaches.
• Fees and deadline: Application fees are $60 for individuals, $120 for artist couples, and $160 for collectives of three or more. Applications are due Tuesday, October 20, 2026.
• How to apply: Visit the National Parks Arts Foundation website for full eligibility details and application materials.

This residency provides uninterrupted time on the Big Island with onsite housing and studio amenities suited to sound and recording work as well as other disciplines.

Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity residencies

Banff opened applications for two separate programs in 2027. Each program has its own thematic brief, faculty, and deadline.

• Dates: May 17–June 18, 2027.
• Focus: Projects that consider how places "sing," how memory persists in vibration, and how listening to land can reshape ethical and political relationships. The program foregrounds acoustic ecology and asks applicants to consider land use, migration, ecological disruption, and colonial infrastructures.
• Faculty mentioned: Xenia Benivolski (curator/writer), Elina Waage Mikalsen (Sápmi/Norwegian artist), and Kathryn Yusoff (geographer).
• Deadline: Applications due Wednesday, November 18, 2026.

2) Embodied Making: Performance Art, Images and Objects

• Dates: July 5–August 6, 2027.
• Focus: Collective inquiry and individual studio experimentation for performance artists considering how images and forms gain meaning through embodied interaction.
• Faculty mentioned: Brendan Fernandes (artist), Claire Fleming Staples (U.S. artist), and Abril Zales (Chief Curator, Museo Tamayo).
• Deadline: Applications due Wednesday, February 17, 2027.

How to match your proposal to these opportunities

• For Hawai'i: emphasize site-specific engagement, how the park's geological and ecological features inform process or outcome, and if applicable, use of onsite recording/chamber facilities.
• For Banff Sounding Like a Mountain: focus proposals on sound, listening practices, and the political or ecological histories embedded in landscape acoustics.

Practical deadlines and fees

These programs offer funded time and infrastructure in two very different natural contexts. Align applications tightly with the stated themes and faculty interests to improve fit.