Tucked within the historic Van Shed at Caumsett State Historic Park Preserve, the Caumsett Foundation Artist-in-Residence (AIR) program offers a distinctive model: a studio embedded within a working landscape of coastline, meadow, and woodland. From April through November, eight selected artists rotate through the space, each developing work in direct response to the park. This season’s residents are Lenore Hanson, Cathleen Ficht, Luanda Lozano,  Heather Heckel,  Auguste Elder, KT Duffy, Anthony Torrano and Jessica Peganos.

The season opened with an orientation followed by the program’s annual supper, bringing together current residents, alumni artists, and members of the AIR Advisory and Foundation Board members. The evening established the program’s core emphasis on continuity, exchange, and sustained engagement with a shared investment in artistic practice.

Public engagement remains central to the residency. Each artist leads a workshop during their four- to eight-week residency, offering visitors insight into their process. Upcoming programs include KT Duffy’s “Drawing with JavaScript,” a playful introduction to coding as a visual medium;  Auguste Elder’s “Exploration of Place through Color Field Journaling,” a guided walk translating observation into color and memory; and Luanda Lozano’s “Embossing and Relief Printmaking” workshop, using natural materials to produce textured prints.  Additional programs will address frottage and image transfer techniques, expanding the dialogue between unique and handmade with reproduction.

Rather than creating in isolation, the residency maintains an open relationship to its surroundings.  Artists engage with shifting conditions of light, terrain, and season, while the public is invited into that process.

The program concludes with a group exhibition and symposium on November 7, 2026, open to the public, featuring work developed during each artist’s residency. The Artist-in-Residence program and all accompanying events are made possible through the continued support of the Caumsett Foundation.