The Anderson Ranch Arts Center in Snowmass Village, Colorado, has announced it will offer five-week residencies to 15 Los Angeles artists whose homes and studios were destroyed or severely impacted by the January wildfires, including in the hard-hit area of Altadena. Starting October 15, the program fees will be waived, funded by Bloomberg Philanthropies and Anne and Arnold Porath, among others. Artists were selected by an outside jury from 30–40 applicants, and the cohort will live together in a dorm-like facility with individual studios and communal meals.
This initiative matters because it provides a structured space for artists who have lost not only their physical workspaces but also their creative output and community to grieve, share experiences, and resume their practice. It highlights the growing need for arts organizations to respond to climate-related disasters, as natural events like wildfires and hurricanes increasingly threaten artists’ livelihoods. The residency also underscores the role of philanthropic support in helping the art world recover from catastrophic loss.