Jentel Artist Residency

Jentel is an artist residency program located about 20 miles southeast of Sheridan, Wyoming, in the foothills of the Bighorn Mountains. Its focus is deliberately simple: give serious artists, writers, and composers the time and space to step away from everyday demands and concentrate on their creative practice. Both emerging and established artists are considered, with selection based on artistic merit and promise.

Jentel offers residencies to visual artists working in any medium, writers working in fiction, creative nonfiction or poetry, and composers across musical genres. Residents receive a private room, shared living and kitchen areas, and a separate studio space. The residency is largely self-directed, allowing artists to develop their practice, pursue a specific project, or simply use the time to work without the usual distractions of daily life. Residencies are offered across multiple sessions throughout the year, giving artists opportunities to spend an extended period immersed in their work and in the surrounding landscape.

Jentel's appeal is its simplicity and isolation. There is no emphasis on a packed program of workshops or professional obligations. Instead, the residency creates the conditions for focused work: a private studio, a small community of other residents, and the considerable quiet of rural Wyoming. There are some important eligibility restrictions. Applicants must generally be at least 25 years old and either U.S. citizens or residing in the United States during the year of the residency. Full-time students enrolled in degree programs are not eligible, although postdoctoral fellows may apply. Wyoming residents have a separate application pathway. Residents are expected to be self-sufficient and bring their own materials and equipment. The program does not accommodate pets, children, or family members in the residency housing. For artists looking for time rather than programming, solitude rather than spectacle, and a serious place to make work, Jentel is an unusually focused residency worth keeping on the radar.