Artists in Residence

Our Social Practice Residency supports artists working at the intersection of creativity, community, and care. Residents share a 600-square-foot studio and curate one group exhibition during their term. The residency provides affordable work space, a curatorial opportunity, and integration into a vibrant community hub.

Artist Applications

NOTE: Residencies are NOT limited to three-four months. We offer it in short bursts to allow flexibility. Artists who want to continue their residency should contact the Red Gate director one month prior to the end of the term.

  • Duration: February 1 – May 30, 2026

    Ideal for artists launching or testing new projects during the academic year

  • Duration: June 1 – August 31, 2026

    Open to art educators who are working professional artists. Ideal for K-12 and university-level teachers

  • Duration: September 1 – December 30, 2026

    Ideal for artists launching or testing new projects during the academic year goes here

Requirements and Selection Process

Residents are selected by invitation and through an open call. Applications are reviewed by Red Gate staff and advisors with backgrounds in art, education, and community organizing on a rolling basis. We prioritize artists with a social practice focus, an interest in working with the community, and a commitment to equity and experimentation.

Selection is based on:

  • Artistic strength and clarity of vision

  • Engagement with social practice, experimentation, or care-based art

  • Feasibility and fit with the space’s multi-use format

  • Willingness to collaborate and contribute

  • Commitment to equity and inclusion

  • Ability to work in a shared space

We especially encourage applications from artists who identify as BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, disabled, and/or from historically underrepresented backgrounds. To apply, submit:

  • Statement of interest (300 words max)

  • Bio and CV

  • 5–10 images or video links of past work

  • Your preferred residency session and duration

  • Optional: service project proposal (if waiving rent)

Send your materials or inquiries to theredgate@wydownunitedchurch.org

Mark your submission ARTIST RESIDENCY in the subject line.

2025 Artists

Sukanya ManI

Sukanya Mani is a multidisciplinary artist who invites viewers to reflect on postpartum care, reproductive rights, domestic violence, and self-image, exploring the collective, evolving perspectives on these themes. Mani draws on her background in science to manipulate spatial perception through site-specific installations, reshaping how viewers engage with physical and conceptual space. Using subtle interventions with repurposed fabric, found objects, and cut paper, Mani contextualizes the project within political systems that extend across new geographies, highlighting the layered complexities of diasporic movement and identity. Her installations are deeply rooted in feminist inquiry, exploring systems of knowledge, embodiment, and resilience through material experimentation and educational engagement.

You can see more of her work at Sukanyamani.com

Saaba Lutzeler

Saaba Lutzeler is a US-born textile and mixed-media portrait painter and arts educator at Forsyth School in St. Louis, Missouri. Her recent works combine stitched portraits with mixed-media self-portraits, together telling her mother’s immigration story and exploring her own mixed-race identity. Lutzeler’s stitchwork creates inviting topographies that mirror her subjects' intricate life stories. Their thousands of tiny stitch marks convey emotion, identity, form, and narrative. Through this work, Lutzeler seeks to contribute meaningfully to evolving conversations on race, immigration, and identity in the US. Artistically, it strives to push the boundaries of portraiture and fiber art by integrating the ancient handicraft of Ethiopian embroidery with contemporary aesthetic and conceptual concerns. Culturally, it aims to foster dialogue about “othering” and belonging; the fluidity of identity over time; and the creative ways individuals, families, and/or communities make sense of, preserve, and reinterpret their histories, inviting viewers to contemplate how and why personal and collective identities shift over time and what impacts such shifts may have.

Visit SaabaStudio.com to learn more.