Thank you for your interest in Lawndale's Artist Studio Program (ASP).

Applications for the 2026-2027 Artist Studio Program are due Friday, March 27, 2026 at 11:59 PM CST.

Since 2007, the Artist Studio Program has supported artists at critical moments in their careers. For nearly two decades, it has provided local and regional contemporary artists with studio space and support—including material, financial, and curatorial—for their creative practice.

The Artist Studio Program reaches its 20th anniversary year in the 2026/2027 season, and we are excited to continue to grow and evolve how we support local and regional artists’ practices. Included,  we will extend the Artist Studio Program to ten months (previously, nine) and increase the monthly honorarium to $900/month (previously, $750). 

Additionally, moving forward, the Artist Studio Program’s focus will shift to the process of creating artwork rather than a Lawndale exhibition at the end of the residency. This allows the Artist Studio Program to do what it does best: give artists the time and space to freely dive into their ideas—to research, experiment, and create—without the pressure or expectation of result, product, or specific outcome.

Enhanced focus on the process of creating includes…

• Photo documentation of the artistic process
• New arts writing about the artistic practice
• A publication featuring the artist’s biography, statement, along with photo documentation and new arts writing about their process
• Increased monthly honorarium
• An additional month in the studio 
• 24/7 private studio access at Lawndale
• Coordinated visits with outside curators, scholars, other artists and writers
• Access to area arts libraries through institutional partnerships

With this in mind, Lawndale understands the importance for artists to share their creations beyond the studio. Thus, during the ten month residency, we will discuss with residents how we can support this within our shifted model and budget. For instance, artists could propose public programs, events, publications, or temporary installations. Additionally, residents are welcome to apply for our ongoing exhibition open call, though a potential Lawndale exhibition would be separate from the Artist Studio Program participation itself.

Major support for The Artist Studio Program is provided by Kathrine G. McGovern/The John P. McGovern Foundation.

Program Description

Lawndale’s Artist Studio Program awards individuals with dynamic support to evolve their creative practice. This coming year, we are extending the tenure from nine to ten months, running September 1, 2026 through June 30, 2027. During this period, participants receive a monthly honorarium of $900 and 24/7 access to a private studio. There are three distinct studio spaces approximately 250 square feet, each with their own key, real wood flooring and ample natural light. Artists are responsible for having/obtaining and maintaining any specialized tools related to their craft.

Eligibility

Lawndale seeks Houston- and Gulf Coast-based artists of diverse backgrounds and media, whose creative practice would benefit from ASP’s unique support. Ideal candidates are at transitional moments in their careers, such as exploring a new body of work or different discipline. Lawndale is a multidisciplinary platform embracing creative practices of various media, such as any visual arts media, performance, music, sound art, and literary arts. Applicants must be 18 years or older and not enrolled in any degree program. Former ASP participants are not eligible. 

Application Deadline & Fees

Applications are due Friday, March 27, 2026 (11:59 PM CST) and must be submitted online through Submittable. There is no fee to apply.

Notification

Applicants will be notified of a decision via email by early May 2026.

This year’s applications will be reviewed by Dawolu Jabari Anderson (Round 1 Artist Studio Program Participant), Dr. Margo Handwerker (Dean of the Glassell School of Art Core Residency Program at MFAH and reviewer for Round 1 Lawndale ASP), Lovie Olivia (Lawndale Advisory Board member and past exhibiting artist), and Jeremy Johnson (Exhibitions Director at Lawndale).

Application Materials

Narrative Bio OR Artist Statement

Website / Social Media Page (Not required)

5-10 representative examples of your work (Accepted formats: .jpg, .mov, and .pdf)

How will you use the Artist Studio Program to explore the next phase of your creative practice? (Please focus on your studio practices’ ideas, processes, and materials, not exhibition ideas) (200 words maximum)

Anything else you would like us to know about your application? (Not required)

2 professional references (to be contacted if you are a finalist)

The Big Show 2026

Juried by Valerie Cassel Oliver, the Sydney and Frances Lewis Family Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts.

June 12 – August 15, 2026

The Big Show is an ambitious exhibition of new work by artists practicing within a 100-mile radius of Lawndale.

Eligibility

• The Big Show is open to artists living within a 100-mile radius of Lawndale.
• Each artist may submit up to 3 original artworks completed between January 2024 to present.
• Work must fit through the 6'9" x 4'11" entryway and cannot exceed 200 pounds in weight.
• Works previously exhibited in Houston are not eligible. However, works exhibited as part of a school program in Houston (e.g. MFA thesis) are allowed.
• All works must be exhibition-ready. For framed works and stretched canvas, this includes proper hanging hardware such as D-rings or a wire. Display options for non-wall hanging artwork (e.g. sculptures, videos, and performances) will be discussed between Lawndale staff and the artist(s).
• All works must be available for installation and delivered between May 19 - 30, 2026 and remain on view for the duration of the exhibition (June 12 - August 15, 2026).

Application Requirements

• All works must be submitted online via Submittable.
• Applications will be accepted March 16, 2025 through Wednesday, April 8, 2026, until 11:59 PM (Central Standard Time).
• There is no submission fee.
• Artists must submit a narrative biography OR artist statement (up to 200 words)
• Applicants may submit up to 3 works.
• Only one (1) image of each work is allowed, along with the image captions (title, medium, dimensions, and year) 
• Detail images of artwork(s) not allowed
• Images should be .jpeg format. Please limit each file size to 1 MB (minimum size of 4 x 6" at 300 dpi).
• Video submissions require a hosting site link (e.g. Vimeo or YouTube). If selected, all final work must be submitted in .mp4 format.
• All files should be labeled as LastNameFirstName_Title_Year completed (e.g.  “SmithJohn_Work1_2023.jpg”)
• Incomplete or late applications will not be considered

We strongly encourage you to apply early. If you are having trouble with the online application system, you can call us at 713-528-5858 during office hours (Tuesday - Friday, 10 AM - 5 PM) or email askus@lawndaleartcenter.org. If questions are related to the Submittable portal please contact their help desk: https://www.submittable.com/help/submitter/

Accepted Works: Artists should be notified of their application status by early May. Accepted artists will be given artwork drop-off details then.

About the Juror

Valerie Cassel Oliver is the Sydney and Frances Lewis Family Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. Prior to her position at the VMFA, she was Senior Curator at the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston where she began in 2000. At the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston, Cassel Oliver organized numerous exhibitions including the acclaimedDouble Consciousness: Black Conceptual Art Since 1970 (2005);Radical Presence: Black Performance in Contemporary Art (2012) and major survey exhibitions for Donald Moffett; Benjamin Patterson, Jennie C. Jones, Angel Otero and Annabeth Rosen. 

Her debut at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts was the critically acclaimed retrospective entitled, Howardena Pindell: What Remains to be Seen coorganized with Naomi Beckwith (2018). In 2021, she opened the groundbreaking exhibition, The Dirty South: Contemporary Art, Material Culture and the Sonic Impulse that toured nationally. And in 2023, she organized the exhibition, Dawoud Bey: Elegy that looks at the artist’s preoccupation with histories of place. The work included commissioned photographs of Richmond’s Historic Slave Trail exhibited with previous bodies of work created in Louisiana and Ohio. The exhibition toured to the New Orleans Museum of Art where it closed January, 2026. Cassel Oliver has also organized the exhibitions, “Ted Joans: Drawings from Africa” (2024) that featured the complete portfolio of Joans’ drawings from 1956 (2023); Theaster Gates: Wonder Working Power (2024) and Robert Rauschenberg: Cardbirds (2025), a centennial project that will also feature a commissioned performance work by Ellen Fullman.

Cassel Oliver is the recipient of numerous fellowships and awards including fellowships from the Getty Research Institute (2007) and the Center of Curatorial Leadership (2009); the High Museum of Art’s David C. Driskell Award (2011); the James A. Porter Book Award from Howard University (2018) as well as the Alain Locke International Arts Award, Detroit Institute of Art; the College Arts Association’s Excellence in Diversity Award; the Audrey Irmas Award for Curatorial Excellence from the Center for Curatorial Studies, Bard College; and Brandywine Workshop and Archives’ Lifetime Achievement Award (all 2022). She was recently presented with an award of distinction from the American Folk Art Society (2023) for her work to bring art from the African American South into the collection of the museum. In 2022, she was also tapped to curate Spotlight, a section for the Frieze Masters Art Fair in London–a role she reprised in 2024 and in 2025 bringing a diverse range of under recognized artists and galleries into the fair’s holdings.

Cassel Oliver holds an Executive MBA from Columbia University, New York; an M.A. in Art History from Howard University in Washington, D.C. and, a B.S. in Communications from the University of Texas at Austin. Beyond her curatorial endeavors, she has previously worked in the field as a Program Officer at the National Endowment for the Arts (1988-95) and as Director of the Visiting Artists Program at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (1995-2000).