Artist In Residence

Applications for 2026-2027 Artist In Residence are now Open!

Year-long residency opportunity for those with a desire to teach and share the experience of art-making while supporting a vibrant community.

Program Description 

The LUX Center for the Arts is dedicated to transforming lives through art. We are a community of art lovers providing education through art classes, artist in residency programs, gallery exhibitions, and community building. We believe that LUX can help people make meaningful connections to art regardless of who they are.

Art and community are key elements of our mission and passion. LUX Center for the Arts has been the heart of creativity in Lincoln for more than 47 years through our diverse programs, events, classes, and memberships. We provide an inclusive, community focused environment for artists of all ages and skill levels.

Our artists in residency (AIR) program allows artists to practice, grow, develop and engage their skills in our community. We accomplish this by connecting our residents with a variety of resources, such as private studio space, teaching opportunities, and opportunities to show their work or curate shows in our gallery spaces. Connection to our community is fostered by bringing residents into contact with local galleries, art patrons, community groups and fellow artists. Residents are encouraged to be active participants in helping us build community through hands-on art making events, outreach opportunities and public engagement.

This isn’t just an opportunity to focus on creating your own work. It is an opportunity to gain inspiration and perspective in a dynamic, multi-faceted contemporary art environment.

Residents bring with them a unique set of skills and interests that enliven our classrooms. Residents are expected to teach classes regularly. Teaching with LUX as a resident is a valuable way to learn about instruction for life-long learners of all ages in a non-academic setting. We expect that residents will help develop new classes based on the techniques and topics which interest them. This is a wonderful opportunity for artists who are interested in teaching as part of their professional goals.

Beyond teaching, we are interested in residents who see community building and community engagement as part of their artistic future. As an embedded community art center and a nonprofit, we are in a unique position to connect artists to our friends, neighbors and wider families. From connecting our artist fellows in the classroom to placemaking projects outside of our walls, opportunities for engagement are varied and will depend on the unique interests of each resident. If community building is part of your passion, we encourage you to apply.

During the entirety of your stay with us, LUX will make efforts to highlight and celebrate you! We are proud of our residents and want to do our best to support you with a range of marketing support.

Eligibility

Most of our residents have earned their MFA before joining us, but this is not required for application. Equivalent experience (residencies, apprenticeships, internships, or other non-traditional education experiences) will be considered. The LUX has a focus on manual (non-digital) arts and does not currently provide residencies for digital artists. Residencies are granted based on quality of work, desire to teach, community-mindedness, experience and demonstrated seriousness of practice.

Residents will be responsible for teaching classes (multi-week programs) and workshops (single events). Many of our participants are adults, but experience and enthusiasm for teaching children grades K-12 is helpful. LUX teaches regular foundational classes throughout the year but relies upon our residents to develop a new curriculum. Residents will be asked to submit their own ideas for classes and will be given the opportunity to teach at least one class which is focused on a topic of their choosing. Applicants who demonstrate a passion for teaching, previous experience of teaching, and a willingness to teach a variety of media, will be well positioned to take advantage of this residency.

International artists may apply but you must already have a visa that allows them to work. Artists-in-Residence are employees of LUX and must be able to receive pay for their stipends and teaching compensation. LUX is unable to sponsor visa applications.

Residency Term

The residency term is 1 year. Residents are selected in the spring. The residency term begins early August and lasts through the end of July. Residents have the opportunity to discuss extending their residency for a second year.

Selection Process

Residents are selected by a panel consisting of LUX staff members and current residents. The interview process consists of virtual screening calls. We are able to host up to four residents at once and aim for a mix of skills and techniques. One example might be: one potter, one sculptor, one drawer/painter, and one other media specialist. Media will be considered so long as they are physical (non-digital); such as fibers, paper-crafting, metals, mixed media or similar. We encourage artists who work in multiple media formats to apply. Artists will not be restricted to teaching in any one format and are encouraged to offer cross-discipline classes.

Inclusivity at the center.

LUX Center for the Arts is committed to cultivating and preserving a culture of inclusion and connectedness. We are able to grow and learn better together as a diverse team. In recruiting for our team, we embrace an equal opportunity approach and welcome the unique contributions that each individual can bring in terms of education, opinions, culture, ethnicity, race, sex, gender identity and expression, nation of origin, age, languages spoken, veteran’s status, color, religion, disability, sexual orientation and beliefs.

Residency Expectations and Opportunities

Teaching Opportunities – Artists in Residence (AIRs) teach a significant portion of the educational programming at LUX. Teaching hours are paid hours. AIRs can expect to teach anywhere between 1-3 classes or workshops per week on average. Those may include but are not limited to:

Evening adult classes: 6:30-9pm, year-round. Offered in multi-week sessions. Residents typically teach 1-2 per week.

Saturday classes: Offered in multi-week sessions, year-round. Residents often teach 1 per week.

Workshops: Typically offered on Monday evenings, Friday evenings, and some Saturday afternoons, year-round. Single-session classroom events. Residents often teach 1 per week.

Summer Camps for grades k-12: Offered in 3-hour, Monday-Friday sessions. Summer camps typically run first week of June though early August. Residents are given the opportunity to teach or support camps as a chance to build classroom experience with youth.

Outreach teaching opportunities to bring our programming to schools or partner programs in the community. This is often a regular weekly afterschool teaching opportunity to focus on small group teaching with youth in elementary or middle school using a structured curriculum.

All preparatory work and staff meetings are paid as well. LUX Staff work to schedule classes and teaching responsibilities in advance on a quarterly basis. Residents will meet regularly with education staff to coordinate teaching and work schedules.

Gallery and Shop Experience – AIRs may work hourly shifts in LUX's gallery and shop. Typical shifts include installing or de-installing shows, ringing up purchases, answering phones, uploading work onto LUX's website and providing welcoming guest experiences to our visitors. Training is provided at the beginning of the residency.

Residents will also have the opportunity to support exhibitions programming, including organizing and curating shows in our experimental Wake Gallery space.

Community Events – LUX hosts 2-3 major Community Events per year. We also bring art activities to partner organizations off-site throughout the year. AIRs support these events and are expected to set up, lead an activity, and clean up after each event alongside other LUX Staff and volunteers. AIRs are also expected to attend monthly First Friday events and the LUX Annual Art Auction. Hours spent supporting these and similar events are paid hours.

Residency Benefits

Studio Access – AIRs are provided a free private studio space, 24-hour access to the building, and use of all studio equipment. Ceramics residents have access to regularly stocked clay and glaze materials and free use of kilns in exchange for studio maintenance duties. All residents can buy materials from LUX at cost and may order specialized materials through our suppliers as available.

Housing Stipend - All residents receive a $400 per month housing stipend. A full breakdown of income is detailed below under Financial Support. 

Materials Stipend – Residents receive a $120 a month stipend that is up to the discretion of the resident for purchase of materials or other needs.

Exhibition Opportunities – Residents are provided with a solo exhibition during their residency at a time agreed upon between the resident and exhibitions team staff. Residents can gain curatorial experience by helping to plan and execute group exhibitions and community shows in our experimental gallery spaces.

LUX Gallery Shop – AIRs are welcome to submit work into the LUX's in-person and online shop. Residents who sell work in the shop will receive 60% of any sales and will determine the sale value of their own work.

Conference Attendance – Residents can attend one conference each year of their residency. LUX provides a limited amount of reimbursement for conferences. Ceramics residents typically attend NCECA and support LUX tabling at this event.

Additional Benefits – Residents receive 30% off artwork purchases and 50% off classes and workshops. In some cases residents may attend classes for free as a professional training opportunity.

Private Resident Studios

90 sq. ft. - 140 sq. ft. private studios are provided for each resident. Private AIR studios are adjacent to our community teaching spaces and all have access to shared restrooms, sink, and kitchenette. Studio assignments are based on seniority and size of artwork. Additional workspace is available in our larger teaching studios as needed. All residents have access to equipment regardless of artistic discipline. Training on other equipment can be provided if needed. Residents are expected to help care for and maintain the shared studio and classroom spaces.

Facilities

Ceramics Center:
600 sq. ft. hand building studio with small slab roller, wall-mounted clay extruder, and commercial low-fire glazes. We have five electric kilns: one test kiln, one small kiln, two standard size Skutt kilns and one large L&L kiln. All of them are computer controlled.
Gas Kiln - A downdraft, soft brick reduction kiln with 14 cubic feet of stacking space powered with Ward forced air burners (the hot rod of kiln burners!). The kiln is capable of cone 6 - 10 reduction / oxidation firings. Makers of larger scale clay works will appreciate the kiln's front load design that maximizes loading space with a center pivot door as well as the addition of Ransome piggyback pilot burners making long, controlled preheats possible.  
370 sq. ft. throwing studio with 9 electric wheels.
120 sq. ft. Dry materials and clay mixing room with a large selection of dry materials and Peter Pugger mixer dedicated to mixing our teaching studio clay body which is low-fire red earthenware.
100 sq. ft. Dry materials and glaze mixing room with a large selection of glaze materials for community studio and personal use.

We do not have a clay mixer available at this time.

Education Wing: 
670 sq. ft. classroom with Takach Etching Press (26×40″ bed).
600 sq. ft.  mixed media studio with ft.72 sq. ft. basic metals studio with acetylene torches, large metal shear, rolling mill, drill press and sandblaster. 

Galleries:
West Gallery - 36'x27' feature exhibition space curated by exhibition committee with shows that change bimonthly.
East Gallery - 15'x20' exhibition space curated by exhibition committee, shows change monthly. Residents generally have their solo show in this space.
Gladys Lux Print Collection – a museum space where exhibitions change quarterly and are curated out of our historic print collection. Prints were collected by our founder Gladys Lux to use as teaching tools for her university students. 
Wake Gallery - 18'x12' exhibition space for student and community exhibitions, shows change monthly
Community Gallery – 40'x30' exhibition space for student and community exhibitions, shows change monthly. 

Financial Support

LUX is committed to paying artists for their time. LUX provides two monthly stipends: $400 for housing and $120 for materials. These are unrestricted funds open to discretion of the resident and provided regardless of any other paid hours.

Residents earn an hourly wage of $20 per hour for any work, including: teaching classes for the LUX, working in the gallery, and selling their work in our gallery shop. The only exception to this is teaching out after school outreach classes, which are paid at $25 per hour.

Residents are considered employees. Paid time off will be accrued and available for residents according to Nebraska state law as an additional benefit.

Residents are responsible for their own living expenses. LUX Center for the Arts offers no housing for residents, but there are many affordable housing options in our University Place/East Campus neighborhood. 

LUX is unable to provide medical insurance. Residents do not accrue time off, holiday pay or other employment benefits.

Income Range - Below is an explanation of expected income based on the number of hours per week worked. Actual compensation may vary depending on desired workload and needs of each individual resident.

All residents are expected to teach between 1 and 3 classes or workshops per week. We are committed to filling and running any class that is scheduled, but not all classes run as scheduled. Residents can decide if they would like to take additional hours beyond teaching. Opportunities to work in the gallery, shop or any other area in support of LUX will be taken into consideration and paid for at the same rate. Special events taking place seasonally, as well as hours in required meetings and supporting gallery shows for First Friday are also paid hours.

Residents are responsible for requesting work hours and tracking hours worked, and LUX will provide at least 15 paid hours each week upon request.

Here is an example of how hours worked and the monthly stipends might look. For illustration only. Actual hours will depend on submitted hours and current policy. All numbers listed below are gross pay and do not account for taxes. Historically AIRs work between 10 and 30 hours each week.

Example:

Assuming a resident completes the full residency period with paid hours averaging 15 hours a week, their annual gross pre-tax pay would be:

$4,800 (housing stipend, $400 x 12 months)

$1,440 (materials stipend, $120 x 12 moths)

$15,000 (hourly pay, $20/hour x 15 hours, x 50 weeks)

Total: $21,240

LUX residents and employees are paid bi-weekly. 