Parent Artist Residency Program
Parent Artist Residency Program
Parent Artist Residency Program supports artists with children under 18; there is no Parent Residency open call at the moment, but we invite parent artists to apply to the Fellowship and Artist-in-residence program. Currently, we’re looking for additional funding to support more opportunities for Parent Artist Residenceies. To date, Kala has offered 10 rounds of Parent Artist Residency Awards!
Since 2021, one Fellowship each year has been designated for a parent artist. Kala offers subsidized residencies through the Artist Residency (AIR) Program (March 1st, 2026, deadline) and fully funded residencies through the Fellowship (March 1st, 2026, deadline), Veterans Artist Residency (March 1st, 2026, deadline), Jen Cole Artist Residency Award, and CCA Hamaguchi Artist Residency (July deadline).
We recognize that each artist’s family has its own set of challenges when seeking a residency program. Families with multiple children of varying ages have different needs from families with older, more independent children. Our philosophy is to offer a flexible residency experience in addition to our standard residency programs to create multiple entry points for artists to create artwork amidst the ever-evolving and diverse demands of family life.
From 2013 – 2025 with support from Sustainable Arts Foundation, Kala offered parent artist a custom-tailored individual residency plan with up to $1000 worth of Kala services to be applied towards a Kala residency, taking Kala art classes and workshops, enrolling children in Camp Kala or other youth art programs, or consulting with Kala staff about professional development opportunities. Each parent artist created a unique experience within the time frame of the program period.
Upcoming Application Deadlines
Deadline: March 1st, 2026(9:00 PM Pacific Standard Time)
The residency application will be published on December 15, 2025. Artists are encouraged to apply to the Fellowship and Artist Residency – a single application (March 1st, 2026 deadline).
Visit kala.slideroom.com starting on December 15th to begin your application.
– Veterans Artist Residency (March 1st, deadline)
– Artist Residency (AIR) Program (March 1st, deadline)
– Fellowship (March 1st, deadline)
– Jen Cole Artist-in-Residence Award (July deadline)
– CCA Hamaguchi Emerging Artist Resdiency at Kala (July deadline)
Applicant Resources
– Residency Experience
– How to Apply
– Residency Options & Subsidized Rates
Parent Residency Alumni
2024-2025 Award Recipients*:
Shirin Khalatbari (Berkeley, CA )
Kelley O’Leary (El Cerrito, CA)
*A special thanks to Sustainable Arts Foundation for supporting 2024-2025 Fellowship Artist Cristine Blanco!
2023-2024 Award Recipients*:
Jun Igarashi (Tokyo, Japan)*
Sasha Kelley (Oakland, CA)
Bushra Gill (Lafayette, CA)
*A special thanks to Sustainable Arts Foundation for supporting 2023/24 Fellowship Artist Alison Chen, and Curator-in-Residence Jun Igarashi!
2022-2023 Award Recipients*:
Demetri Broxton (Oakland, CA)
Rupy Tut (Santa Clara, CA)
*A special thanks to Sustainable Arts Foundation for supporting Fellowship artist Jessica Mehta.
2021-2022 Award Recipients*:
Alexandru Salceanu (San Francisco, CA )
Kathy Aoki (Santa Clara, CA)
*A special thanks to Sustainable Arts Foundation for supporting Fellowship artist Alisa Ochoa.
2020-2021 Award Recipients:
Judit Navratil (Oakland, CA )
Chloe Alexander (Hapreville, GA)
2019-2020 Award Recipients:
In our seventh year, Kala was able to award five residency packages to these outstanding artists with children:
Francis Baker (Oakland, CA )
Tavarus Blackmon (Sacramento, CA)
Ellen Heck (Winston Salem, NC)
Pablo Manga (Oakland, CA )
Narges Poursadeqi ( El Cerrito, CA)
Honorary AIR Awardee:
Ellie Fritz (San Rafael, CA)
2018-2019 Award Recipients:
In our sixth year, Kala was able to award five residency packages to these outstanding artists with children:
Susan Belau (San Francisco, CA)
Charmaine Davis(Alameda, CA)
Brian King (Oakland, CA)
Arturo Meade (San Rafael, CA)
Steph Rue (Sacramento CA)
2017 Award Recipients
In our fifth year, Kala was able to award eight residency packages to these outstanding artists with children:
Karen Gallagher Iverson
Steve Green
Diane Jacobs
Kimberlee Koym-Murteira
Ricardo Pinto
Beth Waldman
Suné Woods
2016 Award Recipients
In our fourth year, Kala was able to award eight residency packages to these outstanding artists with children:
Cynthia Ona Innis
Jenifer Kent
Vanessa Woods
Frederick Alvarado
Melissa Holden
Apollonia Morrill
Patricia Torres Ortiz
Victoria Wagner
2015 Award Recipients
In the third year, Kala was able to award ten residency packages to these outstanding artists with children:
Kim Bennett, Berkeley, CA
Eva Evrard, Brussels, Belgium
Patrick Gabler, Hamburg, Germany
Richard Haley, Birmingham, MI
Parul Naresh, Fremont, CA
Miwako Nishizawa, Berkeley, CA
Allison Reimus, Mount Prospect, IL
Hyeyoung Shin, Kansas City, MO
Emma Spertus, Oakland, CA
Marcia Teusink, London, UK
2014 Award Recipients
In the second year, Kala was able to award ten residency packages to these outstanding artists with children:
Carol Elkovich, Richmond, CA
Claire Kessler-Bradner, Oakland, CA
Julia Lucey, Fairfax, CA
Latifa Medjdoub, San Francisco, CA
Olivia Mole, San Francisco, CA
Kelly Ording, Oakland, CA
Maria Porges, Oakland, CA
Brody Reiman, San Rafael, CA
Lisa Solomon, Oakland, CA
Katherine Warriner, San Anselmo, CA
2013 Award Recipients
In the pilot year of 2013, Kala offered residency options to support seven outstanding artists with children:
Johnna Arnold, Oakland, CA
Kim Anno, Berkeley, CA
Brian Caraway, Oakland, CA
Karen Kersten, Oakland, CA
Eric Larson, San Francisco, CA
Lena Wolff, Berkeley, CA
Wafaa Yasin, San Francisco, CA
Kevan Jenson, Berkeley, CA