Applications Open for Loretto Artist Residency 

Fall 2022 – Spring 2023

KFW is partnering with the Sisters of Loretto/Loretto Community to offer Artist Residencies of 1–3 weeks at the Loretto Motherhouse in Nerinx, Ky.

Residencies are open to feminist artists who are residents of Kentucky who  have demonstrated achievement in creating work high in artistic merit and based on social justice issues/concerns.

Applications are due October 10 for first-round consideration. Applications will be reviewed on an ongoing basis after that date as space is available.

To learn more and to apply, click here.

Retreats at Hopscotch House 

Scheduling is now closed for retreats at Hopscotch House in Summer/Fall 2022.

We will update this page when Hopscotch House is accepting applications.  

Retreats are open to artists, activists and allies, both individuals and groups, that support KFW’s mission of feminist art for social change. 

Note Hopscotch House may be under renovation during some of this time. Internet is not available, and some inside and outside areas may be inaccessible for safety reasons. 

The five-bedroom house can accommodate up to 7 people overnight (7 beds, so people would share rooms), or up to 15 people for one day retreats. The Retreat Program is free of cost to artists, activists and allies who live and work in Kentucky and offers stipends for individual retreats for women who face financial challenges that may prohibit them from otherwise attending.  

KFW’s Retreat Program offers retreats, free of cost, at Hopscotch House for artists, activists, and allies who live and work in Kentucky and whose goals are to create art, gain a deeper understanding of feminism, and strengthen their understanding of their art and social change goals. The program brings together artists, activists, and allies in a feminist space located on 10 acres of land. Retreats support participants at all stages in their artistic, feminist and social change development. 

Retreats are open to artists, activists and allies, both individuals and groups.

Participants requesting a retreat should:

• • live and work in Kentucky,
  • work in the areas of feminism, art, and/or activism,
  • clearly explain why participating in a retreat at Hopscotch House will advance her feminism, art, or activism,
  • focus on advancing artistic expression, deepening an understanding of feminism, and advancing social change for women and girls in Kentucky,
  • have a goal or plan for taking her newly developed work, ideas, or understandings back into her community,
  • not use Hopscotch House for for-profit activities.

For more information about retreats, dates, policies, and how to apply, click here.

Examples of Successful Individual Retreats

• A visual artist participates in a six-day retreat to explore video and installation. She gains experience working with multi-dimensional space and strengthens the feminist content of her art. A stipend provides her the financial support to take time from work to develop her artistic practice. Her focus is on creating sculptural forms with found objects. She will teach youth the new techniques she learns.

• A poet participates in a five-day retreat to finalize and format her collection of feminist themed poems for publication. Her work is accepted for publication and her chapbook is now available in hard copy and online, which creates broad opportunity to impact social change.

Examples of Successful Group Retreats

• Five visual artists participate in a six-day retreat to create work for a fundraiser to support a school building effort in Ghana, West Africa. The group is able to advance their art-making skills together, discuss issues that affect women and girls in Kentucky, and consider the global intersections of social change with their work at home.

• An inter-generational retreat brings together mentors with teenage girls representing various nationalities and educational levels. The adults arrive first to discuss their mentoring process. The teenagers arrive on day two. Together with the mentors, the girls explore writing approaches for creating a magazine they publish and distribute to teen girls. The goal of the publication is to empower the girls who read it as well as the girls who produce it.

Before you decide to request a retreat at Hopscotch House, please review the links below to make sure you understand KFW’s mission and to help you think through your ideas about feminist art and social change.

• Thinking About KFW’s Mission
• Thinking About Feminism, Art, & Social Change

Additional Requirements:

Men:

Men can attend retreats during the day but are not eligible to stay overnight at Hopscotch House.

Childcare:

The Hopscotch House is not available for onsite childcare thus other arrangements must be made by Hopscotch House participants for all children. For individual retreats, KFW provides stipends to supplement costs associated with childcare.