The Kimmel Harding Nelson Center for the Arts runs a juried artist residency in Nebraska City, Nebraska, awarding up to seventy-eight residencies a year. Each residency runs two to eight weeks and is self-directed, giving writers, composers, visual artists and interdisciplinary artists a block of uninterrupted working time. Residents live and work in a prairie-style complex that also holds a public gallery and a permanent collection built from residents’ donated work.
The center has awarded more than 1,000 residencies since 2001 and takes applications from artists anywhere in the world. A blind jury of discipline-specific professionals decides, scoring only the work samples and written statements.
Benefits & funding
- Housing for the full length of the residency
- A private studio
- A food stipend of USD 175 per week
- Taxi transfers between Omaha or Lincoln airports and Nebraska City on arrival and departure
- Three visual arts studios (two at 425 sq ft, one at 258 sq ft) with running water, lighting, work tables and climate control; an onsite letterpress studio for experienced practitioners
- The option to donate a work to the permanent collection at the end of the residency
- Not covered: travel to and from Nebraska, and the USD 35 application fee, which is non-refundable and never waived
Eligibility
- Writers, composers, visual artists and interdisciplinary artists, established or emerging
- Open to any nationality — the center states it welcomes and encourages residents from across the globe
- No degree, age or work-experience requirement
- Applications and work samples must be in English, and conversational English is needed on site
- International residents normally enter on a tourist visa and arrange their own travel
- Collaborators apply separately and note the collaboration; one partner may be admitted without the other
- Former residents may reapply at most twice in a lifetime, two years after the previous residency (one year for Nebraska-based alumni)
- Artists based in Nebraska and artists within two years of graduating get extra consideration, but neither is a requirement
- Pets and overnight guests cannot be accommodated
Can you apply?
Open to all applicants
No nationality, residency, education, or experience limits are listed.
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Application process
- 1Pick the session: the 1 September deadline covers residencies from January to June of the following year, and the 1 March deadline covers July to December of that year.
- 2Register on the SlideRoom application portal — postal and email applications are not considered.
- 3Write two anonymous statements: a Statement of Submitted Works and a Statement of Intent.
- 4Assemble anonymous work samples following the discipline-specific guidelines published at the foot of the How to Apply page.
- 5Add two professional references, a professional history drawn from a resume or CV, and preferred residency dates and length.
- 6Pay the USD 35 fee by credit card inside the portal and submit before the deadline.
Program timeline
Application deadline for the January–June 2027 session
Sep 1, 2026
Applicants notified; portal opens for the July–December 2027 session
Nov 1, 2026
January–June 2027 residency session begins
Jan 4, 2027
Application deadline for the July–December 2027 session
Mar 1, 2027
January–June 2027 residency session ends
Jun 25, 2027