Loghaven Artist Residency offers artists the time, space, and support to take the next big step in their creative practice. We often find artists at a critical moment in the arc of their projects. The dedicated time in residency can be a vital incubation space for an idea, a catalyst for new risk-taking, or the space for the last close edit before the work is shared in the public realm. It is a true pleasure to continue to follow Fellows and their work and celebrate with them as it is released into the world for new audiences to enjoy.

We are sharing the work of three recent Writing Fellows that was recently published or will be available soon. These three represent just a few of the many works that have traveled through our doors and that you can now find in your local bookstore or library.

Jennifer Hope Choi

Fellow Jennifer Hope Choi’s new memoir, The Wanderer’s Curse, was released in May. She spent her 2024 residency editing the book, which chronicles her relationship with her mother and the discovery of a curse that causes one to wander increasingly farther from home. “Jennifer Hope Choi has a voice all her own, and writes with a singular blend of wholeheartedness and perfect comedic timing about family, home, Korean Americanness, and so much more.” writes Rachel Khong. Conde Nast Traveler recently named the book one of “11 Releases Worth Bookmarking This Spring.”

Erika Meitner

Five new poems by author and Fellow Erika Meitner appeared in the May/June Issue of The American Poetry Review. Erika also appeared on a recent episode of The New Yorker’s Poetry Podcast with Kevin Young, which you can enjoy here. In the podcast, she reads a poem by Philip Levine in addition to her poem, “To Gather Together.” This poem is part of the forthcoming book Assembled Audience, which will be published by Milkweed Editions in 2026. Meitner used her very snowy 2024 residency to work on the book, which explores the many ways we gather in both public and private.

Nicholas Boggs

Author, scholar, and Fellow Nicholas Boggs’ new book, Baldwin: A Love Story, will be published in August and represents the first biography about Baldwin in three decades. The book looks at Baldwin through the lens of his relationships, including with Knoxville-born Beauford Delaney. Boggs spent his 2023 residency researching and writing the book. Imani Perry said of the book, “Boggs’s storytelling, so tenderly rendered, brings us the beautiful yet tattered heart of not only Baldwin, the intellectual and artist, but Baldwin, the vulnerable, yearning, flesh-and-blood person.”

To learn more about the work of our Fellows out in the world, we encourage you to follow us on Facebook or Instagram.

Loghaven Artist Residency began as a preservation project to protect an endangered area in Knoxville. It has become an extraordinary place for artists from across the country to come and have uninterrupted time to create new work. Though we are not open to the public during artist residency sessions, we are pleased to offer free tours of Loghaven’s award-winning campus several times a year. The tour includes a glimpse of our historic log cabins and the newly built McDonough House and Artist Studios. Guests will see indoor and outdoor spaces; we ask that everyone wear comfortable walking shoes. To view upcoming tour dates and register for one of our tours, please reserve your free ticket here

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Loghaven Artist Residency Announces twenty-eight Awardees, including Janani Balasubramanian, Elvira Clayton, Mary Ellen Childs, Reza Filsoofi, Jaamil Olawale Kosoko, Joanna Kotze, Jonathan Sanchez Noa, Lauren Sandler, and Katie Stranix.

Knoxville, TN – November 13, 2024– Loghaven Artist Residency is delighted to announce its residency awardees from the summer 2024 open call for applications. These artists were selected from over twelve hundred applications by a national panel of artists, writers, curators, performers, and other arts professionals based on the criteria of artistic excellence and creative potential. Artists will work and reside on the Loghaven campus, taking advantage of time, space, and support to advance their work.

Artists Participating in Loghaven Residencies from February 2025 – January 2026:

ARCHITECTURE
_Katie Stranix
_Hans Tursack

INTERDISCIPLINARY WORK
_Janani Balasubramanian
_Tyler Eschendal
_Reza Filsoofi
_Carrie Hawks
_Aaron Landsman
_Maria-Luisa Ornelas-June
_Yuliya Tsukerman

MUSIC COMPOSITION
_Zack Baltich
_Anuj Bhutani
_Mary Ellen Childs
_The Narcotix

PERFORMANCE
_Isabella Dawis
_Milka Djordjevich
_Joanna Kotze
_Jaamil Olawale Kosoko

VISUAL ARTS
_Elvira Clayton
_Jacq Groves
_Jonathan Sanchez Noa
_Soo Shin
_Natalia Villanueva Linares
_Sangwoo Yoo

WRITING
_Steve Chang
_Victoria Cho
_Amira Hanafi
_Susan Nguyen
_Lauren Sandler

About Loghaven’s Fellows

After finishing their residency, artists become Loghaven Fellows. Current Loghaven Fellows include Ann Carlson, Elgin Cleckley, Nina Cooke John, Annie Gosfield, Anthony R. Green, Robert Hutchison, John Jesurun, Tsering Yangzom Lama, Rudresh Mahanthappa, Gabriel Martinez, Erika Meitner, Dantiel Moniz, Angélica Negrón, Alethea Pace, Michelle Peñaloza, Rone Shavers, Hrag Vartanian, and Keith Wilson.

To see a complete list of Loghaven Fellows, please go to the Artist page of the Loghaven website.

“I would tell another artist that Loghaven is singular and exceptional in the many ways that this residency goes above and beyond to support artists in our work and growth…Everything at Loghaven is in service of helping artists grow and focus in our work.” – Kate Bredeson

“It’s very clear this is an intentional space and that the artists’ wellbeing is at the forefront. Loghaven was a time of calm in what’s proven to be a busy last year for me, and I’m grateful for the work I accomplished here and am looking forward to continuing it outside of this space.” – Dantiel Moniz

“I have told my friends: ‘Please apply to this residency. I feel so supported and cared for here. The accommodations, studio space, generosity, and beauty of the environment are profound.'” – Jonathan VanDyke

Loghaven Artist Residency partners with The University of Tennessee’s School of Art to offer one graduate student a paid, live-work internship each year. The intern lives in subsidized campus housing and works at Loghaven and the Aslan Foundation. Below, this year’s Graduate Intern, Saloni Parekh, reflects on her experience at Loghaven during the 2023-2024 school year. We are happy to share that Saloni has accepted a position at Oberlin College where she will be teaching painting and drawing.

By Saloni Parekh

Over the last year, I have been the Loghaven Graduate Intern. I am a multidisciplinary visual artist. My practice spans a range of media, including painting, video, and sound. I explore the intricate aspects of the term ‘god,’ recognizing its historical, mnemonic, and emotional significance, addressing the inconsistencies contributing to societal divisions.

During my third year as an MFA student at the University of Tennessee, I landed a year-long live-work internship at Loghaven. Nestled in the woods, Loghaven provided a serene environment where I could start my mornings with meditation amidst nature. My on-campus house in the woods became a sanctuary, nurturing my creative process and enriching my thesis work throughout the year.

Reflecting on my time at Loghaven, I found it to be one of my most enriching experiences. Collaborating with a team dedicated to supporting artists and their endeavors was uplifting and gave me invaluable learning opportunities. I enjoyed various projects, from learning about the incoming artists to understanding Loghaven’s operations and applications and gaining insights into the review process.

Witnessing Sarah Swinford and Lynne Ghenov’s adept orchestration of the residency operations was profoundly inspiring. The empowerment I gained from observing these two women manage the residency was admirable and motivated me to pursue excellence in my endeavors.

We value the relationships we build with each artist during their residency. Whether they are formed when artists pop their heads into our staff office on the way to pick up lunch, at a studio visit, or around the ever-popular McDonough House espresso machine, we hope each artist feels a sense of care from our staff. When designing Loghaven’s program, one of our goals was to structure a program where the relationships we build with artists don’t end when the residency session comes to a close. We enjoy staying in contact with all our Fellows and provide multiple avenues for Fellows to engage with us.

We offer an annual spring call for Fellows, which includes opportunities to reconnect with residency cohort members, updates about Loghaven programs and facilities, and a career workshop led by an industry professional. We also regularly invite Fellows to be part of our annual application review panel. They work alongside other invited curators, artists, and arts administrators to select future Loghaven residents from our open application cycle.

Starting in 2022, we also implemented a new post-residency survey that all of our Fellows receive one year after their residency concludes. This survey asks Fellows about what the year held for them and how their Loghaven residency impacted their career in the last year. The survey also asks the residents if they would like to share any career news of the past or upcoming year.

We hope the hospitality we extend to artists can be felt upon arrival at the residency and as we continue to be in touch, championing them and their work.

Loghaven Artist Residency Announces thirty-three Awardees, including Jamel Brinkley, Cathy Linh Che, Nina Cooke John, Rudresh Mahanthappa, Dantiel W. Moniz, Mary Prescott, Andrew Schneider, and Jonathan VanDyke, and Many Others.

Knoxville, TN – November 14, 2023– Loghaven Artist Residency is delighted to announce its residency awardees from the summer 2023 Open Call for Applications. These artists were selected from over a thousand applications by a national panel of artists, writers, curators, performers, and other arts professionals based on the criteria of artistic excellence and creative potential. Artists will work and reside on the Loghaven campus, awarded the 2021 American Institute of Architects (AIA) highest honor for architecture.

Artists Participating in Loghaven Residencies from February 2024 – January 2025:

Performance
_Dave Cerf
_Catherine Galasso
_Alexander Gedeon
_DaEun Jung
_Adrienne Mackey
_Christopher “Unpezverde” Núñez
_Jasmine Orpilla
_Karla Quintero
_Andrew Schneider

Writing
_S. Erin Batiste
_Jamel Brinkley
_Cathy Linh Che
_Jennifer Hope Choi
_Mita Mahato
_Dantiel W. Moniz
_Shruti Swamy

Architecture
_Nina Cooke John
_Tsz Yan Ng
_SILO AR+D

Music Composition
_Lisa Bielawa
_Isabel Crespo Pardo
_Rudresh Mahanthappa
_Alexander Noice
_Mary Prescott
_Dorian Wood

Visual Arts
_Amy Boone-McCreesh
_Mahwish Chishty
_Cameron Patricia Downey
_Mark Steven Greenfield
_Jennifer Wen Ma
_Gabriel Martinez
_Jonathan VanDyke

About Loghaven’s Fellows

Loghaven residency artists become Fellows after finishing their residency. Loghaven Fellows include Ann Carlson, Elgin Cleckley, Annie Gosfield, Anthony R. Green, Tsering Yangzom Lama, Aaron Landsman, NIC Kay, Angélica Negrón, Alethea Pace, Jessica Pavone, Michelle Peñaloza, Rone Shavers, and Hrag Vartanian.

To see a complete list of Loghaven Fellows, please go to the Artist page of the Loghaven website.

“I have so much gratitude for this experience and the incredible artists I got to spend time with.” – Jenny Xie

“This is the best residency I have attended. I will be recommending this residency to all of my artist friends/community. I would describe this residency as a peaceful, calm, and well-organized residency. The stipend helps tremendously… Loghaven is a residency where you are taken care of, fed and nurtured. It’s a space where you can reflect and deepen your craft…” – Amir Rabiyah

“I would recommend Loghaven wholeheartedly. My time here was productive, restorative, and inspiring (the latter in terms of location and the work of and conversations with other residents).” – Nicholas Boggs

This March, we made one of the most significant investments in Loghaven since the residency launched in 2020. We worked with L+ARC Lighting Design to design and install additional outdoor lighting across campus along Loghaven Drive, and down the winding trail to the Visual Arts and Performing Arts Studios.

This change came directly from the feedback we received from residents in their Final Evaluation. We take responses on our evaluation seriously with the goal of ever-improving the experience for future residents. From making minor adjustments like changing the grocery delivery day to more significant additions to lighting on campus, we value the feedback.

Please enjoy the brief tour of the campus in the video below to get a sense of both the functional and atmospheric lighting additions on campus.

This summer, Loghaven’s communal garden has offered a bounty for residents to enjoy. The garden has existed on the property for decades, well before our artist residency opened in 2020. Long a shared plot tended to by those renting the cabins, it is part of the history of the property and a tradition we are keeping alive.

Kayla and Bekki in Loghaven’s garden.

The garden is planted annually and tended by our property team and any interested residents. This year, Tiffany, Bekki, and Kayla from the team tilled the soil and selected tomatoes, peppers, basil, cucumbers, zucchini, yellow squash, green beans, okra, onions, and cilantro for planting. Using the permaculture method of “chop and drop,” they remove and mulch weeds to use as ground cover. This method both boosts the nitrogen in the existing soil and cumulatively adds to the soil content as a whole over time.

Residents can expect to see fresh garden items at their provided weeknight dinners and are certainly welcome to use them in their own cooking too.

On Friday afternoons during residency sessions, we offer residents optional curated off-site trips around Knoxville and the surrounding area. It’s an invitation to get off campus and learn more about our city. In the past, tours have included the Knoxville Museum of Art, the Beck Cultural Center, and the Civilian Conservation Corps-built Norris Dam. One reoccurring tour location is Ijams Nature Preserve’s Meads Quarry and Keyhole rock structure, located just ten minutes from Loghaven’s campus. Ijams is one of our favorite stops because of its unique ability to speak to both the region’s history and its future.

In the early 1900s, Knoxville was home to a thriving limestone mining industry. Known as Tennessee Pink Marble, the rock mined in the area was a type of limestone desirable for its pink hue. The stone was used across the country, including at the National Monument, the National Gallery of Art, and Grand Central Station.

With the mining companies that operated in Knox County long since shuttered, a few of the quarries they left behind have been re-opened as public parks in Knoxville’s thriving Urban Wilderness. With over 50 miles of trails and 1,000 acres of natural area, the Urban Wilderness showcases the city as a vibrant hub for outdoor activities located an hour’s drive from the Great Smoky Mountains to the East and the Cumberland Mountains to the West.

Loghaven residents have greatly enjoyed hiking in the verdant reclaimed forest, taking a dip in the quarries now used for swimming and kayaking, and visiting the man-made rock formations that make this natural area so unique. Ijams and Knoxville’s Urban Wilderness are just two of the many delights Knoxville offers, that we hope leave residents with a sense of how special our area of East Tennessee is.

Loghaven Fellow Paula Matthusen

Since our first residency in 2020, artist residents have used their time at Loghaven not only to realize their next creative project but also to share their work in the community. 

One such community interaction has been with the University of Tennessee’s School of Music. Working with School of Music Director and Loghaven Host Committee Member Jeffrey Pappas and faculty members Andrew Sigler and Andrew Bliss, Loghaven has arranged for resident artists to visit School of Music classes. 

Loghaven Fellow Daniel Corral

Residents Paula Matthusen, Wang Jie, and Daniel Corral have each met with students to discuss their work and career and answer questions from students about their lives as working artists. The residents have greatly enjoyed meeting with students to discuss their work, and students have continually impressed residents with their engagement and thoughtful questions.

We look forward to more opportunities for students and the broader community to engage with our residents in the future.

Loghaven Artist Residency Announces Thirty-One Awardees, including Elgin Cleckley, Stacey Steers, Jen Shyu, Rone Shavers, Francesca Remigi, Robert Hutchison, John Jesurun, and Many Others.

Artists Will Work and Reside on the Loghaven Campus, Awarded the 2021 American Institute of Architects (AIA) Highest Honor for Architecture. 

Knoxville, TN – November 17, 2022– Loghaven Artist Residency, a residency for emerging and established artists in the fields of visual art, dance, music, architecture, writing, theater, and interdisciplinary work, announces its residency awardees from the June 2022 Open Call for Applications.

Artists Participating in Loghaven Residencies from February 2023 – January 2024:

These artists were selected from the applications received in Loghaven’s Open Call for Applications by a national panel of artists, curators, performers, and other arts professionals based on the criteria of artistic excellence and creative potential.

Performance

_Isabella Dawis
_Rebecca Hill
_John Jesurun
_Alethea Pace
_Tidtaya Sinutoke
_Yuliya Tsukerman

Writing

_Nicholas Boggs
_Beth Ann Fennelly
_Erika Meitner
_Michelle Peñaloza
_Amir Rabiyah
_Rone Shavers
_Tsering Yangzom Lama

Architecture

_Elgin Cleckley
_Robert Hutchison
_Outpost Office
_Humbi Song
_Quynh Vantu

Music Composition

_Nava Dunkelman
_Frewuhn
_Jessica Pavone
_Francesca Remigi
_Jen Shyu
_Camilla Sims

Visual Arts

_Mandy Cano Villalobos
_Daniela Rivera
_Stacey Steers
_Natalia Villanueva Linares
_Allison Wade
_Antoine Williams

Artists from the first years of the residency had the following words to say about the experience. 

It has been so hugely uplifting and meaningful to feel cared for as a writer and to have my work supported. I always feel that it is on me to support my writing – at home, there are always so many other duties and responsibilities calling me. Here, my only duty was to write, and the entire structure supported that. Outrageous! I am very grateful. – Michelle Tea

If you want time and space and support for your practice, projects, ideas, commissions in a beautiful forested and built environment, then apply to Loghaven. It’s truly divine; the residency is generous, quiet, ample in every direction…I found the manner in which Loghaven residency is set up to be so liberating. Truly artist / human-centric. – Loghaven Fellow

Everything is in place there for an artist to do her best work. Whether it’s working through chosen projects, or thinking through new ideas, the atmosphere at Loghaven is tuned to your needs. For artists accustomed to a dedicated studio space with lots of privacy and quiet it is ideal. The history and environment surrounding your cabin and studio is rich in inspiration. This is an opportunity that few get in their lifetime. – Mary O’Brien

Loghaven artists become Fellows after finishing their residency. Current Loghaven Fellows include Ann Carlson, NIC Kay, Angélica Negrón, Paula Matthusen, Mark Steven Greenfield, Aaron Landsman, and Hrag Vartanian. To see a complete list of Loghaven Fellows, please go to the Artist page of the Loghaven website.

What Makes Loghaven Special

Loghaven Artist Residency provides artists with vital financial resources, an inspiring environment, professionally designed facilities, dedicated staff, and the time and space to create new work.

Loghaven features an AIA award-winning campus including historic, rehabilitated log cabins, a Performing Arts Studio, a Visual Arts Studio, and the 3,900-square-foot McDonough House with additional studio space and facilities for artists—all located on 90 acres of woodland, minutes from downtown Knoxville, Tennessee. 

All Loghaven residency artists receive a weekly stipend grant for art supplies and other expenses associated with completing the residency. In addition to the living stipend, residents also receive travel and freight reimbursement. These support mechanisms advance Loghaven’s commitment to removing financial barriers for artists, allowing the broadest possible participation in the residency.

Loghaven is elated to announce the addition of architecture as our newest supported discipline. Beginning with the 2022 application cycle, we invite architects from across the country to apply for residencies in 2023 and beyond.

The interest in including this field as a supported discipline arose from the vital role architecture and design have played across Loghaven’s campus. Both Aslan Foundation Board Member and architect Jim McDonough and Sanders Pace Architecture have had a profound effect on the vision and creation of the buildings at Loghaven and the role they play to inspire resident artists. In 2021, Loghaven and Sanders Pace Architecture were honored to receive the American Institute of Architects’ Architecture Award, the profession’s highest national recognition. 

We look forward to welcoming architects to campus for supported residencies, where they will have the time and space to delve into new projects and take inspiration from the natural and built environments at Loghaven. To learn more about the design process of rehabilitating the existing cabins and constructing the new buildings on campus, see this 2021 article from Dezeen. For more details about the inclusion of architecture as a discipline, please see the Apply and FAQs pages of our website. Applicants in architecture must hold either a degree in architecture or be actively practicing in the field to apply.

“The campus in its entirety is immensely enjoyable. Experiencing the seamless combination of historic preservation of the land and cabins in relation to the newly built structures leaves a lasting impression.”
– Petra Bachmaier, Loghaven Fellow