We are thrilled to announce the 31 visual artists who have been selected for residencies at the Joan Mitchell Center in New Orleans. The dynamic and diverse 2026 cohort includes 14 artists who will travel to the Center from across the United States and 17 artists based in New Orleans—all of whom will participate in either 6- or 14-week residencies in the Spring, Summer, or Fall sessions, with up to 9 artists in residence at any given time. The participating artists range in age from 27 to 75 and represent a variety of ethnicities, personal backgrounds, and creative practices rooted in the visual arts.

Residencies at the Joan Mitchell Center support individual artistic growth, while also fostering community in the heart of one of America’s most creatively rich cities. The program provides artists at pivotal junctures in their careers with critical resources, including private studio space, a weekly materials stipend, on-site studio assistants, professional development, and community-building opportunities. Now in its 11th year of operation, the Center has hosted over 350 artists, more than a third of whom are local to New Orleans. This mix of visiting and local artists working together in all sessions is a hallmark of the program, as local artists can serve as ambassadors to the city’s culture and resources, while national residents bring expanded networks and experiences that can benefit the local residents. This year, four of the selected national artists are native to New Orleans but living elsewhere—an outcome that aligns with one of the residency program’s goals of supporting the return of displaced artists to the city post-Katrina.

The 2026 Artists-in-Residence are:

Vee Adams, New Orleans, LA
Michael Arcega, San Francisco, CA
Rachel Berwick, Killingworth, CT
Farah Billah, New Orleans, LA
Efrem Z. Boles (Big Chief ZeeBo), New Orleans, LA
Kelly Pearson Boles (Big Queen Kelly), New Orleans, LA
paris cian, New Orleans, LA
Dillon Dillon, Bronx, NY
Michel Droge, Arrowsic, ME
Celia Eberle, Ennis, TX
Brandon Felix, New Orleans, LA
Rachel Gorman, New Orleans, LA
Shana M. griffin, New Orleans, LA
Ana María Agüero Jahannes, New Orleans, LA
Fred H. C. Liang, Boston, MA
Felicita Felli Maynard, New Orleans, LA
Jessica Monette, East Palo Alto, CA
Nadrea Njoku, Atlanta, GA
Hakeem Olayinka, Brooklyn, NY
Rachel Parish, Atlanta, GA
Mary Jane Parker, New Orleans, LA
Sienna Pinderhughes, New Orleans, LA
Naomi Kawanishi Reis, Brooklyn, NY
SÉAN, New Orleans, LA
Analia Segal, Brooklyn, NY
Shaina Simmons, New Orleans, LA
Edra Soto, Chicago, IL
Jade Thiraswas, New Orleans, LA
Trish Tillman, Brooklyn, NY
Gabrielle Tolliver, New Orleans, LA
Caitlin Ezell Waugh, New Orleans, LA