In celebration of the Weeks Act Centennial, the White Mountain National Forest (WMNF) is partnering with the Arts Alliance of Northern New Hampshire to offer its first-ever Artist-in-Residence program, and is seeking applications from interested artists in all media. The deadline for applications is June 6.

The WMNF Artist-in-Residence program offers professional and emerging artists from around the country — visual and performing artists, craftspeople, writers, composers, eco artists and media artists — an opportunity to pursue their particular art form while being inspired by the surrounding forest and, on several occasions, sharing their work and their artistic process with members of the public. The goal of the residency program is to use art and creative expression to explore the many ways in which people relate to forests in general, and to the WMNF in particular.

This year marks the 100th anniversary of passage of the Weeks Act, a milestone in American conservation history. The Weeks Act enabled the federal government to purchase land in the eastern U.S., allowing cut and burned-over lands to become publicly owned national forests, thus leading to the creation of the White Mountain National Forest and more than 50 other national forests. The Act was named after John Wingate Weeks, a native of Lancaster.

During this, the inaugural year of the Artist-In-Residence program, one three-week artist residency will be offered. The focus of the program is to provide an opportunity for the selected artist to spend three weeks in the forest, creating work and sharing it during a weekly public session, when visitors can learn more about — or possibly participate in — the artistic process, and be encouraged to think about the connection between art, the forest and conservation. Public programs may include demonstrations, talks, exploratory walks or hikes, or performances, based on the medium, interest and experience of the artist.

The artist will be provided lodging in rustic accommodations on the Forest as well as limited reimbursement of travel expenses and the cost of supplies and materials.

“Artists have been inspired by the beauty of the White Mountains for hundreds of years,” notes Tom Wagner, WMNF Forest Supervisor, “and they’ve also played an important role in shaping the public’s view and understanding of our landscape. I’m pleased that the White Mountain National Forest, in partnership with the Arts Alliance, is starting this new program, using contemporary art to help our visitors connect with nature and better understand the mission of the Forest Service. The Artist-in-Residence program will help us broaden the ways in which we experience and communicate the value of the national forest.”

“One of the most exciting aspects of our work on the Weeks Act Centennial has been learning about the ways in which government, business, nonprofit organizations and private citizens worked together for the common good a century ago. It’s exciting to bring that same spirit of collaboration to the Artist-in-Residence project,” says Frumie Selchen, Executive Director of the Arts Alliance of Northern New Hampshire, a nonprofit working to promote, support and sustain cultural life throughout northern New Hampshire.

Find more information and an application for the program at www.aannh.org, or contact the Arts Alliance at [email protected], 603-323-7302.