Isabella Stewart Gardner surrounded herself with creative talent—from musicians and dancers to writers, scholars, and painters. During her lifetime, Fenway Court was a venue for concerts, a gathering place for thinkers, and even a place for artists to work. In 1903, Isabella established the Museum’s first artist residency there, inviting John Singer Sargent (American, 1856–1925) to stay and use the Gothic Room as his studio. In 1992, the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum formalized and expanded these opportunities as the Artists-in-Residence program. We’ve now welcomed over 110 artists who have produced new work for the Museum while living and working in our dedicated New Wing apartments and built relationships that last a lifetime. After their stay, artists often return as friends and collaborators of the Gardner, and their lasting bonds with staff bring new perspectives to our exhibitions, performances, and other public programs.
Past Artists-in-Residence
Artists from all creative fields are invited to be Artists-in-Residence at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. Some of these included:
A–L
- Ackroyd & Harvey
- Hamra Abbas
- Lida Abdul
- Hakeem Adewumi
- Andrea Anastasio
- Laura Anderson Barbata
- Stefano Arienti
- Nancy Aronie
- Joan Bankemper
- Alessandro Baricco
- Paul Beatty
- Natasha de Betak
- Manfred Bischoff
- Ashley Bryan
- Ambreen Butt
- Sophie Calle
- Maurizio Cannavacciuolo
- Jason Cheriyan
- Nicole Cherubini
- Sonya Clark
- Dorit Cypis
- Edwidge Danticat
- Constance DeJong
- Jeremy Denk
- Marty Ehrlich
- Martín Espada
- Cliff Evans
- Heide Fasnacht
- Lara Favaretto
- Moritz Fehr
- Carla Fernández
- Vadim Fishkin
- Ivana Franke
- Ken Frazelle
- Henrik Håkansson
- Alicia Hall Moran
- Stefon Harris
- Susan Howe
- Abdullah Ibrahim
- Michele Iodice
- Jyotindra Jain
- Fabiola Jean-Louis
- Oliver Jeffers
- Natalie Jeremijenko
- Joan Jonas
- Patrick Kelley
- Bharti Kher
- Joseph Kosuth
- Luisa Lambri
- Ann Lauterbach
- Ledoh
- Lee Mingwei
- Liz Lerman
- Laura Lima
- Steve Locke
- David Ludwig
- Barbara Lynch
M–Z
- Gregory Maguire
- Denise Marika
- Walter Mayes
- Josiah McElheny
- Todd McKie
- Gcina Mhlophe
- Helen Mirra
- Abelardo Morell
- Victoria Morton
- Melvin Moti
- Zanele Muholi
- Juan Muñoz
- Anne Nivat
- Jay O'Callahan
- Luigi Ontani
- Porsha Olayiwola
- OpenEndedGroup
- Jean-Michel Othoniel
- Laura Owens
- Olivia Parker
- Adam Pendleton
- Rachel Perry
- Cesare Pietroiusti
- James Prosek
- Ana Prvacki
- Luisa Rabbia
- Raqs Media Collective
- Elaine Reichek
- Mary Reid Kelley
- Paula Robison
- Barry Schwabsky
- Taro Shinoda
- Michael Singer
- Dayanita Singh
- Olivia Slaughter
- Zoe Strauss
- Elizabeth Swados
- Javier Téllez
- Jennifer Tipton
- Su-Mei Tse
- Stacy Lynn Waddell
- Nari Ward
- Shen Wei
- Charmaine Wheatley
- David Wilson
- Serra Yilmaz
- Nevet Yitzhak
- Jessica Yu
- Danijel Žeželj
- Zhang Peili
The Artist-in-Residence program is supported in part by Lizbeth and George Krupp and directed by Pieranna Cavalchini, Tom and Lisa Blumenthal Curator of Contemporary Art, and is supported by the Barbara Lee Program Fund. Funding is also provided for site-specific installations of new work on the Anne H. Fitzpatrick Façade on Evans Way.