An artist residency supporting ambitious work in art, craft, design, and making.
Fortress Studios Detroit is a hands-on artist residency located in the Northend neighborhood of Detroit. A residency provides time, space, and access to professional-grade tools for artists developing ambitious projects across sculpture, craft, installation, design, and emerging media. Residents join a growing alumni network and engage with Detroit’s cultural and manufacturing ecosystem.
Fortress alumni include nationally and internationally exhibited artists, designers, and creative technologists. Alumni continue to exhibit, publish, teach, and collaborate with institutions worldwide.
Residents have access to shared workshops, fabrication tools, flexible studio space, and industrial-scale infrastructure supporting large-format and experimental work.
Located in Detroit, Fortress Studios benefits from proximity to manufacturers, material suppliers, cultural institutions, and a vibrant creative community rooted in making and experimentation.
Fortress Studios Detroit supports artists, designers, and makers working across disciplines, particularly those interested in fabrication, installation, and materially driven practices. Emerging and established practitioners are encouraged to apply.
Residents receive a private live/work studio, shared workshop facilities. Support is focused on space, infrastructure, and peer exchange rather than prescriptive programming. Resident artists should be prepared to provide their own meals, materials and transporation. A bicycle may be provided upon request.
Residency lengths vary depending on project scope and availability. Typical residencies range from several weeks to multiple months and are scheduled in coordination with each resident.
Residency fees are $200 per week.
Need based scholorships and work exchange may be availabe upon request.
Residency expectations are flexible. Some projects require daily on-site presence, while others accommodate part-time or periodic use of the facilities, depending on project needs.
Applications are reviewed by Fortress Studios organizers and advisors on a rolling or cohort basis. Selection prioritizes project feasibility, alignment with facilities, and potential for meaningful engagement with the space and community.
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