Why The Blackbird Residency exists — and how it came to be.
Art is not a luxury.
It is a bridge between people,
and that bridge belongs to everyone.
I founded The Blackbird Residency because I found a lot lacking in the American art world. Artists here are not supported the way they deserve to be, and the connection between artists and the communities around them is almost nonexistent. Art exists behind closed doors, in spaces that quietly signal to most people that they are not welcome.
Traveling outside the United States changed how I understood what that relationship could look like. I built connections with artists, curators, and gallery owners who approached things differently — artists were sustained through programs designed to support them, and they spent real time engaging with their communities. The appreciation ran both ways. Returning to the beautiful surroundings of Montana, I decided it was time to root those qualities here.
The work started with an artist named Codi Barbini, who became the first artist-in-residence at my home in Bozeman. Barbini was offered free accommodations and a stipend for materials and personal needs, and in her five weeks in residence she created a body of work that embraced the natural surroundings of the local area and built relationships with local artists that she carried with her when she left. The success of that residency convinced me I was on the right path.
In the spring of 2025 I broke ground for an artist studio that I designed with artists and writers in mind at every decision — from its placement (direct views of the Bridger Mountain Range) to its materials (large windows letting in the right amount of natural light) to its interior (an open space with room for work of multiple disciplines). It was the first step in making The Blackbird Residency official.
Once the space existed, I began designing the programs that would fill the engagement component of what I had seen abroad. An Open Studio event, where the artist shares their process and shows people how their work comes into being. The Artful Conversation series, where the artist shares their journey — why they chose this life, and what the lack of support in this country actually costs them. Both became central to the programming.
While building the community programming I realized there was a particular audience I wanted to reach — the people who believe they don't belong in an art space. Those who think they aren't rich enough, cultured enough, or educated enough to be welcome.
Those people are who I used to be for the majority of my life, and it only changed when I felt welcomed by an arts community abroad. This is who I want in the audience — this is who The Blackbird Residency wants in its audience. The message that art is universal must be shared.