Residencies at Loretto

Residencies at Loretto is sponsored by Kentucky Foundation for Women. Provides individual Kentucky artists with 1-3 week residencies through a partnership with the Loretto Community in Nerinx, KY.

Loretto Artist Residency Program - Kentucky Foundation For Women Art Meets Activism Grants Mini Grants for KFW Grantees Kentucky Feminine Artists Timeline Loretto Artist Residency Program Loretto Artist Residency Program What is the Loretto Artist Residency Program? KFW is partnering with the Sisters of Loretto/Loretto Community to offer Artist Residencies of 1-3 weeks at the Loretto Motherhouse in Nerinx, Ky.

“You’re invited to do your art in the midst of Loretto hospitality. ” Residencies are open to feminist artists who are residents of Kentucky who have demonstrated achievement in creating work high in artistic merit and based on social justice issues/concerns. Any art form can apply: Visual, Literary, Media, Performing.

Residents will be provided with housing, a food stipend and the option of studio space. The Artist in Residence Program at the Loretto Motherhouse in Nerinx, Kentucky is a collaboration between the Kentucky Foundation for Women (KFW) and the Sisters of Loretto. Working for justice and acting for peace are central to the Loretto Community’s mission .

All KFW’s opportunities are arts-based, feminist in nature and for Kentucky residents. The Loretto Residency Program is open to individual feminist social change artists who reside in Kentucky. Artists with varied backgrounds, worldviews, cultural heritages, and sexual orientations are encouraged to apply.

KFW is committed to making the residency program accessible to a wide range of women, trans and nonbinary people regardless of age, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, educational level, economic condition or geographic origin. The Loretto Motherhouse has a cafeteria where artists can make arrangements for a meal plan if they choose.

KFW will provide a food stipend to be paid directly to the artist, to offset the cost of food during the residency. Artists will be responsible for the remainder of their food costs, whether taking the meal plan or providing their own food. Since Loretto offers a cafeteria, each housing space includes only a small kitchenette with a mini fridge to prepare light meals.

(Extensive cooking in these spaces may be difficult.) The Loretto Motherhouse has two options for accommodations. The online application will provide more information about each housing option.

One housing option has a steep flight of stairs. The other does not have stairs. Neither housing option is ADA accessible.

What to Expect When Applying The Loretto Residency application will ask applicants to describe themselves as an artist and the work they plan to create during the residency. The application will include questions about their goals for the residency; how their work addresses social justice concerns or work for peace and justice, and any ways artists make their work accessible for those with disabilities.

Additional requirements include an artist bio, art samples, and other essential grant components. Click here to read the full guidelines. If you have need for a residency longer than three weeks, contact KFW at 502-562-0045 or kim@kfw.

org . The Loretto Motherhouse offers extensive grounds, including three ponds, for walking, hiking and exploring the natural world as an inspiration for your art while living in community on a campus where 100 people live. The campus includes an artist studio/gallery, a piano in a shared space and the Loretto Heritage Center.

Loretto is the home of many elders: you are warmly invited to walk the grounds, enter the chapel and be in community spaces, but please respect the purpose of each community space, and protect the health of the elders. The campus has a no-smoking policy on the entire campus.

Residents must provide their own transportation to and from the Motherhouse campus, as well as any supplies, provisions, clothing and outdoor gear for the duration of their stay. Parking is available. Artists are welcome to come and go as they desire.

There is a grocery store 1 mile away, and the campus is only about a 20-minute drive from Bardstown, Springfield, Lebanon and Hodgenville if other needs arise. Do you have your own special retreat place for rest and rejuvenation? If you are a KFW grantee you can apply for a mini-grant to help fund the retreat or residency.

See details HERE . Residency Deadlines and Timeframe: Current Deadline May 11, 2026 Winter/Spring Residency Cycle Application Deadline : around November 15* Decision Notifications : around December 15* Residency Timeline : Residencies take place: Mid-January-mid-June Final Report : must be submitted no later than 30 days after the residency is completed *These dates are approximate for those interested in future opportunities.

Summer/Fall Residency Cycle Application Deadline : May 11, 2026 Decision notifications : After May 31, 2026 Residency Timeline : Residencies take place July 1-December 4, 2026 (Residencies unavailable July 20 – August 8.) Final Report : must be submitted no later than 30 days after the residency is completed