Researcher / Scholar Residencies in Upperville

Oak Spring Garden Foundation

Upperville, United States

The Oak Spring Garden Foundation (OSGF) offers a unique residency experience located in Upperville, Virginia, nestled between the towns of Middleburg and Marshall. The foundation is dedicated to perpetuating the gifts of Rachel "Bunny" Lambert Mellon, including her extensive gardens, estate, and the Oak Spring Garden Library. The OSGF focuses on interdisciplinary residencies that bring together artists, conservation practitioners, researchers, and scholars who are connected through their creative and investigative practices concerning plants, gardens, landscapes, and related environmental themes. Established in 2021, the residency program supports individuals engaged in a variety of disciplines including the arts, conservation, humanities, and plant and ecological sciences. Residents are provided with fully furnished accommodations and have access to studios, a significant library collection, communal meals, and various natural and cultivated landscapes on the 700-acre property. The program aims to foster a collaborative environment among residents while also providing opportunities for solitude and focused work. Key components of the residency include initial orientations to the resources available at OSGF, involvement in community meals prepared by an on-site chef, and optional involvement in activities that enhance their experiential learning and connection to the site.

The Perennial Residency invites alumni of Oak Spring Garden Foundation’s residency and fellowship programmes back to Upperville, Virginia, to continue work begun there. Residents get a private bedroom and bathroom, sharing a living space and kitchen with one to three others, and visual artists are given studio space while writers, researchers and ecologists get a dedicated writing space. Meals are shared when Interdisciplinary Residents or Fellows are in residence. Residents who lead a workshop, open studio or presentation receive an $800 honorarium. Oak Spring provides ground transport from Dulles or Union Station; travel to those points is the resident’s own.