Free Metalwork Residencies
22 residencies
Fully funded metalwork residencies that cover both housing and a stipend. These programs remove financial barriers entirely, letting you focus on your art.
Free is the filter — fit is the question. Ask in your own words — drawn from 2,300+ residencies and live open calls, grounded in real reviews.

James Castle House
Boise, United States
The James Castle House in Boise, Idaho, offers several residency programs for artists, scholars, and creators to immerse themselves in the history and legacy of James Castle. These programs include a 10-week residency, a short-stay residency, and project-based residencies, each designed to foster new work that contributes to understanding the site. Participants receive private living quarters, studio space, and a stipend, enabling them to focus on their projects without financial burden. Residents are expected to engage with the Boise community through public events, such as workshops and open studios. The residencies are open to emerging and mid-career artists and professionals from any field, provided their work is compatible with the site’s limitations. The James Castle House residency programs emphasize daily creativity and experimentation, maintaining the artist’s legacy. Located in the vibrant Collister neighborhood, the house provides easy access to Boise’s downtown and natural surroundings. The program seeks to cultivate a growing local and national community, deepening the public’s understanding of James Castle’s life and work.

Dar Meso
Tunis, Tunisia
Dar Meso is an artist residency located in the heart of the Medina of Tunis, Tunisia, offering a unique environment that fosters creativity and cultural exchange. The residency is on an ongoing open call and hosts a variety of programs, including Writing Residencies and Babbasawt Sound Lab, which cater to different artistic disciplines such as writing, music, and sound art. The residency provides private workspaces, communal areas, and access to specialized workshops like ceramics and sound labs. Dar Meso emphasizes collaboration, intercultural exchange, and the development of innovative artistic projects. The residency helps artists get fundings but is generally working with artists contributions. Dar Meso supports artists by offering a tranquil space to focus on their work while encouraging cultural interaction within a vibrant, historic setting.

Le Wonder
Bobigny, France
Le Wonder is an artist-run collective and residency space located in Bobigny, on the outskirts of Paris, France. Founded in 2013, it occupies large, repurposed industrial complexes and offers both individual and shared studios along with extensive technical resources. The organization emphasizes independence, experimentation, and collective work across a wide range of disciplines including visual arts, performance, and culinary practices. It fosters a collaborative environment where residents can engage deeply with the local and international art scene. Le Wonder runs a research and creation residency for international and French artists and curators outside the Paris region, focusing on experimentation rather than production. Artists receive financial support and access to comprehensive studio facilities and mentorship from members of the collective. The residency is embedded in a strong network of local art institutions and partners, enhancing artists’ professional development. It is supported by public funding and part of the Arts en Résidence network.

Appalachian Center for Craft
Smithville, United States
The Appalachian Center for Craft's Artist in Residence (AIR) program provides a creative, residential environment for emerging professional artists to work in an immersive studio setting while contributing to the educational mission of the institution. The program offers one-year appointments (renewable for an additional year) across multiple studio disciplines including clay, fibers, glass, metals, wood, and exhibitions, with residents providing instructional support and producing significant bodies of studio work.

Artists in Residence
West Palm Beach, United States
West Palm Beach artist-in-residence programs include the Norton Museum’s invitation-only visual arts residency and the Armory Art Center’s teaching residency with studio space, exhibit opportunities, and support for emerging artists.

Blackhorse Workshop
London, United Kingdom
Blackhorse Workshop, a social enterprise based in London, is committed to opening up access to making for all. The workshop offers a supportive environment for creative practitioners, particularly those early in their careers, who have a strong interest in wood and metal work. The residency provides free desk space in a shared studio, access to professional wood and metal workshops, and regular development support. With a focus on inclusivity, Blackhorse Workshop actively encourages applications from individuals with a strong connection to Waltham Forest, especially from underrepresented backgrounds in the arts. The residency culminates in a public presentation of the resident’s work, offering a valuable platform for emerging makers.

Casa Taller El Boga Mompox
Mompox, Colombia
Cultural foundation and artist residency in a restored colonial house, offering accommodation, community exchange, workshops, and access to shared creative spaces.

Corning Museum of Glass
Corning, United States
The Corning Museum of Glass offers a comprehensive Artist-in-Residence program at The Studio in Corning, New York. This program invites artists from around the world to explore new directions in glassmaking or expand their current work using the museum’s extensive resources. Residents receive housing, a meal stipend, transportation, and access to the Rakow Research Library and expert Museum staff. The residency provides a generous supply budget, studio space equipped for various glassworking techniques, and a newly completed Residency Center with seven studios and a communal lounge. Artists are encouraged to engage with the community through presentations and public events.

Craft AiR at University for the Creative Arts (UCA)
Farnham, United Kingdom
The Craft AiR program at the University for the Creative Arts (UCA) Farnham offers artists the opportunity to deepen their practice in Ceramics, Glass, or Jewellery & Silversmithing within a dynamic academic setting. This residency provides free access to state-of-the-art facilities, including dedicated workshops, kilns, fabrication tools, and digital labs. In exchange, artists contribute to curriculum support through technical workshops, talks, and community engagement, enriching both their CVs and the UCA craft community. The program encourages early and mid-career artists with either formal qualifications or professional experience to apply. While UCA provides exceptional workspace and resources, artists are expected to arrange their own accommodation, materials, and travel. The residency typically runs from September to August, with flexible start dates and a minimum 3-day weekly commitment. This is an ideal opportunity for practitioners who thrive in collaborative, educational environments. Open to UK and international applicants, the program supports a vibrant exchange of ideas in contemporary craft.

Culture Moves Europe Residency
O Savinao, Spain
Culture Moves Europe residency support in Spain for legal entities hosting artists and cultural professionals; projects can include accommodation, workspaces, mentoring, and cross-border collaboration.
Darling Foundry
Montréal, Canada
Fonderie Darling is a visual arts center in Montreal's Old Montreal that offers international artist residencies through its Open Access program, welcoming contemporary artists and curators of all nationalities for tailor-made residencies lasting one to six months in a 19th-century industrial complex. The residency includes access to live-in studios, common areas, technical workshops, and support for artistic development, networking, and promotion.

Houston Center for Contemporary Craft
Houston, United States
The Houston Center for Contemporary Craft (HCCC) Artist Residency Program offers three-to-twelve month residencies (with preference for six- and nine-month terms) to craft artists working in media such as wood, glass, metal, fiber, clay, and interdisciplinary craft with photography. Selected artists gain 24/7 access to a 200-square-foot studio, a $1,000 monthly stipend including housing/materials allowance, professional development, public interaction opportunities, and an artist talk. The public-facing program requires studio work during public hours and open studios for visitor engagement.

Institut français Cité Arts Residency
Paris, France
Organizer Information This programme is jointly run by the Institut français and the Cité internationale des arts. The Institut français supports French culture internationally, helping to promote the French language, the circulation of works and ideas, and the mobility of artists throughout the world, while working to promote cultural diversity and contribute to the hosting

Konstnärernas Kollektivverkstad Bohuslän
Hamburgsund, Sweden
Konstnärernas Kollektivverkstad Bohuslän (KKV Bohuslän) is an artists' collective workshop in Hamburgsund, Sweden, providing professional artists with access to equipped workshops for techniques like ceramics, textiles, stone, metal, and wood. It organizes artist residencies focused on sculpture and material-based processes, offering stipends, accommodation, and workshop access to selected participants from Nordic countries.

LIBITUM
Brussels, Belgium
A Belgian non-profit residency network supporting research, experimentation, and artistic creation across disciplines, including writing residencies in Brussels.
Martin Roth Initiative Temporary relocation for Artists and cultural actors at risk
Berlin, Germany
Organizer Information The Martin Roth-Initiative is a joint project of ifa – Institut für Auslandsbeziehungen and the Goethe-Institut, founded in response to the global shrinking of civic spaces. It was established in in response to the global decline in pre-political freedoms, named after Martin Roth, the museum director and cultural scientist who served as
Platform Dalí
Barcelona, Spain
Organizer Information Platform Dalí is a new international art-and-science programme launched by the Gala-Salvador Dalí Foundation, based in Barcelona and anchored in the city's scientific ecosystem, established through collaborations with five leading science centers: the Barcelona Supercomputing Center (BSC), the Institute of Photonic Sciences (ICFO), the Institute of Marine Sciences (ICM-CSIC), the Institute for High

Prairie Residency
Vicksburg, United States
Organizer Information Prairie is an artist‑centered residency program based in rural Advance, North Carolina (USA), designed to support creative development through focused, uninterrupted studio time close to nature. Set on one acre of land and housed within a historic 1870 country home surrounded by oak trees, Prairie fosters a slow, contemplative environment that encourages sustained

Residency Skagen AiR - (Denmark)
Skagen, Denmark
Organizer Information: Skagen’s Museum focuses on the Scandinavian artists’ colony, the Skagen painters, active since the late 19th century. Skagen AiR revitalizes the historical studios located in the museum's beautiful gardens, aiming to build new relations between resident artists and the cultural history, community, and people of Skagen. Title & Description: Applications are open for

Time and Space Residency at Peninsula School of Art (PenArt)
Fish Creek, United States
The Time and Space Residency at Peninsula School of Art (PenArt) in Fish Creek, Wisconsin, is a fully funded program offering artists six weeks of uninterrupted studio time. Designed for artists of all career stages, this residency supports experimentation and creative risk-taking in a quiet yet connected environment. Each resident receives a spacious semi-private studio, private bedroom in shared housing, and access to ceramics, metals, printmaking, and digital studios. Two artists or collaborative pairs are selected per session, with three sessions held annually. Residents are required to participate in public-facing events including a studio tour and an introductory artist video. The program includes a studio visit with a visiting critic and optional engagement with the broader community through critiques, workshops, or exhibitions. There is no cost to apply or participate, though artists are responsible for their own meals and materials. Located in scenic Door County, the residency provides time, space, and support for developing new directions in visual art practice.

Volland Residency
Alma, United States
A rural residency offering quiet time, living and studio space, and exchange for creatives across many disciplines in Kansas’s Flint Hills.

White Buffalo Land Trust's Artist in Residence
Lompoc, United States
Artists live and work at Jalama Canyon Ranch, creating place-based work that engages ecology, regenerative agriculture, and community through educational and participatory offerings.
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Frequently asked questions
Are there really free metalwork residencies?
Yes. Fully funded residencies provide both accommodation and a stipend at no cost to the artist. These programs are typically supported by government arts funding, private foundations, or institutional endowments.
How do I find free metalwork residencies?
Browse our curated list above, each with real reviews from artists who attended. You can also filter by country or check each program's website for current application details and deadlines.
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