RIC Artist Residency Program

The RIC Artist Residency Program exists to support Detroit’s emerging artists by providing studio space in exchange for projects that contribute to the creative life and ongoing beautification of the Russell Industrial Center.

Just as industry shaped Detroit’s foundations, we believe artists shape its future with tools of imagination and intent. Housed in a century-old manufacturing complex once central to Detroit’s industrial boom, the Russell Industrial Center is now an evolving home for creative makers, thinkers, and entrepreneurs. Our residency program honors that legacy by inviting artists to shape the present and future of this space through collaborative, community-centered work.

We hope to:

• Expand access to creative space for artists to explore their practice

• Support projects that honor and elevate the culture of both the Russell Industrial Center and the wider Detroit community through diverse mediums.

• Cultivate connection and dialogue through shared experiences-group critiques, open studios, and collaborative events

• Transform industrial space into a site of creative production, artistic risk-taking, and collective care

Residents are selected for their vision, craft, and commitment to making work that lives beyond the studio. Each residency lasts three months, housed in a large, open-concept shared workspace designed for both focus and exchange. Spaces are assigned based on the artist’s medium and availability.

At its core, the RIC Artist Residency is about mutual investment between artist and place, practice and people, history and imagination.

We are now accepting applications for the next round, to begin in September 2025.

Artists can apply Here.