Vizcaya Museum and Gardens Announces Open Call for 2027 Vizcaya Arts Residency

MIAMI – September 14, 2026 — Vizcaya Museum and Gardens is inviting South Florida-based artists to apply for the 2027 Vizcaya Arts Residency + Commission — a new program under the newly expanded Vizcaya Arts umbrella, formerly known as the Vizcaya Contemporary Arts Program (CAP). Applications are open through 11:59 p.m. Monday, Nov. 2, 2026.

Open to emerging, mid-career and established artists working in any discipline in the South Florida area, the inaugural Vizcaya Arts Residency + Commission will support one artist with a $12,500 artist fee, a production budget of up to $25,000, dedicated studio space during museum operating hours, curatorial support and a range of public engagement opportunities.

This new chapter marks a significant expansion for Vizcaya’s arts offerings. The new artist studio is soon to open in the historic Chicken House, as part of a major revitalization of Vizcaya Village. Through this enhanced infrastructure, Vizcaya can now support artists through every stage of developing new, site-specific work — from early research to final production and exhibition.

“Vizcaya has been an inspiration to artists since its inception, so the creation of a studio space represents an important and natural evolution of Vizcaya’s commitment to the arts and artists of our community,” said Helena Gomez, Vizcaya’s Curator. “The theme of this year’s residency, Holding Time, asks artists to consider what happens when the past, present and future occupy the same space. The residency gives artists the time, space and support to explore those tensions and create new work that could only emerge from engaging with the site.”

“James Deering was a devoted patron of the arts, and Vizcaya Arts carries that legacy into an entirely new chapter. As Vizcaya Village develops into a vibrant cultural and community hub just across South Miami Avenue, this residency expands Vizcaya’s capacity to serve the artistic community through that transformation — working, exhibiting and engaging the public alongside the community programs and urban agriculture taking root there. It’s this kind of layered, living campus that makes Vizcaya a place to return to again and again,” said Joel Hoffman, Vizcaya’s Executive Director and CEO.

At a moment marked by environmental uncertainty, technological acceleration and evolving perspectives on history and identity, the theme Holding Time considers Vizcaya as an active container of time — holding architectural history, material transformation, collective memory and environmental change in constant tension. Applicants are asked to consider the Main House as both setting and subject, proposing a site-responsive exhibition that engages the first and second floors.

The selected artist will spend the May-to-November 2027 residency period in Vizcaya’s new 375-square-foot Artist Studio, developing the commissioned work through research, testing, fabrication and dialogue with Vizcaya staff. The resulting exhibition will be on view at Vizcaya from November 2027 to May 2028.

Beyond studio time, the residency includes opportunities to engage community members. The selected artist will lead two public programs during the exhibition period and hold open studio hours during Vizcaya’s Sunday Farmers Market, giving visitors a window into the creative process behind the finished work.

Applications are due November 2, 2026, and require contact information, a short biography, an artist statement, a CV or résumé, a portfolio of recent work, a statement of interest addressing the Holding Time theme, and one letter of support.

Vizcaya will host a virtual information session on September 23 at NOON. for prospective applicants. Full eligibility requirements, application instructions and information session details are available at vizcaya.org/opencall. General questions may be directed to [email protected].

ABOUT VIZCAYA ARTS
Vizcaya Arts, formerly known as the Vizcaya Contemporary Arts Program (CAP), has commissioned artists since 2006 to develop new work responding to the estate’s unique history and landscape. Inspired by the dynamic, creative spirit that characterized Vizcaya’s inception 100 years ago, the program continues Vizcaya owner James Deering’s tradition as an arts patron and bridges dialogues between the historic and the contemporary.

Beginning in 2027, the program expands into the Vizcaya Arts Residency + Commission, providing artists with studio space to research, experiment, ask questions and formulate new ideas that respond to Vizcaya’s cultural, historical, architectural and ecological contexts. Vizcaya serves as a vehicle to engage artists — and the public — in connecting with the past, understanding the present and shaping the future.

ABOUT VIZCAYA MUSEUM AND GARDENS
Vizcaya Museum and Gardens is a National Historic Landmark in Miami, originally built between 1914 and 1922 as the winter estate of James Deering. Open as a public museum since 1953, this European-inspired estate welcomes 400,000 visitors annually and includes a Main House filled with decorative arts, 10 acres of formal gardens and several native ecosystems.

The Vizcaya campus includes the historic Vizcaya Village on the west side of South Miami Avenue. Here, Vizcaya offers a Sunday farmers market, community programs on urban agriculture, wellness and other topics, and a charming Café in the restored Superintendent’s House that is open on weekends.

Located at 3251 South Miami Avenue (with the Village across the street at 3250 South Miami Avenue), Vizcaya Museum and Gardens is open daily, except Tuesdays, from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and closed for Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day.