Ready for a creative adventure?

Get inspired and make great art in the beautiful Black Rock Desert-NCA. These lands are home to the largest protected portion of the Lassen-Applegate Emigrant Trails and bear witness to Native Peoples dating back  thousands of years. In Black Rock Country you can count on seeing geological wonders like geysers and hot springs, unique wildlife, and dark skies lit by the glow of the milky way.

Experience Fly Ranch, meet a burner or two, learn about some of the great projects happening through the Land Art Generator Initiative, and enjoy the quirky hospitality and character of Gerlach, Nevada.

Call for artists!

Now in our 10th year, Friends of Black Rock – High Rock, in partnership with the Bureau of Land Management, is launching two artist residencies for a two-week duration in Summer 2023. Applications will be accepted over six-weeks, from February 21, 2023 until the deadline of April 21, 2023.

What is the Black Rock Desert Artist in Residency Program?

The Black Rock Desert Artist in Residence (BRD AiR) Program promotes awareness and appreciation of the Black Rock Desert High Rock Canyon Emigrant Trails National Conservation Area (Black Rock Desert NCA) through the prism of art. The Artist in Residence Program is a part of the Bureau of Land Management’s support of public lands through residencies in nine western states and in National Parks, Monuments, Conservation and Recreation Areas. 

About The Black Rock National Conservation Area

The Black Rock Desert NCA is one of three in Nevada within the sixty-four National Conservation Lands units administered by the Bureau of Land Management. Each year, over 200,000 visitors travel to the Black Rock Desert NCA’s 1.2 million acres to recreate, travel throughout and hike its 900 miles of rustic roads, experiencing its diverse wildlife, historic emigrant trails and to primitive camp under unfettered dark skies. The best known gateway to this NCA is through Gerlach, Nevada, located about 117 miles north of Reno off Highway 447. 

What you can expect if selected.

The artist selected for this opportunity will engage with a small community audience and experience the vast landscapes available in our National Conservation Lands. Public programs and community outreach projects, and an exhibition of the artists work will be hosted in Reno, Gerlach and other rural communities in Nevada. Resident artists will be ambassadors of the Black Rock Desert NCA, working to promote awareness of the need for conservation and stewardship of this and other National Conservation Lands in the United States.

Applications Now Being Accepted

We highly encourage you to apply electronically (at no cost to you) through the online submission platform EntryThingy. To learn more about this platform and how to submit your application, please login to EntryThingy for our submission requirements and how to use EntryThingy.

If this is a barrier to submission, we are here to help. Contact us at info@blackrockdesert.org. 

Apply using the online submission platform EntryThingy

If you wish to submit a physical application, please contact us directly in order to work through the process with you. You can contact us at info@blackrockdesert.org or call (775) 557-2900 and leave a message. We will get back to you as soon as possible.