Artist in Residence Program

CREATIVE. DISRUPTIVE. AMBITIOUS.
SOUNDS LIKE AN ENTREPRENEUR...
AND AN ARTIST

THE STARTUP COLORADO
ARTIST IN RESIDENCE 2025

The Startup Colorado Artist in Residence program is designed to elevate and support a Rural Colorado creative, offering a stipend, business development resources, brand exposure, and collaboration opportunities. In addition to creating and advancing their own independent work, the 2025 Artist in Residence will develop an original design for Startup Colorado and contribute to initiatives that celebrate creative industries in rural communities.

The residency is remote, allowing the artist to focus on their craft and business development while also engaging with the broader community. Opportunities for in-person connection, including participation at West Slope Startup Week in Durango (October 2025) are included. 

Our 2025 residency is open to visual artists, with plans to welcome artists of other mediums in the future.  

DEADLINE TO APPLY IS MAY 16, 2025

HOW IT WORKS

Compensation & Support
  • $1,500 stipend for the residency
  • 1:1 mentorship session focused on business development with a Startup Colorado Advisor
  • Reimbursements available for travel and lodging to attend West Slope Startup Week.
  • Featured promotion across Startup Colorado’s communications channels, amplifying your work to a broad audience of business leaders, entrepreneurs and ecosystem builders.
  • Profit-sharing model for any SUCO-branded merchandise created during the residency.
Artist Responsibilities & Deliverables
  • Creative Collaboration with Startup Colorado 
    • Create a custom design for a limited-edition Startup Colorado T-shirt, with potential for adaptation into additional materials.
    • Maintain an active presence in the Rural Creative Collective online community (posting 2x a month in the group).
  • Community Engagement
    • Opportunity to participate in Makers Night Market at WSSW as a vendor.
    • Artist will receive support and mentorship to develop a short artist talk/pitch about their work and portfolio at the Night Market.
  • Residency Documentation
    • Either submit a short blog post for the SUCO website or sit for an interview to reflect on their residency experience and creative work.

DEADLINE TO APPLY IS MAY 16, 2025

INTERESTED?

apply today

WHY LAUNCH AN ARTIST RESIDENCY?

The Startup Colorado Artist in Residence program is born from the Rural Creative Collective’s efforts to support entrepreneurs launching and scaling businesses in the creative industries. Creative entrepreneurs are vital to the cultural and economic fabric of rural communities, yet they often face unique challenges. This virtual residency is our way of addressing those gaps in a meaningful way.

Each year, we will support the growth of one rural artist’s creative business by offering them a unique opportunity to deepen both their artistic and entrepreneurial practice. Through the residency, the artist will create a high-profile design project, connect with our Advisor Network for personalized guidance, and gain premium exposure through our marketing channels and a featured spotlight at West Slope Startup Week.

Special thanks to Meghan Rauker of the Rural Creative Collective and DreamSpring for organizing support. 

DEADLINE MAY 16

apply today

MEET THE SELECTION COMMITTEE

Eva Lewis

Eva is a seasoned arts administrator, multidisciplinary artist, and consultant with over 20 years of experience in La Plata County, Colorado. As Director of the Ignacio Creative District, Eva provides strategic leadership in creative placemaking, grant development, and long-term planning to advance organizational sustainability and community impact. Her work is grounded in a strong background in nonprofit development, arts advocacy, and cross-sector collaboration, with a focus on leveraging the arts to foster economic growth, civic engagement, and social cohesion.

Eva holds a Bachelor of Arts in Studio Art with minors in Art History and Sociology/Human Services from Fort Lewis College and has exhibited her work in regional and national venues. In addition to her leadership roles, she serves on multiple regional committees and advisory boards and remains an active contributor to the cultural landscape through her administrative and artistic work. She is currently building a regenerative farm, where she enjoys outdoor adventures and time with her family.

Margaret Hedderman

Margaret is a writer, editor, and content strategist. As Director of Content & Brand Strategy, she leads the storytelling program at Startup Colorado, where she works to build a culture of belief in rural entrepreneurship. She serves as Editor-in-Chief of Startup Colorado’s news site and the business advice newsletter The Rural Startup. She is also the producer and host of the Startup Colorado Podcast. Outside of Startup Colorado, she specializes in creative content development and management, and has collaborated with national and international startups, small businesses, and nonprofits.

She holds a BFA in Television Production from Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles and an MA in Creative Nonfiction from the University of East Anglia in Norwich, England. As a creative writer, her work spans genres and mediums. She is a Film Independent Screenwriting Lab Fellow and has been nominated for the Best American Travel Writing series. Margaret is currently at work on a new novel.

Maya Ortega

Maya is a writer and freelance film producer. Her scripts feature women navigating liminality, in the spheres of work, spirituality, womanhood, and society. In 2023, she successfully lobbied for and launched a program called Art to Live in Fort Collins. A city arts residency program, Art to Live provided a grant for rental expenses for 3-6 months, in exchange for free community events like workshops and lectures.

She received an MFA from Savannah College of Art and Design in Dramatic Writing. Her scripts have won awards with Screenwriting Goldmine, Hollywood Screenplay Competition, finalist for the Austin Film Festival Playwriting Competition, selected for the SeriesFest Pitch-a-Thon, and a prose finalist for PERIPLUS finalist.