COASTAL OREGON ARTIST RESIDENCY

CALL FOR ARTISTS

Deadline to Apply: May 11, 2025

A partnership between Recology Western Oregon and Astoria Visual Arts

Recology Western Oregon and Astoria Visual Arts (AVA) are pleased to announce the eighth round of the Coastal Oregon Artist Residency. Through this program Recology and AVA support the creation of art from recycled, repurposed and discarded materials recovered from the Recology Astoria Recycling Depot and Transfer Station. The Residency provides two selected artists with access to discarded materials, a stipend of $1,000 per month for 4 months, studio space at Recology’s Warrenton-based facility and, at the close of the residency, a public exhibition in Astoria.  

The residency will commence on June 1 and end on September 30, 2025.  

During the residency, artists have scavenging privileges at the Astoria Transfer Station during regular business hours and access to a studio space at Recology’s Warrenton office. Recology encourages artists to spend roughly 20 hours per week working on art projects for the residency. At the conclusion of the residency, Recology and AVA will host a reception and public exhibition featuring artwork made during the program. Each artist also contributes one piece of artwork to Recology’s permanent collection.  

Eligibility  

Coastal Oregon Artists Residency is open to local, career-level artists living in Clatsop, Columbia and Tillamook Counties in Oregon, and Pacific and Wahkiakum Counties in Washington. Artists working in any media are encouraged to apply, however, strong candidates work samples will include reclaimed materials. Previous residency participants are not eligible to apply.  

Application Process 

Applicants are asked to submit the following materials: 

1. Contact information: Name, address, telephone number, email address

2. Website and social media, if applicable

3. Resume or C.V. 

4. An essay that addresses the following: 

a. Artist’s Statement 

b. Statement of Purpose. Please describe what you plan to work on during the residency and how you will incorporate recycled materials. Additionally, please answer the following questions: 

i. What encouraged you to apply for this residency? 

ii. What medium do you generally work in? 

iii. What types of tools do you generally work with? 

5. Four samples of past work. Please submit high quality JPEG or similar format. Use DropBox or similar link if images are too large to attach to email. 

6. Contact information (phone numbers and email addresses) for two references that can speak to your artistic practice. 

All application materials must be submitted electronically to rwoeducationandoutreach@recology.com, with the subject heading “COAR Application.” Paper applications will not be accepted. 

  

[ FULL PROSPECTUS ]

Contact Information  

Questions? Contact us at rwoeducationandoutreach@recology.com  

Recology is an employee-owned company that provides integrated services to more than 889,000 residential customers and 112,000 commercial customers in California, Oregon, and Washington.  The Recology mission represents a fundamental shift from traditional waste management to resource recovery. Our vision at Recology is to create a world without waste by developing and discovering sustainable resource recovery practices that can be implemented globally. 

NEW THIS YEAR

OPPORTUNITY FOR YOUNG ARTISTS,

AGES 18 - 23

( INFO COMING SOON! )

ABOUT THE COASTAL OREGON ARTIST RESIDENCY

The Coastal Oregon Artist Residency (COAR) was developed collaboratively by Recology Western Oregon, an employee-owned company that manages resource recovery facilities on the North Coast, and Astoria Visual Arts (AVA).

The residency is designed to support the creation of art from recycled, repurposed and discarded materials. By supporting artists who work with recycled materials, Recology and AVA encourage people to conserve natural resources and promote new ways of thinking about art and the environment.

Astoria’s residency is a part of a larger program that was founded in 1990 and based in San Francisco, Portland, and Seattle. The residency program is currently expanding into additional communities in the Pacific Northwest.

ABOUT RECOLOGY

Recology is an employee-owned company that provides integrated services to more than 889,000 residential customers and 112,000 commercial customers in California, Oregon, and Washington.  The Recology mission represents a fundamental shift from traditional waste management to resource recovery. Our vision at Recology is to create a world without waste by developing and discovering sustainable resource recovery practices that can be implemented globally.

PREVIOUS COAR ARTISTS (more links coming soon)

2024 - John Mueller & Jill Mulholland

2023 - Olivia Joyce & Dustin Nord

2022 - Kate Speranza & Bill Atwood

2021 - Cancelled due to COVID

2020 - Cancelled due to COVID

2019 - Jeremy Furnish & Drea Rose Frost

2018 - Wenda Vorce, Cara Mico, Stephen Shumaker
2017 - Bonny Gorsuch

2016 - Dawn Stetzel & Sean Barrow

  • Jeremy Furnish and Drea Rose Frost (2019)

  • John Mueller "Wall Sconce Study #2" (2024)

  • Jill Mulholland "3 Buoys" (2024)

  • Kate Speranza "Freewheelin" (2023)

  • Olivia Joyce and Dustin Nord (2023)

  • Bonny Gorsuch (2017)

  • Bill Atwood and Kate Speranza (2023)

  • Dustin Nord "Collossal Claude" (2023)