Residencies for artists from an array of disciplines.
Art and Community
Newnan ArtRez offers residencies to emerging and mid-career artists from various disciplines so they can pursue their art away from everyday pressures while engaging in community experiences that enrich Newnan and Coweta County’s cultural environment.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Mission of Newnan ArtRez?
The mission of Newnan ArtRez is to offer emerging and mid-career artists a retreat to pursue visual, literary and musical projects away from daily pressures; to create opportunities for our community to engage with artists; and to support art experiences that enrich Newnan and Coweta County’s cultural environment.
Am I eligible to apply?
ArtRez welcomes applications from emerging and mid-career professional artists. We cannot host enrolled students.
ArtRez best meets the needs of painters, photographers and visual artists working in two dimensions; of composers and musicians with their own instruments; and of writers. We cannot accommodate potters, ceramicists or wood turners.If you work in a different discipline, please contact us to see if we can accommodate your specific needs.
ArtRez accepts one artist per residency. Partners are allowed with prior arrangement and ArtRez consent.
Where Will I Stay?
Gray Cottage is a renovated one-bedroom bungalow in Newnan, Georgia, 35 minutes south of the Atlanta airport. The peaceful cottage is next door to the Newnan branch of the University of West Georgia and a short walk to the lively town square filled with shops, galleries, and restaurants.
Gray Cottage has a fully equipped kitchen, laundry facilities and comfortable porches. Workspace includes an artist’s studio and an office with a large writing desk. We provide Internet Service, a flat screen television and cable, as well as a bicycle.
No smoking or pets are allowed.
Can I receive mail while at Gray Cottage?
No, the cottage does not have a mailbox. If you need to receive mail, we can make arrangements.
How Long Are Residencies?
Residencies can last from two weeks to two months.
When Can I Apply?
Applications may be sent to us at any time. Applications are reviewed quarterly, in January, April, July, and October.
Is There an Application Fee?
Yes, $35 non refundable
What Expenses Do I Pay?
Artists are responsible for travel, food, and art supplies.
Is a Stipend Provided?
A small stipend may be provided in some instances.
Does ArtRez ever Partner with Other Organizations?
ArtRez often works with West Georgia University and Newnan’s Carnegie Library, among other local organizations, to bring artists into the community. Organizations interested in partnering with ArtRez to host a residency should contact us directly. Partner Organizations may use the application we provide for their applying artists.
What Community Engagement Does ArtRez Expect From Artists?
Artists are expected to be available for involvement with the community. Artists are encouraged to create their own plan for community involvement, which may take the shape of free demonstrations, readings, workshops and/or open houses, etc. ArtRez helps artists connect with contacts in the community and helps publicize through local outlets and social media. Artists frequently sell their work in a farewell presentation.
Is ArtRez Non-Profit?
Yes, we are a non-profit organization. Under our non-profit parent organization Newnan Artist in Residence Inc., ArtRez has offered residencies to emerging and mid-career artists since 2015. Our board includes local writers, artists and community leaders.
Current Artist
Kathryn Smith
April 2024Kathryn Smith, a native Georgian and long-time South Carolinian, is a journalist and
author of six non-fiction books as well as the co-author of five mystery novels. A
graduate of the University of Georgia Henry Grady School of Journalism, Kathryn had
successful careers in daily newspaper reporting and nonprofit management before
turning to writing full-time. Her books include The Gatekeeper, the biography of FDR’s
private secretary Marguerite LeHand, published by the Touchstone division of Simon &
Schuster in 2016; and Gertie: The Fabulous Life of Gertrude Sanford Legendre,
Heiress, Explorer, Socialite, Spy, published in 2019 by Evening Post Books. She has
since published two more books with Evening Post that explore the history of Prohibition
in the South, Baptists and Bootleggers (2022) and Methodists and Moonshiners (2024).
Kathryn is the co-author of a series of mystery novels with Kelly Durham featuring Missy
LeHand as an amateur detective solving capers and murders in between her duties with
President Roosevelt. A popular public speaker, Kathryn has given hundreds of talks at
libraries, museums, and other venues, including the FDR Presidential Library and
Museum in Hyde Park, New York and the Little White House in Warm Springs, Georgia.
She often impersonates LeHand in her presentations about The Gatekeeper.
Kathryn and her husband Leo have two grown and married children and five
grandchildren. In between family visits, they fill their empty nest in Anderson, South
Carolina with a cat and a dog.
Past Artists
T.B. Grennan
Writer
JuneKeija Parssinen
Writer
JuneLeo Cordovi & Mär Martinez
Painters
May 2023Rusty Roden
Composer
January 2023Katie Cooper
Fine Artist
July-August 2022Amy Pabst
Fiber Artist | Quilter
MayChristine Vines
Fiction Writer
June 2021Graham Barnhart
Poet
March 2020, Winner of the Blackwell Prize in WritingShelley Graham Turner
Painter
June 2019Jessica Hudgins
artist
June 2018Gray Cottage and the Newnan Community
Newnan, Georgia, is only 35 minutes south of the Atlanta airport; yet it feels a world away, offering small town hospitality along with sophisticated shops, galleries, and restaurants.
Located a few blocks from Newnan’s lively town square, Gray Cottage is a fully renovated one-bedroom bungalow with comfortable porches and ample workspaces for visiting artists.
city of Newnan