Do artist residencies provide housing?

Most do, but the format varies widely. The dominant pattern at full-service residencies is dedicated artist housing on or near the residency campus — a private bedroom in a shared house, an apartment unit, or sometimes a cabin or studio with sleeping space. MacDowell provides individual studios with sleeping space; Yaddo offers private rooms in the main house; Vermont Studio Center has dorm-style housing. Housing is typically included in the residency cost, whether the program is fully funded or partially funded. Some residencies provide a housing stipend rather than physical housing — they give you money and you arrange your own apartment in the host city. This is more common at European residencies in major cities (Berlin, Amsterdam, Paris) where artist housing is impractical for the program to maintain and the city has functional short-term rental markets. A smaller set of residencies provides studio space only and expects the artist to find or pay for their own housing. These are usually local-artist-focused programs where most participants live in the same city already, or partial residencies where the artist is expected to bring their own logistics. The application page will say this explicitly. The practical considerations matter. Even when housing is provided, it varies in style from communal dorm to private apartment. If you have specific needs — accessibility, dietary requirements, a partner traveling with you, a child — check with the program directly before applying. Most residencies will accommodate reasonable requests when asked early; few will accommodate them when raised after acceptance. For international residencies, housing-included programs simplify the visa and arrival logistics substantially. Housing-not-included programs add real coordination work to the trip and can delay or complicate the actual residency start. Factor this into your decision about which to prioritize when you're juggling multiple acceptances.