A Studio in the Woods

A Studio in the Woods: Art Grows Here

A Studio in the Woods, located on eight acres of hardwood bottomland forest in New Orleans, is the Gulf Coast's premier artist and scholar residency program. Here, we know that creativity grows when it is nurtured.

FORESTival 2026 Photo Booth

Like living things, art needs nourishment, rest, and the right environment to mature. In our protected forest along the Mississippi River, our work is grounded in the belief that southern Louisiana is a microcosm of the global environment, revealing both the challenges and possibilities inherent in human relationships with urban and natural landscapes. 

Managing Director Ama Rogan and XY at FORESTival

We offer artists and scholars something increasingly rare: time to think, space to breathe, and freedom to explore. We cultivate these conditions through rest, beauty, community, and support, empowering artists to take risks, reflect deeply, and respond to the challenges of our time. We offer the Gulf Coast community regular opportunities to engage with their own creativity at our annual celebration, FORESTival, regular artist dinners, and workshops.

PHOTO FROM ARTIST DINNER OR ART BEING MADE

When creatives are given time, space, and care, they create transformative work that helps communities envision new possibilities and navigate complex social and environmental realities.

This Give NOLA Day, grow with us. 

When you invest in A Studio in the Woods, you strengthen an ecosystem where art, science, and the natural environment work together to cultivate a more just, connected, and thriving future. 

Testimonials

"It would not be an exaggeration to say that A Studio in the Woods is the best residency and most generative creative space that I have ever been in…. The intimacy with the natural landscape - red cardinals, water oaks, and spiders outside my doorstep, the ecology of the bottom land and the nearness of the Mississippi River - were essential to my work."
- Lue Palmer, Journalist & Writer

"To support A Studio in the Woods is to support the offering of space, time, and stillness for local artists to get some of the rest, reconnection, and inspiration often needed for us to continue creating and preserving the stories of our lives."
Sha'Condria "Icon" Sices-Sibley, Poet + Multi-Inspired Artist