MARCH ARTIST-IN RESIDENT  | NAOMI HALPERN

March 2 – 30, 2026 | ANNEX STUDIO

“Naomi comes to art from a background in immigration justice and place-based craft and lifeways. Their residency with SAA will focus on the questions: What personal balance is possible (and just) within imbalanced circumstances? What is the measure of responsibility a person can take for problems much larger than one person? & What actions transform communal health, care, and belonging?

Their primary mediums are fiber, ink, and light: crafting handmade papers from locally foraged plants, and forming the paper into cast-molds to make lanterns. They also make drawings with crafted inks and papers from the same plant species. These art forms are slow, and emphasize process and relationship building as primary in the making practice. 

Their specific work with SAA will focus on hands– lit, cast, painted, and molded– as a
metaphor of action, responsibility, care, and personhood. The hands will serve as the
anchor in their investigations into the personal role within collective change.”

Follow Naomi at: https://www.instagram.com/papernaomi/

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2026 APPLICATION ARTIST-IN-RESIDENCE

The Salem Art Association is offering several categories as part of the 2026 Artist-in-Residence (AIR) program in the Annex at the Bush Barn Art Center. This residency offers a dedicated studio space for artist(s) to experiment and create new work.

Call for Artists -AIR application guidelines downloadable PDF

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About: Artist-in-Residence (AIR)

The Salem Art Association’s Community Arts Education program hosts an Artist-in-Residence (AIR) program in the Annex. This program aims to serve artists by providing a flexible space for artistic development and experimentation.

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FACILITY

AIR studio space is located in the Annex at the Bush Barn Art Center. Completely renovated in 2016, the studio is geared primarily toward printmaking but can accommodate artists working in a variety of media. Separated from the studio by two, large sliding doors (which can be left open to encourage public interaction while working), is a large gallery which is made available for the AIR to display their process and/or finished work, or host workshops, lectures, etc.

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QUESTIONS?

Please feel free to contact Kathleen Dinges Rice, Artists Resources and Outreach Director, at anytime with questions. She can be reached at 503-581-2228 x312 or Kathleen@SalemArt.org.