Artist Residency
“What stayed with me most was the gift to be deeply engaged in my own artistic process with the opportunity for community in a live/work situation where I felt supported and part of something very unique and wonderful.”
Ginny Peterson Resident February 2026
Truro Clay Works is an artist-run live/work ceramic residency on Outer Cape Cod offering year-round housing, communal studio access, and long-term creative immersion for independent ceramic artists.
This brand-new, light-filled studio combines modern design with functionality. Spacious shared workstations, private storage, and electric and gas kilns provide opportunities for oxidation and reduction firing, supporting a wide range of creative exploration.
The property features a woodland path leading directly to the ocean. Just minutes from Wellfleet—with its renowned oysters and kettle ponds—and Provincetown, known for its vibrant arts scene and Queer culture, Truro offers the ideal balance of solitude, inspiration, and community.
This year-long residency allows an artists the time to settle into their surroundings and to move with the rhythm of the seasons, form meaningful connections within the local community, and let both place and practice evolve together in a sustained and authentic way.
What’s Included
• Private furnished bedroom
• Shared communal home with a outdoor deck and clawfoot tub
• Laundry room
• Large walk in pantry
• Viking gas cooking stove
• Glass front wood stove
• 24/7 studio access
• Utilities + Wi-Fi
• Opportunities for paid teaching
• Group sales opportunities
• Parking
• Wooded property walking distance to Cape Cod beaches
• Proximity to the historic artist community of Provincetown
Location, Duration, Available Residencies, Fees
Location: Truro, Massachusetts
Duration: One Year with the option of a shorter stay and option to renew
Available Residencies: 3
Fees: $1,500/month
Ceramic Facilities Include
Private storage with ware boards
Communal workspace
Large rolling work tables
Electric and gas front loading Bailey kilns
Slab roller
Pug mill
5 potter’s wheels with bats
Multiple light and dark stoneware clay bodies for mid and high fire
Raw glaze materials
Industrial sinks
Soft Pugged Reclaim clay perfect for throwing
Plaster bats
Well lit work spaces
Barbeque and fire pit for communal use
Display shelves for your work
A wide selection of commercial and non commercial cone 6 glazes
Communal Pottery tools of all kinds
Community Participation and Shared Stewardship
Ceramics is a communal art form that depends on shared care and responsibility to keep a studio safe, functional, and sustainable.
Truro Clay Works operates as a collaborative, artist-run community where residents actively help steward the space. Residents contribute four hours per week (16 hours per month) toward shared responsibilities, with tasks matched where possible to individual skills and interests. Contributions may include kiln work, studio upkeep, event support, gardening, administration, or other community needs.
Communal cleaning is a shared responsibility for everyone and helps maintain the studio’s equitable, non-hierarchical structure. The goal is not labor extraction, but mutual investment — creating a supportive environment where artists collectively care for the studio, tools, and community.
Who Should Apply
We welcome ceramic artists of all ages, backgrounds and approaches. We are seeking applicants who are excited by intentional communal living and committed to a sustainable ceramic practice grounded in collaboration, care, and shared learning. Ideal residents are self-motivated, adaptable, and eager to contribute meaningfully to both the studio environment and the wider community.
Experience with gas kilns is strongly preferred, along with a solid understanding of glaze chemistry and studio safety. Applicants should also feel comfortable teaching and engaging with the public through workshops, hand building classes, or other forms of community-based ceramic education.
An applicant need not have all of those skills to apply but it is our goal to piece together three residents who compliment each other talents.
Applications will begin review on June 5 and continue until all spaces are filled.
Early applications are encouraged.
Founder Mission Statement
The Art Residency at Truro Clay Works was created to support sustained creative practice through affordable long-term housing, studio access, and artistic community on Outer Cape Cod.
As housing and studio space become increasingly inaccessible for working artists, especially in seasonal regions like Cape Cod, this residency was built as an artist-run alternative: a place where artists can live, work, and develop their practice over time rather than in short bursts of production.
This is not a grant-funded institutional residency. It is a collaboratively sustained creative environment built by artists, for artists. Residents contribute to the shared culture and care of the space while receiving year-round housing, communal studio access, utilities, and the stability needed for focused artistic work.
The goal is to create a meaningful and supportive creative ecosystem — one rooted in mutual respect, independent practice, and the belief that artists deserve both time and space to build a life around their work.
The October 2026 Art Residency Program is designed to bring together a group of like-minded artists who support one another’s creative growth. The house and nearby studio are meant to function as a single, integrated live/work space—a place for Makers to develop their craft, share ideas, and enrich both each other and Truro Clay Works.
At Truro Clay Works, we offer small, hands-on classes for local residents, inviting people to discover how creativity can enrich everyday life. As an Artist in Residence, you’ll have the opportunity to connect with this community—sharing your work, gain visibility, and contribute to a growing culture of creative exchange. Your presence will serve as both inspiration and support for new Makers learning to explore clay as part of their own lives.
If you are considering this residency, I warmly invite you to apply. Finalists will be welcome to visit, stay overnight in our guest accommodations, and take part in studio activities to experience firsthand whether this environment feels like a creative home for you.
Living and Working on the Outer Cape
Life on the Outer Cape follows a seasonal rhythm. Summers are busy with tourism and our population grows to 20,000. Restaurants and shops are open, and service work is plentiful. Winters are quiet and community focused, the population shrinks to 2,000, and job opportunities are limited.
Balancing outside employment with studio time can be challenging, so having some financial stability—through savings, remote work, or part-time seasonal work—makes it easier to focus on your own practice.
Provincetown offers year round cultural organizations such as The Commons, the Fine Arts Work Center and Provincetown Art Association and Museum. These organizations offer exhibition opportunities and free programing to deepen community involvement and connection in the colder months. Truro Center for the Arts at Castle Hill is another thriving ceramic focused campus just one mile from Truro Clay Works.
I want to be upfront about these realities while supporting residents in making the most of their time—immersing themselves in the studio, the landscape, and their work. Because this residency is newly established, this guidance comes from my experience living here and hosting tenants, not from prior residents.
We welcome residents who are ready to explore their work in this contrasting landscape of seasonal change. Year round, Cape Cod has incredible natural beauty to inspire artistic growth. I encourage you to reach out with any questions or concerns about balancing studio practice, work, and life during your stay.
To apply, You will need to submit an application below.
Applications are free and will be reviewed until all three spots are filled.