The PEAR Program in Key West

A Residency Built Around Creative Exchange

Live, work, and make art at the Southernmost point of the United States. The Peyton Evans Artist Residency (PEAR) program welcomes emerging, mid-career, and established artists, writers, composers, musicians, performers, media artists, arts researchers, and interdisciplinary creatives from around the world for month-long residencies in Key West.

Rooted in community, conversation, and creative exchange, we invite artists to immerse themselves in the cultural life of Key West, drawing inspiration from the island’s rich history, creative legacy, and vibrant community.

Key West’s official motto, “One Human Family,” reflects the spirit of openness and belonging that shapes our residency program. We encourage artists of all races, nationalities, gender identities, sexual orientations, and abilities to apply.

A Residency Designed for Creative Work

The Peyton Evans Artist Residency is intentionally designed to give artists what they need most: uninterrupted time, dedicated space, and a community of fellow creatives.

Each month, a small cohort of artists lives and works in Key West, balancing focused independent practice with opportunities for connection, conversation, and engagement with the island’s artistic community.

Whether developing a manuscript, creating new visual work, composing music, researching a project, or experimenting across disciplines, PEAR provides an environment where ambitious creative work can flourish.

About The Studios

Founded with the vision of bringing world-class artists to Key West, The Studios of Key West fosters meaningful connections between visiting artists, local creatives, and the community we inspire.

Today, The Studios serves as a year-round cultural hub, presenting exhibitions, performances, artist residencies, literary programs, workshops, rooftop concerts, and youth education initiatives. Pulitzer Prize winners, internationally acclaimed artists, emerging voices, and curious audiences come together on our creative campus in the heart of Old Town, where ideas are exchanged, collaborations take shape, and the arts thrive.

About Key West

Key West is a two-by-four-mile island community at the end of the road: a place where bicycles outnumber cars, tropical gardens spill into narrow streets, and creativity has long been woven into everyday life.

Artists and writers including Ernest Hemingway, Elizabeth Bishop, Tennessee Williams, Robert Frost, Mario Sanchez, and Shel Silverstein all found inspiration here. Today, the island continues to attract an eclectic creative community shaped by curiosity, experimentation, storytelling, and a fiercely independent spirit.

Flowers bloom year-round. Mangoes fall from trees. Conversations stretch late into the evening. And inspiration often arrives unexpectedly.

2026–27 Residency Artists

Each year, hundreds of artists, writers, filmmakers, musicians, and performers apply to the PEAR program. From this highly competitive pool, forty artists are selected for month-long residencies in Key West where they develop new work, connect with the community, and become part of the evolving creative life of the island.

View Current PEARs

Application and Selection Process

View all FAQs

The Peyton Evans Artist Residency (PEAR) program welcomes emerging and established visual artists, writers, composers, musicians, performers, media artists, curators, arts researchers, and interdisciplinary creatives from around the world.
Each year, hundreds of artists apply to the PEAR program. Approximately forty artists are selected annually for month-long residencies in Key West.
Applications are submitted online via slideroom.com during the annual open call period. Applicants are typically asked to provide work samples, a project proposal, artist statement or bio, resume/CV, and supporting materials relevant to their discipline.
Artists should apply under the discipline that best reflects the work they hope to focus on during their residency. While many residents work across multiple disciplines, applications are reviewed by panels specific to each category. If you’re unsure which category is the best fit for your practice, we’re happy to help guide you.
The PEAR residency program is designed primarily for individual artists. Collaborative teams are welcome to apply together and may be considered based on housing availability and the nature of the proposed project.

Pets are not permitted at the PEAR House.
Applications are reviewed by panels made up of The Studios staff and guest reviewers with experience in each specific discipline. Visual arts, literary arts, media arts, musical and performing arts, and arts research and development applications are evaluated within their respective categories, allowing each proposal to be considered by reviewers familiar with that field.
Applicants are typically notified within approximately two months of the application deadline, usually by mid-July following the May 15 deadline.

Explore The PEAR House

A lush courtyard. Shared conversations. Quiet mornings under a banyan tree. Space to think, experiment, and create.

Located just steps from The Studios campus, the PEAR House is home to four private artist residences centered around a historic Key West guesthouse and tropical courtyard.

View Full Gallery

Sculpture of orange head on top of a cobalt blue base.

Image of PEAR House with open balcony and trees around.

Historic Guesthouse

Built before 1882 and thoughtfully restored in 2024, this historic Key West landmark now welcomes artists from around the world through the PEAR Program. Original architectural details—including French doors, antique windows, and handcrafted woodwork—were preserved while creating bright, contemporary live/work studios designed for creativity.

Front porch of a historic house with double height balcony and a wooden porch.

Shared Courtyard

At the center of the property is a lush tropical courtyard shaded by a massive banyan tree — a gathering place for conversation, reflection, and community.

View of a courtyard in the evening with a crowd of people enjoying an event under the covered porch with trees around it.

Three patrons of the PEAR program in the courtyard.

Private Residences

Artists stay in private studio apartments with workspace, natural light, and access to shared common areas.

Kitchen wall with colorful tiling behind the stove.

Image of the inside of the private residences with a person standing in the center of the image. The walls around the person have art and images posted on them.

In The Heart of Old Town

The PEAR House is located within walking distance of galleries, bookstores, restaurants, performances, the waterfront, and the daily rhythms of island life.

Two bicycles at the corner of a white picket fence with greenery behind the fence.

Person sitting at a worktable, smiling with art pinned to the wall behind.

Types of Residencies

The Studios of Key West provides a collaborative and supportive environment for artists and creative professionals across disciplines.

Deadline: May 15, 2027
Application Fee: $45

Visual Arts

For painters, sculptors, photographers, installation artists, printmakers, ceramicists, and interdisciplinary visual artists developing new work and engaging with the creative life of Key West.

Literary Arts

For poets, novelists, essayists, journalists, translators, and writers working across literary forms in a focused month-long environment.

Media Arts

For filmmakers, animators, sound artists, podcasters, digital artists, and media-based creatives exploring storytelling, technology, and experimental practice.

Musical & Performing Arts

For musicians, screenwriters, playwrights, composers, performers, theater artists, dancers, and interdisciplinary creators developing performance-based work or collaborative projects.

Arts Research & Development

Designed for curators, arts writers, scholars, arts administrators, educators, and researchers pursuing projects that contribute to cultural dialogue, creative development, or the broader arts ecosystem.

PEAR Residency Interest List

Interested in applying for a future Peyton Evans Artist Residency?

Join our mailing list to receive updates about residency applications, deadlines, open calls, and upcoming opportunities for artists and writers at The Studios of Key West.

X/Twitter

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Name

First Last

Discipline/Medium