About PLAYA

About Playa

LAND ACKNOWLEDGMENT

PLAYA acknowledges that it resides on the ancestral homeland of the Yahooskin Paiute and Klamath tribes. In the spirit of truth, reconciliation and association, PLAYA will continue to steward this land and invite people to reside here that are actively working to learn from and share our natural environment.

PLAYA (pronounced “ply-uh”) is a nonprofit organization supporting positive change for our world and environmwnr through work in the arts, literature, natural sciences, and other fields of creative inquiry. PLAYA was organized in 2009 and began its residency program in May 2011. For all of the latest information, including upcoming residency opportunities go to our application page.

At PLAYA, we offer seclusion and quiet in a natural environment, as well as community with other residents. A residency provides the time and space to create substantive work or to research and reflect upon one’s creative or scientific processes. Away from the urgencies of daily life, residents can focus on their projects, immerse in a desert landscape of basin and rangeland, and find inspiration through self-directed inquiry.

Near Summer Lake in Lake County, Oregon, PLAYA manages its residency program and a range of educational and outreach activities in the surrounding rural community. Residencies are provided free of cost to eligible applicants throughout most of the year. We support dialogue between the arts and sciences through thematic, place-based programming, presentations, symposiums, and workshops. PLAYA fosters the work of creative individuals who are committed and passionate about positive change and who will benefit from time spent in PLAYA’s inspirational, remote location.

PLAYA provides a variety of opportunities to engage with the local communities of Summer Lake, Paisley and rural Lake County, Oregon through free programs and educational activities such as PLAYA Presents.

Facility

Playa’s 75–acre property includes six fully equipped and spacious cabins, two fully equipped live/work studios, three studio/research spaces (including one shared living quarters), a large open shed, and outdoor field-research areas. Access to most facilities is barrier-free.

The Commons, a central gathering building, has a communal kitchen, dining room, fireplace room, and two adjacent spaces for presentations, projects, or dance. The Commons also houses Playa’s office, laundry facilities, and an outdoor terrace. As the central gathering space, the Commons offers limited Internet, a landline telephone, a developing library, communal recreation area, and space for food preparation and dining.

The grounds, bordering the Summer Lake playa, include a large pond, wetlands, grass fields, and walking paths.