Ragdale is a nonprofit artists’ community located on the former country estate of architect Howard Van Doren Shaw.
Nearly 200 residencies and fellowships are now offered annually to creative professionals of all types, making Ragdale one of the largest interdisciplinary artists’ communities in the country. Ragdale residents represent a cross-section of ages, cultures, experiences, and mediums, for a diverse and vibrant community.
In each session, 13 artists-in-residence enjoy uninterrupted time for work, a supportive environment, dynamic artist exchanges, 50 acres of idyllic prairie, and a family-style dinner each evening.
Ragdale’s Mission
To embolden creative exploration and achievement.
We give courage to and provide a setting for creative exploration and achievement by establishing a culture of excellence, generosity, and inclusivity within Ragdale’s historic campus and native prairie landscape—the essential qualities of our community’s 120-year legacy as a generative home of artistic production. Through residencies, fellowships, and thematic collaborations, Ragdale annually supports more than 200 artists, designers, and scholars from around the world, all of whom are seeking time and space to pursue distinctive works of the imagination. Ragdale’s commitment to cultural equity and community engagement underpins dozens of public projects each year, led by the Ragdale in Schools program. Our educational outreach empowers creative youth and their teachers with uncommon opportunities for live discourse, hands-on investigation, and mentoring, with artists who are actively defining and shaping creative culture.
