Dry Tortugas National Park and the National Park Arts Foundation are pleased to announce their new partnership to establish a joint Artist in Residence (AIR) Program. This program, implemented with great success by NPAF at other National Parks, allows visitors to see the park through the eyes of world-class artists and visionaries, who reside at the park for one month while pursuing their art.

The artists will be selected by NPAF world renowned curators and advisors, through applications received by June 30 for calendar year 2015. Selected artists will be notified in July, and the first residency will begin in September 2015. The artist will be provided lodging at Loggerhead Key, surrounded by profound history and a lighthouse. The program supports the National Park Service’s “A Call to Action,” which sets out 30 high-priority focus areas at the start of the National Park Service’s second century. The Dry Tortugas National Park Artist-in Residence program will be another interactive public feature to highlight and honor the upcoming Centennial of the National Parks in 2016.

Pedro Ramos, Everglades and Dry Tortugas National Park Superintendent, explains, "The Artist in Residence Program will aid us in ushering in the National Park Service’s Centennial, and will also offer artists and visitors alike views of Dry Tortugas National Park in new and innovative ways. Whether the media is on canvas, video, audio, prose, marble, clay, or some other form of artistic expression, I

am excited to see how Dry Tortugas National Park will be depicted through the eyes, minds, and hearts of the artists.” According to NPAF Founder Tanya Ortega, artists always need a fertile place to get away from the everyday.

“These days we love our gadgets and technical environments and take them much too seriously. To me, places like Dry Tortugas become the really important places. They are the exception to the rule. Always have been, and they always will be.” What works for the professional creator also works for visitors. Adds Ortega, “What this program is really about is a cycle of inspiration. We connect the artist to this place, the park setting works its magic, the work gets done, visitors get to see and feel, and be inspired by the results.”

To apply please visit: www.nationalparksartsfoundation.org. Artists selected for 2015 will be notified of their selections by July 1, 2015, and the first month-long AIR term will begin September 1, 2015.

Dry Tortugas National Park is located almost 70 miles (113 km) west of Key West. The 100-square mile park is mostly open water with seven small islands. Accessible only by boat or seaplane, the park is known the world over as the home of magnificent Fort Jefferson, picturesque blue waters, superlative coral reefs and marine life, and the vast assortment of bird life that frequent the area. Visitors enjoy camping, snorkeling, bird watching, fishing or just enjoying a view from the top of massive Fort Jefferson. Fort Jefferson is the largest all-masonry fort in the United States, built between 1846 and 1875 to protect the nation's gateway to the Gulf of Mexico.

WHAT: New Artist in Residents (AIR) Program for Dry Tortugas National Park; applications requested.

WHEN: Applications are due by June 30 for calendar year 2015. Selected artists will be notified by July 1, 2015, and the first month-long AIR term will begin September 1, 2015.

WHERE: To apply, please visit: http://nationalparksartsfoundation.org/ Dry Tortugas National Park is located approximately 70 miles west of Key West, accessible by private or charter boats, ferry or seaplane, which offer daily departures from Key West.

This and other park releases are available at http://www.nps.gov/drto/parknews/newsreleases.htm.

More information about the Dry Tortugas National Park can be found on the park website at http://www.nps.gov/drto/index.htm.

For more information on the Dry Tortugas Artist-in Residence Program:

www.nationalparksartsfoundation.org, email info@nationalparksartsfoundation.org or contact Tanya Ortega at 505-715-6492.

National Parks Arts Foundation is a non-profit 501c3 charitable foundation. The AIR Program is made possible through the philanthropic support of donors of all sorts ranging from corporate sponsors, small business, and art patrons and friends groups of the Parks.