WEAD – Women Eco Artists Dialog is excited to announce our call for applicants to our pilot program: 📣 Community Engagement Artist-in-Residence (AIR) program, in partnership with Berkeley Youth Alternatives (BYA), honoring WEAD founders Susan Leibovitz Steinman and Jo Hanson 📣

👩‍🎨We are seeking a visionary local artist or collective to create a meaningful, site-specific art installation in BYA’s orchard garden. 🏵️ The program is based in Berkeley, California, and funded by Berkeley Civic Arts. Founded in 1969, BYA is a unique non-profit community organization dedicated to serving underserved children, youth, and their families. BYA embraces a continuum of care model to deliver services that focus on education, health and wellbeing, and economic self-sufficiency.

This installation will serve as a dedicated space to honor and remember members of the BYA community who have been lost, uplifting their stories, celebrating their lives, and offering a place of reflection, healing, and connection. 

With the support of a WEAD artist mentor, the selected artist or collective will work collaboratively with BYA leadership, program staff, community members, and BYA youth for four to six months to co-design a piece that reflects the spirit, resilience, and history of our neighborhood. Through a series of guided workshops, listening sessions, and/or hands-on design activities, the artist will collaborate with participants to shape the themes, materials, and final form of the installation. The project should embody values of community healing, cultural pride, and youth voice.

The final artwork will be permanently installed in BYA’s orchard garden, a vibrant outdoor space that serves as a hub for learning, wellness, and community gatherings. We seek proposals that are durable, accessible, and deeply rooted in community engagement. The artist or collective will receive a $2,500 stipend and up to $500 for materials. 

Applicants must be a WEAD member and live in Alameda County or Contra Costa County, or have long-term lodging there. They must email info@weadartists.org to request a recorded tour/orientation of the site.

Ideal candidates will demonstrate: 

• Experience in community-based or participatory art-making
• A strong commitment to equity, healing, and cultural representation
• Skill in facilitating collaborative design processes with youth and intergenerational groups
• Ability to create durable outdoor installations
• Additional requirements and evaluation criteria are listed on the application form.

Please note these key dates:

Application deadline: 11:59 pm PT on January 31, 2026
Awardee notified: February 15, 2026
Program begins March 15 and runs through August 2026.