The 2024 AiR Application Period is Officially Open!
Information Application
Find Your Inspiration
The Artist in Residence program hosts an artist at Yaquina Head Outstanding Natural Area (YHONA) on the Central Oregon coast. The Artist in Residence program provides both artistic and educational opportunities to promote a deeper understanding of the natural, historical and cultural resources located at YHONA. It also serves to foster dialogue around a public land conservation ethic, the impacts of that on the local community, and to promote the Oregon coast as a destination for artists and those who love art.
Friends of Yaquina Lighthouses (FOYL) works to foster love and support for public lands. The Friends’ group raises funds through a variety of means to support their mission of “conservation through preservation, education and appreciation.” Along with their partners, the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the Oregon Coast Council for the Arts (OCCA), FOYL will award the selected artist the opportunity to work in and around Newport, Oregon while serving as an ambassador for YHONA and the artistic community. Work completed during the residency should be/ of inspired by resources found within YHONA. The residency period for 2024 will be three-and-a-half weeks, from May 31st – June 23rd, 2024. Depending on schedule and discipline, the artist may be provided an exhibit space at the Newport Visual Art Center or the Newport Performing Art Center.
Learn more information about the YHONA Artist in Residence program here.
Darryl Baird, 2023 YHONA Artist in Residence
Darryl Baird, 2023 YHONA AiR
Darryl Baird photo
Darryl Baird photo
Emy Syrop, 2022 YHONA Artist in Residence
A note from Emy:
Emy Syrop, 2022 YHONA AiR
“I was born in California and studied biology and studio art at the University of California, San Diego. I obtained a Master’s Degree in Biology and worked in marine biology research labs at Scripps Institution of Oceanography for 9 years. After travelling up the coast several times and falling in love with Newport, my partner Jeff and I decided to make this beautiful place our home. Since then, I’ve worked at Oregon State University, became a yoga instructor and we are raising our two children, Eila (3) and Lea (1) here. We love participating in the myriad of community art opportunities available through Oregon Coast Council of the Arts and Yaquina Arts Association. Whether we are surfing, tidepooling, or doing plein air painting, you can find our family playing on the beach year round!” 
Emy’s art is informed and inspired by her background as a marine biologist and her love of the Pacific coast. She enjoys creating art while immersed in nature. She most frequently uses gouache but also works in acrylic, watercolor, colored pencils, and graphite–depending on the piece.