Residency Program at Grand Canyon

“It was awe-inspiring. Everyone I met on my hikes was so happy: to be alive, to be at the Grand Canyon, to be sharing the canyon with others... Living in a world like that is surreal. I loved the canyon itself; this goes without saying. But to experience the canyon as a living thing, in its context with nature, wildlife, and people, was truly special. I spend most of my time thinking about the dark, cold outer portions of our Solar System. But when I was at the canyon, I was inextricably on Earth. Somehow this made returning to Pluto in my work even better.”

“Indescribable - the most creative, inspiring, productive time ever.”

“Grand Canyon is the perfect place for an Astronomer in Residence: from the overlook out front of where I’m staying I see beautiful darkness both beneath and above me. The speed of light means as I look out into space above the horizon I am gazing back in time to the origin of the universe while beneath the horizon I see back in time halfway to the origin of the Earth. Sharing this view of space and time with visitors is no harder than simply stepping out of the way and letting them see it with their own eyes. You can’t miss it.”

“Every morning was jump-started with a stunning view of Grand Canyon. While I made headways into my work in the cozy residence at Verkamp's, the moral support and assistance from the warm folks at Grand Canyon Conservancy and National Park Service were just a call away. The residency drove me to a level of creative productivity that I could not have imagined.”

“Living on the edge of the world was one of the greatest privileges of my lifetime. The residency allowed for a deep dive into my art practice and I'll forever remember evening walks amongst the bats along the trail of time.”

“This was one of the most exhilarating experiences. I came home with unique compositional ideas and immediately went into the recording studio. I can still feel the canyon resonating in my bones!”