Stage 1 Fire Restrictions, effective Aug. 12, 2025, for unincorporated western Boulder County.

Visit the Boulder County Ballot Measures website for information about possible 2025 ballot measures.

Boulder County government offices closed Monday, Sept. 1, in observance of Labor Day.

Artist-in-Residence Program
Artist in Residence Program

Artist-in-Residence Program

The program provides an opportunity for artists to pursue their work in the inspiring landscape and history of Caribou Ranch. By sharing their art, we hope to add to residents’ enjoyment of open space lands and create a legacy of art preserved for future generations.

2025 Applications

Applications were accepted for the 2025 Artist-in-Residence Program from Jan. 13 through Feb. 17. Artists of all skill levels and disciplines—including musicians, painters, illustrators, photographers, visual and film artists, sculptors, performers, poets, writers, composers, craftspeople, and artisans—were encouraged to apply. Artists will be selected based on the creativity demonstrated in their submitted work samples and their expressed interest in the program.

  • Applicants must be comfortable in a backcountry setting with rustic accommodations.
  • Application must include two or three samples of work.
  • Application deadline is Monday, Feb. 17.
  • Please read the Program Rules and Guidelines before applying.

Sorry, the application deadline was Feb. 17. Late applications are not accepted.

Artists’ Stay

Selected artists will stay in the historic DeLonde Barn at Caribou Ranch.

  • Artists can stay up to four days and three nights from mid-July to mid-September. Staff will try to accommodate selected artists’ preferred dates.
  • Artists will not share residence with another artist. Artists are permitted to bring one adult companion if desired.
  • A resident ranger is available on-site for support.
  • Applicants must agree to the Program Rules and Guidelines.

The residence includes:

  • Solar-powered electricity for lighting, cooking, and heating water.
  • Outlets for low-powered electrical devices (there is no Wi-Fi, but most phone carriers provide service in the area).
  • Twin-sized bunk beds (no tents or camping allowed outside the living quarters).
  • Outhouse with pit toilet and solar-powered camp shower and sink.
  • Outdoor dish washing station.
  • Dining area and kitchen furnished with drinking water, electric stove-top burners, toaster oven, cooking utensils, and cleaning supplies.
  • Two large RTIC coolers (there is no refrigerator).
  • Outdoor picnic table (campfires are not permitted).
  • Emergency phone.

Area highlights:

  • The open space property offers a variety of landscapes to explore including streams, waterfalls, forests, and beautiful vistas.
  • Wildlife in the area include moose, elk, black bears, beavers, bats and nearly 90 species of birds.
  • The Blue Bird Mine complex is nearby and is where miners from the 1870s to the 1960s extracted silver ore. In the early 1900s, the site was a whistle stop for the Denver, Boulder & Western Railroad.

View of the Artist-in-Residence House

Artist-in-Residence Interior

Artist-in-Residence Kitchen

Artist-in-Residence Restroom

2025 Selected Artists

Summer Sarafany

Summer (Mohawk of the Bay of Quinte, First Nation) is a mixed Kanyen’kehá:ka scientist exploring traditional Haudenosaunee practices such as beadwork and basketmaking, as well as contemporary mediums such as sketching, watercolors, handlettering, and fiber arts. They approach life and art with scientific curiosity: trying things in different ways until the desired result is achieved—or an unexpected new result is discovered! After decades of living on the traditional homelands of the Haudenosaunee in New York State, they have recently relocated to Colorado’s Front Range. As an artist-in-residence at Caribou Ranch this year, they’re excited by the opportunity as a new community member to learn the flora and fauna of the mountains and find inspiration for their next art piece.

Beadwork using orange, purple, and white beads

Sid Gopinath

Sid Gopinath is a Brooklyn-based writer and filmmaker. In 2021, he and his writing partner, Aditya Joshi, sold SHIKAAR, a horror thriller TV show set in colonial India, to FX. Most recently, Sid wrote on the Amazon show WE WERE LIARS and co-directed the short documentary FINDING OUR WILD, created with REI Co-Op Studios. He also has directed music videos for various indie artists including Mayyadda, bluesoul, and NOAMZ. He is a 2024 Signpost Fellow, the 2024 Birch Fellow at Tofte Lake Artist Residency, a 2025 Ucross Artist in Resident, and was selected for the Rickshaw Shorts Program and Rideback RISE Circle. As the son of Indian immigrants, Sid hopes to tell nuanced stories of underrepresented communities.

Carolyn Benitez

Carolyn Jo Benitez is a digital collage artist and photographer inspired by the spirit, strength, and style of the American West. As a lifelong horsewoman with a background in agriculture and horsemanship, her work draws from Western history, the legends of the Old West, and the enduring grit of cowgirls past and present.

She first fell in love with digital art in high school after learning Adobe Photoshop, creating collages just for fun. She also grew up participating in 4-H, where she submitted her photography to the county fair each year, earning ribbons, honorable mentions, and even scholarships. One year, she was honored to have her work featured at the local feed store in her hometown. Those early experiences with art, storytelling, and community have stayed with her and continue to influence the work she creates today. Through vintage imagery, Western iconography, and modern visual storytelling, she designs bold, expressive pieces that honor the landscape and the women who have shaped it. She is deeply inspired by classic cowgirl art, rodeo queens, and antique photographs, which she reimagines through a contemporary feminist lens—celebrating the idea that you can be a [bad***] cowgirl and a beautiful diva all at once.

Now based in Colorado, she holds a degree in Agricultural Communications with a minor in Plant and Soil Science. Her art is shaped by lived experience and a deep-rooted love for the land — its beauty, its history, and the untold stories tucked between fence posts and canyon walls. Through the Boulder County Artist-in-Residence program, she hopes to wander new trails, gather inspiration like wildflowers, and create pieces that echo the spirit of the West: untamed, resilient, and just a little bit glamorous. Happy Trails!

Bob Barrick

Bob Barrick is an American folk singer-songwriter and poet whose raw, authentic voice and disarming wit have earned him a devoted following in the modern folk scene. His performances seamlessly blend earnest songwriting with sharp social commentary and between-song banter that turns strangers into conspirators, drawing comparisons to modern troubadours like John Craigie and Langhorne Slim. It’s this rare combination of insight and humor that has made him a distinctive voice in the modern folk scene.

Recent years have marked a particularly prolific period for Barrick. In 2023, he reunited with Joshua Lee Turner to record the “Hoosier Sweet” EP at his studio in Boulder, while simultaneously undertaking an ambitious release schedule for his latest album “Little Cicero.” This monthly series, each release accompanied by a live performance filmed in a Longmont barn, reinforces what audiences have come to expect from Barrick: authentic storytelling delivered with equal parts heart and humor.

Contact Us

Parks & Open Space

Monserrat Alvarez
moalvarez@bouldercounty.gov
303-678-6268