— A-Z West —

https://www.hdts.site/work-trade

Location: Joshua Tree, CA

Length:

  • Work-Trade Residency: 2-4 weeks (Fall Season: September 15-December 15; Spring Season: January 15-June 1)

  • Self-Structured Residency: 1-4 weeks (an alternative for those who prefer a private living arrangement that is more comfortable and less rugged) (Family Friendly)

Housing:

  • Work-Trade Residency: Residents are housed within one of Zittel’s experimental living spaces: a micro-apartment, which comes with a bed, desk, mini fridge, and electric kettle. Outside the micro-apartments is a shared outdoor kitchen with a sink, camping stove, dishes/pots/pans, seating area, outdoor shower, and composting toilet.

  • Self-Structured Residency: Residents stay in the A-Z West Guest Cabin and the A-Z West House. The A-Z West Guest Cabin is a charming small house, ideal for an individual of a couple seeking a unique stay in the high Desert. The cabin features a cozy bedroom, a fully equipped kitchen, and an indoor bathroom with a bathtub. There is also an outdoor shower and a barbecue area for those who enjoy outdoor living. A wood stove provides climate control for warmth and a swamp cooler for relief during warmer months. The A-Z West House is the former home of Andrea Zittel, with two bedrooms, two full bathrooms, a kitchen, a living room with a library and artworks by Andrea, and three outdoor patio spaces.

Kilns: *

Expenses:

  • Materials provided by resident

  • Additional fee for pets

  • Self-Structured Residency: Guest Cabin housing has a weekly rate of $500 + a one time cleaning fee of $100. A-Z West House housing has weekly rate of $1,000 + a one time cleaning fee of $180.

Funding/Stipend: *

Workspace: Access to A-Z West ceramics, woodshed, and weaving studios with advance notice. Two residents per group also have access to their own 8 ft x14 ft studio space near the micro-apartments.

Responsibilities: Work-Trade Residents will work 15 hours/week around the compounds at A-Z West in exchange for lodging and studio space. This work includes helping with the grounds, general maintenance, and in the ceramics studio producing West Works, a key source of income for A-Z West. Work can include manual labor—repairing and painting structures, trenching, landscaping, sanding, and refinishing. The day-to-day of A-Z West can also mean assisting in the office, sorting laundry, cleaning, and reorganizing.

Number of Residents: 2-3 artists

Additional Opportunities:

  • Become part of our intimate community

  • Located on over 80 acres in the California high desert next to Joshua Tree National Park, the compound was conceptualized as an evolving testing ground for living—a place in which spaces, objects and arts of living would all intertwine into an ongoing investigation into what it means to exist and participate in our culture today.

  • A-Z West invites each resident to explore the idea of a “life practice” and consider its various formats as influenced by culture and context.

Pet Friendly

Resident Reviews