The artists — in visual and performing arts — will be selected in June, and applications for the program open this coming week.

Pendragon Theatre and BluSeed Studios were recently awarded a $75,000 matching grant from the NEA’s Our Town program and need to collectively come up with another $75,000.

The money will go to pay artists a commission; house them; and pay for transportation, supplies, administrative costs and marketing.

“A lot of residencies provide one of those things,” Pendragon Managing Director Michael Aguirre said. “This is amazing. It’s all-encompassing.”

Also, the organizations are not taking any “box office cut” — the art produced in Saranac Lake will be viewed by the public for free in Saranac Lake, with the goal of contributing to the community and speaks to issues and life here.

This is not just a cool experience for the artists but also a benefit to the town, BluSeed Executive Director Marissa Hernandez said.

“Art, art and more art!” Hernandez wrote in an email. “All of the projects that come out of our artists’ applications will bring free community involvement in some way.”

She said this could include artist talks, classes, experiences, performances and installations.

There’s always been overlap between artists at BluSeed and Pendragon. Some performing artists also do visual art, and some BluSeed artists create sets for Pendragon’s plays.

“Some of the most meaningful work I’ve been a part of has happened when unique collaborations occur outside of one traditional entity,” Pendragon Artistic Producer Sarah Norris said in a statement.

Hernandez said BluSeed had artists in residence programs before her time there, but there’s never been a collaboration between BluSeed and Pendragon at this scale before.

“Mike and I met to discuss ideas about how our two organizations could work together in our community. He came to the table with this idea for us to create a program for the NEA Our Town grant,” Hernandez wrote.

The application process for artists based full-time in the North Country will launch on Wednesday and close on May 31, with artists being selected no later than June 30.

Pendragon and BluSeed assume that a one-month residency will be the average length of time per artist.

Pendragon has a housing building on Helen Hill with five two-bedroom apartments for artists to stay. The length of engagement for each artist will vary depending on their project and specialty.

Each artist will receive a commission fee, which can range between $100 and $5,000, but Aguirre hopes most are between $1,000 and $3,000.

Each organization will have a panel to select the artists — six visual and six performing artists.

“A balance of gender, inclusion of BIPOC and accessibility of artists will be crucial in the selection of the inaugural 12 artists,” according to a joint press release from the organizations.

Aguirre hopes this will be a recurring residency, as part of the grant is seed money for future years.

“I am looking forward to being a piece of this journey. To work with artists to create something special for our communities,” Hernandez wrote.