Cubberley Artist Studio Program

The Cubberley Artist Studio Program (CASP) supports the vitality of the arts in Palo Alto by providing City-sponsored, affordable studio space for artists, building creative community and fostering public engagement with the arts and artists. The Cubberley Artist Studio Program consists of 22 studios currently housing 23 artists, with several rotating studios available for residences of up to 4 months. The program is administered by Division of Arts and Sciences, City of Palo Alto.

Vision & Program Goals

• Create an artist community that fosters diverse and numerous opportunities for growth and collaboration in the creation of new work.
• Ensure the representation of a wide range of experience in terms of artistic disciplines, artistic development, as well as diverse cultural and aesthetic approaches.
• Create a dynamic and accessible cultural destination for the community, with economic value for the resident artists.
• Foster active engagement with and visibility with the Palo Alto and surrounding communities.
• Continue to increase the prestigious and competitive reputation of the program.
• Ensure that the program is accessible, open, inclusive, equitable, and responsive to the community need for studio space.

The City of Palo Alto has an open call for artists seeking affordable studio space to apply to the Cubberley Artist Studio Program (CASP). This unique opportunity to apply for a four-year studio at below market rates is open until June 6! Rent subsidized studios at CASP are provided in exchange for artist-led free public programming, which contributes to the vitality of the arts in Palo Alto and creates a dynamic cultural destination.

CASP seeks applications from practicing artists with exhibition history at any stage in their careers, who could demonstrate that studio residency with CASP would make a significant impact on their artistic development. Artists residing in the nine counties of the San Francisco Bay Area region is eligible to apply, although artists residing in Palo Alto will have preference. CASP recognizes the increasing fluidity in contemporary artists’ working practices between and across disciplines. Artists working in traditional visual media such as printmaking, painting, sculpture, mixed-media, and photography, as well as interdisciplinary artists and artists working in such disciplines as performance art, new media, sound and digital art, installation art, public art, and social practice, are encouraged to apply.  Artists who work collaboratively in a group of up to three individuals are encouraged to apply. The primary use of CASP studios must be focused on the creation of new artwork.

We expect at least 10 studios will be available January 1, 2023. Total number of available studios depends on the number of returning incumbent CASP Artists. Reapplying incumbent CASP Artists will have priority assuming they have met the terms of the contract during their first term. Incumbent CASP artists eligible for the 2nd 4-year term will remain in their current studios or may choose to request another vacant studio. Remaining studios will be assigned based on the results of the selection process. Individual artists may be paired in a shared studio space. The current application is for a 4-year residency term.  If selected to CASP, first-time applicant artists will be able to apply for another 3-year term.

Studio sizes range from 360 to 960 square feet. Rent is subsidized by the City of Palo Alto (with commercial rate approximately $2.50-$4.50/square foot). Current rental rates are $1.02/square foot for Palo Alto residents and $1.14/square foot for non-residents. Rental rates are subject to change in accordance with the Municipal Fee Schedule on an annual basis at the start of the new fiscal year. 

After a 2022 juried selection process, successful first-time applicants will be awarded available studio spaces for one 4-year term and eligible to apply for a subsequent 3-year term. Incumbent CASP artists who successfully apply for a second term would remain in their studios.

Requests for additional information can be emailed to the City of Palo Alto Cubberley Artist Studio Program at: denise.laxendizazzo@cityofpaloalto.org

Full call and application guidelines

Apply Now!

Annual Community Events 

CASP artists engage and support the Palo Alto community by hosting free public events throughout the year. During the pandemic, these programs and events have been and are offered virtually. The goal is to offer qualitative programming for the community, a chance to meet the artists, and get a glimpse of what an artist studio is.

Cubberley Community Day 

Each year, this annual free community event provides with activities for all ages. Selected CASP artists host open studios and art workshops. Other activities provided are performances, art exhibits, food and snacks, information tables by Cubberley renters and tenants, along with volunteer opportunities.

Public Alchemy  

CASP artists invites local artists to submit work for an entry-fee-free open exhibition, every other year. The goal of this exhibit is to encourage and draw upon a broad range of community perspectives, aesthetic responses, and media.

Open Studios

Artists open their studios for the community, offering workshops, art, and refreshments throughout the day.

Open Studios

June 4, 2022

The artists in residence with the Cubberley Artist Studio Program partnered up with Cubberley partners Dance Connection, Dance Magic, and the Melody Academy of Music for pop-up dance and music performances throughout the day. Over 100 visitors attended the event!

Open Studios

November 13, 2021

The first Open Studios since the pandemic started was a huge success with over 300 visitors. The CASP artists also released limited edition risoprints leading up to the event, and offered free prints to the first 200 visitors onsite as part of their collaborative project ArtUp. 

Finding Beauty in an Imperfect World

Cubberley Artist Studio Program (CASP) Artists Barbara Boissevain and Pantea Karimi curated a virtual exhibit featuring the work of fourteen artists in residence at CASP. “Finding Beauty in an Imperfect World” features diverse work ranging from painting, bookmaking, printmaking, and photography, and was created as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic and shelter-in-place order. The project aims to capture creative responses varying from finding beauty in our everyday lives to expressions of hope and fear and the process of healing. Ultimately, “Finding Beauty in an Imperfect World” encourages the discovery of what these unprecedented times mean for artists and commonalities between their experiences.

Participating artists: Sahba Shere, Elizabeth Bennett, Servane Briand, Paloma Lucas, Catherine di Napoli, Martha Sakellariou, Tara de la Garza, Melissa Day, Chandrika Marla, Robin Mullery, Harumo Sato, t.w.Five, Barbara Boissevain, and Pantea Karimi

Virtual Exhibition: The virtual exhibit was on view from July 13 to August 24, 2020.

Gathering Context: NFC Art in Technology Exhibition
April 17-28, 2019
Catherine di Napoli presented NFC: Art in Tech, an exhibition of two-dimensional pictorials, demonstrating how Near Field Communication (NFC) technology can be used to contextualize art. NFC informs the viewer on a Smartphone or tablet, about the artist and the artist’s creative process. The show featured CASP artists Elizabeth Bennett, Pantea Karimi, Sahba Shere, and di Napoli’s own work.

Comics in French Classrooms (La BD en classes de francais)

March 28, 2019

Linguist and cartoonist Danièle Archambault and Anne Dumontier, a French teacher at Henry M. Gunn High School in Palo Alto, combined their interest in comics and graphic novels to create an exhibition featuring a series of 40 comic pages created from 2013 to 2018 by students in French language classes.Visitors were invited to create their own comic strips at tables set-up with drawing materials.

A Celebration of CASP at the Palo Alto Art Center
January 24, 2019

Palo Alto Public Art, the Palo Alto Art Center and community partners celebrated the significant contributions of the CASP artists to the Palo Alto community. Artists shared fast-paced presentations about their work and recent Public Art acquisitions from CASP were on view in the Palo Alto Art Center Meeting Room. CASP artists generously offered these gifts in October and November 2018 as part of their program agreement.

Collaborative Comic Book Project: What Books Mean to Me
November 3

Servane Briand, Paloma Lucas and Daniele Archambault hosted a short presentation on the 2017 Veterans Collaborative Comic Book Project, Thank You For Your Service, followed by a hands-on comic book workshop where participants created a comic page based on the theme: "What books mean to me."

World Singing Day
October 20

Conrad Johnson invited people of all ages and backgrounds, from shower singers to celebrities, to sing with their friends, family, school groups and entire community. World Singing Day is hosted the third Saturday in October each year.

Eco Echo: Art and Environment Laboratory Exhibition
September 15-23

Bay Area artists Anne Beck, Barbara Boissevain, Ginger Burrell, Judith Selby Lang, Richard Lang, Kent Manske, Michelle Wilson, Nanette Wylde (from the environmental art collective "Eco Echo") created a dynamic, interactive art exhibit celebrating the relationship between art, science and the environment.

Organic Perception Exhibition
May 7-27

Curated by CASP Artist, Pantea Karimi. A solo exhibition by Heiko Greb, Organic Perception features intricately carved wooden sculptures of various sizes and shapes. Greb’s sculptures may remind us of familiar biological forms, yet question and play with our perception as viewers.
Artist Panel: Thursday 5/17. Featuring three Bay Area artists: Heiko Greb, Shannon Amidon and Michelle Wilson.
Carving Workshop: Saturday 5/19

Art of Collecting Art: How to Start an Art Collection
March 31

Moderated by Barbara Boissevain, presenters Patricia Lea Watts and Charles Woodruff Coates join us for a discussion on how to start your own art collection and engage in the “art of buying art.” We will discuss the nuts and bolts of starting your own art collection.

Presentation of the Veterans Day 2017 Collaborative Comic Book Project
March 24

Hosted by CASP artists Danièle Archambault, Paloma Lucas and Servane Briand, as part of the Cubberley Community Day
After previously collecting 90 pages of short comic strips at "Meet the Artists of Cubberley" on Veterans Day (November 11, 2017), Archambault, Briand and Lucas edited, printed and hand-bound the original pages into a book. The pages were also digitally archived and assembled into an eBook (triggers automatic download) and PDF available for all to enjoy.

ROAR Workshop & Tinkerlab Present... PUBLIC PAINTS!
March 3-4

Hosted by artists Melissa Wyman and Rachelle Doorley. Featuring artwork by students in the ROAR Workshop After School Program (K-3rd graders from Ohlone Elementary School) and a project that invites public participation in conjunction with TinkerLab, Public Paints explores the theme of empowerment through collective expression and collaboration. People of all ages are invited both to view finished work and to participate in a collaborative artistic process through the creation of a large painting project during the course of the weekend.

Valentine Making Party
February 10

Hosted by CASP artist Marinanne Lettieri and artists Lynne Greene and Lisa Van Dusen. Join us for an afternoon of hearts. Make a card and spread the love.

Cubberley artists hold open studios Saturday - Palo Alto Online, June 2, 2022

Local Palo Alto Artists At Cubberley To Host Open Studios Event - Patch, June 2, 2022

ArtUp open studios event makes an impression with free prints - Palo Alto Online, November 11, 2021

Palo Alto Artists To Host Open Studios Event With Activities - Patch, November 3, 2021

Community artists make Palo Alto-themed birdhouses (Darryl Dieckman) - Palo Alto Online, August 12, 2021

Everyday life becomes history in new mural celebrating Los Altos (Martha Sakellariou) - Mountain View Voice, June 23, 2021

Chandrika Marla - Vasari 21, January 31, 2021

Silicon Alleys: Flying Colors (Chandrika Marla) metro active, September 9, 2020

Martha Sakellariou Walks of Art (Martha Sakellariou) - Content Magazine, CONTENT, Issue 12.4 Autumn 2020, pg 50-55

CASP presents its first virtual exhibition (CASP exhibit, curated by Pantea Karimi and Barbara Boissevain) - Palo Alto Weekly, July 20, 2020

Meet the international artist behind Palo Alto's mysterious new garage-door murals (Martha Sakellariou) - The Six-Fifty, July 14, 2020

Palo Alto artist creates Triple El neighborhood murals (Martha Sakellariou) - Palo Alto Online, June 30, 2020

Artist Designs Murals for Curious Times (Martha Sakellariou) - The Eichler Network, June 22, 2020

Menlo Park's Tara de la Garza makes public art for the 'Plastocene' era (Tara de la Garza) - Palo Alto Online, June 19, 2020

SV Laureates 2020 Content Emerging Artist (Harumo Sato) - SVCreates, May 15, 2020

She is Everything - Every Woman's Journey - Chandrika Marla (Chandrika Marla) - Los Gatos Living, April, 2020

San Jose Exhibit Honors Forgotten Women In Science (Pantea Karimi) - KQED, February 20, 2020

t.w.five (t.w.five) - Content Magazine, Discover 13:1, Winter 2020 

Artist, Harumo Sato (Harumo Sato) - Content Magazine, January/February, 2020

SV Nexus Award (Mel Day) - Content Magazine, July/August, 2019

On the Wall (Pantea Karimi) - Content Magazine, July/August, 2019

A Turophile's Guide to Tokyo (Harumo Sato) - Culture Cheese Magazine, July 1, 2019

'The Cubberley Project' celebrates community voices - Palo Alto Online, June 13, 2019

Asian Pacific Heritage Month Calendar and Cultural Guide (Harumo Sato) - Department of Cultural Affairs Los Angeles, pg. 143, May 2019

#WhyIRide: How Commuting Makes Me a More Productive Artist (Charles Woodruff Coates) - Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition, April 23, 2019

These Three Art Exhibits Tether the Visual to the Written Word (Pantea Karimi) - SF Weekly, April 4, 2019

1979 Iranian Upheaval Resonates in "Once at Present" (Pantea Karimi) - San Francisco Arts Monthly, April 2019

Gallery Highlights: Sea Change (Barbara Boissevain) - San Francisco Arts Monthly, April 2019

Soup-bowl Sunday (Martha Sakellariou, Barbara Boissevain, Carmina Eliason) - Palo Alto Online, March 27, 2019

For Detained Migrant Children, Fremont Teens Create Postcards of Hope (Barbara Boissevain)- The California Report, KQED, March 15, 2019

Sublime/Transcendent Artist of the Week: Carmina Eliason - Bay Area Art Grid, March 4, 2019

SJMADE '18: Harumo Bakery - Content Magazine, December 2, 2018

City Shows Gratitude to Veterans (Servane Briand, Paloma Lucas, Daniele Archambault) - Palo Alto Online, November 6, 2018

Eco Echo: Art and Environment Laboratory (Barbara Boissevain) - Palo Alto Weekly, September 12, 2018

La sobriété volontaire. Banc public. (In French) - Télé-Québec, August 2, 2018

On the Air: Rachael and Sahba's Do List Picks for Apr. 7, 2018 - KQED, April 7, 2018

To ensure the CASP program is maintaining its mission of supporting the vitality of the arts in Palo Alto, artists in the program are asked to maintain responsibilities and requirements as outlined in the following documents:

• CASP Policy and Guidelines (2018
• CASP Donation of Artwork Policy
• CASP ArtLab Programming Criteria
• Community Service Proposal Application Form

For information about moving into and vacating your studio, please see the following resources:

• Sample Lease Agreement
• Exhibit B: Terms and Conditions of Cubberley Artist Studio Program
• CASP Studio Inspection Checklist

The Cubberley Artist Studio Program (CASP) is located in wings E, F and U of the Cubberley Community Center. The Paula Kirkeby Press is located in studio F4.