Congratulations to the 2026 Artist-in-Residence Selections

We are pleased to announce the selected artists for the Great Basin National Park 2026 Artists-in-Residence (AIR) program. From over 80 applicants, four artists were chosen representing a range of disciplines including visual art, textiles, painting, and dance.

The 2026 Artists-in-Residence are Susanna Herrmann (summer, regional), Dani Kwan (summer), Sophia van Doorn (fall) and Trine Bumiller (alternate).

Susanna Herrmann (Summer, Regional)
Susanna Herrmann is a plein air painter whose work explores navigation, imagination, and the ways different landscapes shape human perception. She is a professor at Southern Utah University and is our regional artist selection. During her summer residency, Susanna plans to paint across a variety of Park environments, from alpine lakes to caves, and to scale up the size of her work thanks to the extended time in residence.

“My research involves how different kinds of spaces (intimate forests vs. vast mountain ranges, etc.) influence our imagination. This residency at Great Basin National Park will allow me the time and place to explore these ideas.”

Dani Kwan (Summer)
Dani Kwan is a multidisciplinary artist working at the intersection of textiles, ceramics, and geology. Dani plans to bring Japanese cord-braiding, or Kumihimo, to both her art and visitors at Great Basin National Park. During her residency, Dani will engage Park visitors to draw themselves as rocks and learn to do Kumihimo with her - both in reflection and relation to the landscape around them.

“When you touch a rock, you unite two mineral-based forms - bone and stone - separated only by a layer of soft tissue...As an artist, I search for connections between humans and the Earth by combining textiles with geologic systems. Exploring softness and play, in my work you will find rocks to rest with, rocks to befriend, rock-dwellers, and woven rocks based on places I’ve encountered, explored, and enjoyed. I am honored for the opportunity to get to know Great Basin National Park–and to create work that encourages visitors to think differently about the rocks, the birds, the plants, and the world around us. With its impressive geological landscapes, biodiversity, and rich cultural history, Great Basin National Park is a place an artist could study and respond to for a lifetime.”

Sophia van Doorn (Fall)
Sophia van Doorn is a contemporary dancer and choreographer whose work is rooted in ecology and environmental advocacy. Choreographically, her focus is on creating stories which explore the connections between humans and their environments. During her fall residency, van Doorn plans to create a 15–20 minute dance performance inspired by her immersion in Great Basin National Park, focused on the human connections to wilderness and the preservation of the Park’s diverse ecosystems.

“I seek to inspire environmental awareness and action through dance, and being personally inspired by ecology has been key to my development in this field. Dance, through its physical immediacy and emotional resonance, can uniquely bridge science and art, translating complex ecological ideas into felt experiences. Using movement and music, I aim to communicate the wonder and urgency of conservation, and I believe dance remains an underutilized medium for this purpose.”

Trine Bumiller (Alternate)
Trine Bumiller is a visual artist whose work draws directly from close observation of natural systems. Different parts of the landscape, depicting the rhythms, patterns and underlying forces that make up our world, are employed to provide a fresh observation of nature. Her work reflects both organic processes and the human impulse to catalog and understand nature, offering viewers a contemplative perspective on wild places.

“Based on past experience in residencies and travel, I know that the images I take back with me from this residency will not only provide much information and inspiration, they will also inform my work for a long time afterwards. In short, I can’t think of a better place than Great Basin to engage with nature and make paintings that share my passion for it.”

Great Basin National Park Foundation is happy to partner with Great Basin National Park to facilitate the Artist-in-Residence program which fosters meaningful connections between art, landscape, and public experience.