THE GRIFFIS ART CENTER

The Griffis Art Center, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) non-profit visual arts organization founded in 1989. The mission of the Art Center is to "cultivate and encourage contemporary fine art and artists, and to create an opportunity for exchange among artists and the community through the visual arts." The Griffis Art Center has hosted artists from more than 15 countries and currently operates several facilities and programs.

The INTERNATIONAL ARTIST-in-RESIDENCE PROGRAM

The Program, started in 1990, hosts artists from around the world for a six-month period. Housed in a quiet, residential neighborhood, the artists live, work and interact in the community. We have hosted artists from Brazil, Bulgaria, China, Eritrea, Italy, Poland, Russia, Spain, Switzerland, Ukraine, Yugoslavia,and Vietnam as well as various parts of the United States. Applications for The Program are accepted twice a year.

GEMFIRE STUDIO

Gemfire Studio, purchased in 1989, originally housed the International Artist-in-Residence Program Apartments and Studios. It is currently available for rent by artists, writers and composers with studio space reserved for the International Artists-in-Residence Program.

 SAPPHIRE HOUSE

Sapphire House was purchased in 1994. It is a turn-of -the-century mansion renovated into single bedroom apartments exclusively for artists, writers and composers. Sapphire House also contains apartments for artists from the International Artist-in-Residence Program.

 SKY BREAK

Purchased in 1989 and used as part of the International Artist-in-Residence Program, Sky Break it is currently reserved for artists, writers and composers from Bulgaria as part of a Bulgarian-American Exchange Program established in 1997 between the Griffis Art Center in the United States and The Orpheus Foundation in Bulgaria. Applications for the program will be available in September 1999 for American artists to go to Bulgaria as well as Bulgarian artists to come to the United States.

ROGER W. DENNIS IMPRESSIONIST GARDEN

The garden was created during the spring of 1997 on the property of the Artist-in-Residence Program in New London. It was planted by volunteers in both memory of the artist and as a place of inspiration for the artists, writers and composers living at Gemfire Studios, Sapphire House and Sky Break. The Garden is open to the public and maintained by the Griffis Art Center.

 SHARON HOUSE

Located in the village of Polkovnik Serafimovo in Smolyan, Bulgaria, the Sharon House is part of the Bulgarian-American Exchange Program started in August 1997. In collaboration with The Orpheus Foundation in Bulgaria, this property is reserved for American artists, writers and composers during the months of June through August.