The James Castle House is pleased to announce the individuals who have been selected to live and work at the 5015 Eugene Street property under its residency program in 2025. After a nationwide call, Hallie Maxwell, Ariana Martinez, and Janhavi Khemka have been selected for 10-week residencies, Michael Douglas Too (Mike Lambuth) and Alison Owen for short-stay residencies, and Michelle McAuliffe for a project residency.
The James Castle House received over 130 applications for six terms, a record since the opening of the site in 2018. Residents were selected through a competitive application process, which included review by a selection panel consisting of members of the Arts & History Commission, a previous James Castle House Resident, and a member of Boise’s d/Deaf community. James Castle House staff conducted individual interviews with finalists. Residents will have the opportunity to explore Boise while taking inspiration from the house and its legacy of creativity to create new work.
10-WEEK RESIDENCIES
Hallie Maxwell (Boise, ID)
Interdisciplinary Artist
Dates: February 5 – April 16, 2025
Hallie Maxwell (she/her) is a Japanese American interdisciplinary artist based in Boise, Idaho. Maxwell works with installation, audio, video, drawing, and performance. She earned her M.F.A. in Visual Arts from Boise State University in 2024 and her B.A. in Art from California Lutheran University in 2019.
Maxwell is a recipient of the International Sculpture Center’s 2023 Outstanding Student Achievement in Contemporary Sculpture Award. She has participated in Artist-in-Residence programs at Cove Park, Surel’s Place, the Common Well, and MING Studios. Maxwell is a descendant of survivors of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and her work explores themes of generational trauma, loss, and disconnection from cultural identity.
During her stay, Maxwell intends to respond to the energy and history of the James Castle House in the creation of a new body of work. She is particularly interested in investigating the erasure and concealment of language as a legacy of family history. Learn more at halliemaxwell.com
Ariana Martinez (Bronx, NY)
Mixed Media Artist
Dates: May 14 – July 23, 2025
Ariana Martinez (they/them) works across print, sculpture, and time-based media to explore processes of sensory perception and spatial navigation. As a queer, nonbinary artist living with neurological and autoimmune illnesses, Martinez is interested in how physical and cultural environments either accommodate or resist non-normative bodies.
Of Puerto Rican descent, their geographic lineage spans Kansas, Georgia, Texas, Florida, Rhode Island, Illinois, and New Jersey, as well as their current familial homes in Lajas, Puerto Rico, and the Bronx. Through illegible images, asynchronous sounds, and unstable objects, Martinez confronts feelings of placelessness, disorientation, and the creative place-making that arises from necessity.
During their time on-site, Martinez hopes to draw inspiration as much from the material qualities of James Castle’s work as from his ingenious spatial reasoning. Martinez plans to map and respond to the world with their own visual and tactile language and produce work that invites curiosity about all of our different navigational strategies. Learn more at arianamartinezstudio.com
Janhavi Khemka (Chicago, IL)
Sound and Printmaking Artist
Dates: August 27 – November 5, 2025
Janhavi Khemka (she/her) is a Chicago-based artist originally from Varanasi, India. Her work explores acoustics through woodcut printmaking and experimental installations that combine animation, sound, performance, and vibratory materials.
At nine months old, Khemka contracted typhoid, which led to her loss of hearing. Growing up, her mother encouraged her to speak in Hindi, which emphasized her reliance on lip reading in a hearing-speaking world. After losing her mother to cancer, Khemka sought ways to imprint her experience of the "real" world, activating her sensory capacities through touch, taste, smell, and visual perception. In her immersive works, which blend two- and three-dimensional elements, Khemka invites viewers to examine their own assumptions and aural subjectivities within the realm of the strange and otherness.
Khemka plans to explore her interior and exterior landscapes using James Castle’s unconventional materials and techniques. She is eager to learn more about his life and artistic practice as a d/Deaf person and will use her work to honor his legacy. Learn more at janhavikhemka.com
SHORT STAY RESIDENCIES
Michael Douglas Too (Mike Lambuth) (Porto, Portugal)
Wood Sculptor
Dates: January 10-20, 2025
Michael Douglas Too (Mike Lambuth) (he/him) is a woodworker focused on repurposing materials that would otherwise become waste. In transforming forgotten or discarded remnants, he breathes new life into them as furniture or sculptural objects. Originally from Boise, Michael Douglas Too now lives in Porto, Portugal.
Drawing on an affinity he shares with James Castle, Michael Douglas Too intends to reuse and repurpose the materials around him to create a project based on visual communication. Learn more at michaeldouglastoo.com
Alison Owen (Poughkeepsie, NY)
Multidisiplinary Artist
Dates: December 5-15, 2025
Alison Owen (she/her) is a multidisciplinary artist based in Poughkeepsie, NY. Through site-specific installations, ceramics, and painting, she explores interior spaces, inner life, and the stories held by objects. Her ceramics and paintings defy traditional forms, seamlessly blending two and three dimensions.
During her residency, Owen plans to explore James Castle’s collection and spaces, creating work that responds to the experience of being in another artist’s historic home. Learn more at alisonowen.com
PROJECT RESIDENCY
Michelle McAuliffe (Washington, D.C.)
Multidisiplinary Artist
Dates: April 18 – May 9, 2025
Michelle McAuliffe (she/her) is an artist, designer, and researcher based in Washington, D.C. Deaf since birth, McAuliffe uses a cross-disciplinary approach to explore the connection between art, communication, consciousness, and technology. Her working methods include photography, installation, video, sound, and mixed media. McAuliffe utilizes these tools to express her unique perspective as a d/Deaf artist and educator, offering an insight that is seldom represented in the art world.
During her residency, McAuliffe plans explore James Castle’s spaces and body of work as well as visit the Idaho School for the Deaf and Blind in Gooding, ID. She will use this research to create an essay on Castle from the perspective of a d/Deaf artist who shares an artistic background and similar experiences with language access. Learn more at michellemcauliffe.com
About the James Castle House Residencies
The James Castle House Residencies invite emerging and mid-career artists and professionals working in any creative field to apply for 10-week, 10-day, and project residency terms in Boise, Idaho. Participants are provided time and space to create new work inspired by American artist James Castle, his house, creative practice, and their surroundings. While living on-site, residents connect with the community through open studios, workshops, and other public programs. The call for the 2026 residency terms will be published in the summer of 2025. Learn more about the James Castle House Residencies and its Participants.
About the James Castle House
The James Castle House is a historic site and museum serving as a testimony to the legacy of self-taught artist James Castle. As stewards of this legacy, the James Castle House is responsible for managing Castle’s historic living and working spaces, art and artifact collections, and offering public opportunities to engage with the site. More information: jamescastlehouse.org
About the Boise City Department of Arts & History
The Department of Arts & History is Boise’s local cultural agency dedicated to fostering a sense of belonging through accessible and place-based arts and history. Our mission is to cultivate a distinct sense of place which reflects Boise’s rich past, diverse communities, and unique natural setting. Our operations empower and serve Boise residents as we create opportunities that nurture and sustain Boise’s past and its creative economy. More information: boiseartsandhistory.org
