About

On the edge of the Great Basin, PLAYA offers creative individuals the space, solitude and the community to reflect and to engage their work through its residency program. PLAYA supports innovative thinking through work in the arts, literature, natural sciences and other fields of creative inquiry, and encourages dialogue between disciplines to bring positive change to the environment and the world.

Local Information

PLAYA sits at the base of Winter Ridge, which rises to 7,200 feet at the northwestern edge of the Great Basin in south-central Oregon. Directly east of PLAYA lies Summer Lake, at an elevation of 4,200 feet. The lake is about 20 miles long and five miles wide. It is a playa: a desert lake that is shallow in the winter and usually evaporates by late summer. The Summer Lake basin, abundant with both desert and forest flora and fauna, is cradled between the open sagebrush steppe of eastern Oregon and the rocky, forested mountains of the Fremont-Winema National Forest.

Network Affiliations

• Alliance of Artist Communities
• Res Artis