The Gushul Studio and Cottage, situated in the town of Blairmore, Alberta, Canada, opened in 1988 as a site for creative residencies for professional artists and writers. Owned by the University of Lethbridge and managed through the Gushul Studio Residency Program Committee, Faculty of Fine Arts, this facility has hosted over 200 artists, scholars and other professionals, and has offered inspiration and sanctuary for the production of their work. 
 
Thomas Gushul (1891-1962), a prolific and pioneering Canadian photographer, founded the studio in Blairmore where he lived and worked with his wife Lena. In the early 1980s the studio was restored and was registered as a historic resource by the Alberta Historical Resources Foundation. Today it remains an important cultural resource for the Crowsnest Pass community. Over the years, the facility has undergone significant upgrades to its infrastructure and to its residency programs.
 
Today the Department of Art, Faculty of Fine Arts, conducts a competitive selection process for artist and writer residencies through the Gushul Studio Residency Program. Applications are peer reviewed by a committee that focuses on the professional experience of the applicant, the quality of past work, and the applicant’s potential to have a productive residency at the Gushul. 
 
Through the Gushul Studio Residency Program, the University of Lethbridge supports the pursuit of creative production by offering comfortable and private studio and living space for working artists and writers. Residents are housed in either the Artist’s Studio or the Writer’s Cottage, separate buildings situated in proximity to one another and nestled in the awe-inspiring mountainous landscape of the Crowsnest Pass. 
 

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