Mission

Ragdale is a non-profit artists' community located on architect Howard Van Doren Shaw's country estate in Lake Forest, 30 miles north of Chicago. In 1976, Shaw's granddaughter, Alice Judson Hayes, transformed her family's summer home into an artist's retreat to provide time and space for artists to create important new work. Today Ragdale annually hosts more than 150 artists, writers, choreographers and composers at all stages of their careers for 2-6 week residencies, making it one of the largest interdisciplinary artist communities in the country. Ragdale offers a retreat setting where at any given time, a dozen creative individuals experience uninterrupted time for dedicated work, a supportive environment, dynamic artist exchanges, 50 acres of idyllic prairie and a family-style dinner each evening.