The Ragdale Ring
Design-Build Competition

Call for Proposals
2026 & 2027

Ragdale, the nationally acclaimed artist residency program, is now accepting proposals for the 12th edition of the Ragdale Ring, a design-build competition for teams, firms, or collectives of architects and designers. This project seeks innovative, site-responsive, large-scale submissions that explore intersections of architecture, landscape, and community engagement through the construction of a temporary, outdoor pavilion to house performances, concerts, readings, educational programs, and gatherings. Through this call for proposals, Ragdale will be selecting two submissions (2026 and 2027) to each receive a $20,000 production stipend as well as an 18-day residency for a team of up to ten individuals for the construction of the project in each respective year. A jury panel of architects, designers, and community members will be charged with selecting the final projects based on the innovation of proposals and the feasibility to be realized at full scale on Ragdale’s campus.  Please note that installation of the projects is the responsibility of the selected teams and must be completed during the 18-day construction period. The selected projects will remain in place for the season from June through November. Proposals are encouraged by individuals of diverse backgrounds and at all stages of their careers.  

The History of the Ragdale Ring

Architect Howard Van Doren Shaw designed the original 1912 Ragdale Ring as an open-air theatre to showcase the plays and poems of his wife, Frances Wells Shaw. Audiences gathered for outdoor performances on the property where the Shaws designed lighting systems, costumes and props to welcome an extended group of artists and friends, who saw Ragdale as a haven for creativity and community. These performances were hallmarks of the period and would also lay the groundwork for how future generations of artists would come to understand the transformative potential of Ragdale.   

In 2013 Ragdale launched the first design-build competition to activate the campus in new ways. Since that time, it has presented eleven dynamic open air installation that have provided architects and designers with the opportunity to create works in a unique setting. These constructions have served as backdrops for public presentations of readings, musical performances, and theatrical productions, which encourage new ways of understanding architecture, public space, and the larger history of the site.

About Ragdale

Chicago architect Howard Van Doren Shaw and his wife, poet & playwright Frances Wells Shaw, created their summer home in Lake Forest, Illinois (located 30 miles north of Chicago) in 1897, when Shaw designed and built Ragdale House. Ragdale would go on to serve as a home for generations of Shaw family members, who were sculptors, writers, painters, architects, cartoonists, and weavers. In 1976 Howard and Frances’ granddaughter, the poet and social justice advocate, Alice Judson Ryerson Hayes, established Ragdale as a non-profit artist residency program and since that time we have served over 5,000 artists. Now considered a significant example of Arts and Crafts Architecture, Ragdale is also listed on the National Historic Register.

Today, Ragdale is one of the largest interdisciplinary residency programs in the United States. Each year it awards over 200 residencies to artists at various stages of their careers working in dance, choreography, visual art, architecture, writing, music, and composition. Ragdale also provides ways for people from broad backgrounds to participate in themed residencies, creative sabbaticals, outreach programs for teens, and programs that connect Ragdale with the broader public. Ragdale provides artists with a remarkable environment, comprised of a series of historic homes, gardens, purpose-built studios, and access to 30 acres of protected land - the Shaw Prairie. As an organization we believe that engagement with creativity is essential to a healthy and vibrant world, and our mission is to steward an inspirational environment that fosters courageous creativity and inclusive community through our artist residencies.