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Rachel Von Art LLCSarah Wolfe, artist in residence, journals on the front porch while at 930 Illsley Drive.On Illsley Drive in the 07, there’s a house with a bright pink porch, red trim, and a blue floor. This colorful house is not a family home, rental, or Airbnb; it’s an art residency space run by
Kinhouse Art.
The residency is one part of the multifaceted business run by Fort Wayne-based artists Kaylan Buteyn and Dana Caldera. They also run a gallery in the 46808 area and a studio space in the same building.
By their estimation, Indiana does not have a lot of residencies, making the Kinhouse Artist Residency a unique — if not one-of-a-kind- experience across the state.
“I don't think there are any artist residencies in Indiana, at least not ones that have a similar model,” Buteyn, who manages the residency portion of the business and has experience running previous artist residencies, says. “So it felt like there was potential for opening.”
Their residency model offers a more solitary experience than the typical residency might. Kinhouse Art offers one-week stays for visiting artists, who get full access to the colorful three-bedroom home and its two studio spaces.
While other residencies typically last for weeks at a time, Kinhouse Art’s week-long commitment makes it a more manageable stay for people like
Sarah Wolfe, an artist and mother of two, to step away from the hustle and bustle of her daily life in southern Indiana and devote time to art and herself.
“You get to experiment being in your own head, and it’s hard to do that,” Wolfe says of her time at Kinhouse. “I think moms and caretakers especially struggle with legitimacy and being a creative because there are so many things pushing against that.”
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Rachel Von Art LLCSarah Wolfe, artist in residence, works on an exquisite corpse collaboration piece while at 930 Illsley Dr, Fort Wayne, IN on May 8, 2025.
Buteyn says their residency is open to people of any gender, and family-friendly, which means artists are welcome to bring children and partners. There’s no fee to apply, but artists do pay for their stay. The total cost is calculated using an income-based sliding scale and Kinhouse Art does not differentiate between emerging artists and established artists. This differs from more competitive residency programs, where artists might be compensated for their participation or given other perks, but have to apply and be selected among hundreds or thousands of other artists.
Wolfe says it can be hard to carve out time to dedicate to her craft without feeling guilt as a mother, so a low-pressure residency like Kinhouse Art’s provides the time and space she needs to legitimize her work.
“To the outside world, a lot of times you have to work so hard to legitimize carving out that time, even just day-to-day,” she adds.
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Rachel Von Art LLCarah Wolfe, artist in residence, shows off oil pastels.That legitimacy is also a source of inspiration for Buteyn and Caldera’s shared studio just off Spring Street.
“We wanted a space that we could be visible as artists, not just as gallery directors or doing work on behalf of other artists,” Buteyn says. “I think it was important to us because I feel as a female artist, as an artist mom, a lot of people have home studios, and so your work is very hidden away from the public eye. We have this spot, and there's this like transparency of what we're doing. We're making it visible, and that's like really important to me.”
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Rachel Von Art LLCKinhouse Art Gallery, 1601 Oakland St, Fort Wayne, Indiana
Buteyn and Caldera met a couple of years ago when they were both renting studio space from
Kreative Framing. Neither Buteyn nor Caldera grew up in Fort Wayne, and felt it was tricky to live in Fort Wayne and build a community. Between that mutual feeling, a love for art, and shared values, the pair bonded quickly.
They say their move to a shared studio came from the mutual desire to create an ecosystem for artists, which started with the idea of opening a gallery.
As the pieces fell into place for them to rent 1601 Oakland Street, there was a clear opportunity for half of the building to be dedicated gallery space, and half a split studio, where Buteyn and Caldera each have a dedicated work space.
“It's an interesting dynamic to share a space with another artist too, you know, because you get a peek into their practice and you have that camaraderie of, ‘What did you make yesterday? Are you gonna be here tomorrow?’” Buteyn says of their studio, which features walls lined with their work, as well as stacks, shelves, and desks full of supplies and current projects.
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Rachel Von Art LLCo-Directors of Kinhouse Gallery Dana Caldera, left, and Kaylan Buteyn work together in their studio space.On the gallery side, they hosted their first exhibit earlier this year. Caldera notes a love for the large, street-facing windows in part of the gallery, allowing passersby to see whatever is currently on display.
Shows will typically last between four and eight weeks, and the artists are selected through an open call process unique to each exhibit’s theme.
“I think a lot of our curatorial ethos is pretty rooted in feminist identity, domestic themes and caregiving,” Buteyn says.
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Rachel Von Art LLCWork from Luanne Redeye at Kinhouse Gallery, 1601 Oakland Street.A recent open call for artist caregivers brought in 140 applications, from which two artists were selected to display their work and participate in the Kinhouse Art residency. They also accept proposals from artists who have ideas on how to use the gallery space to showcase their art or exhibit ideas.
As transplants to Fort Wayne, Buteyn and Caldera both point to the importance of drawing in people from outside the city’s geographic boundaries.
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Rachel Von Art LLCDana Caldera, left, and Kaylan Buteyn work together in their studio space at Kinhouse Gallery.“We mostly show working contemporary artists that are not non-local as a rule, but we have an audience of artists applying to our open calls that I would say are nationwide,” Caldera explains. “So we're bringing those artists to Fort Wayne, and some of them then also stay at the residency house.”
By their account, bringing in artists who are not from the city helps add depth and diversity to the local art scene. Buteyn says an unintended perk of this is getting to show people what a hidden gem Fort Wayne is.
“We're bringing in artists who've never heard of Fort Wayne, and we're providing a contemporary space to show their work. We're providing support for those artists and bringing in artists who are putting money back into the economy,” she explains. “To kind of see Fort Wayne through a visitor's eyes, like every week as an artist, is really cool because people find things about Fort Wayne that they love, and it's like this consistent reminder of why we like it here, too. It feels like we're sharing this little hidden gem with the world.”
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CourtesyUrshula Dunn from the Pacific Northwest works in the detached studio at Kinhouse Art's residency house.While they’re not trying to exclude local artists from participating in the residency or gallery exhibitions, they don’t want to exist only within the bubble of Fort Wayne. Caldera says the idea is to expand that bubble and pull in artists from around the region to create a larger art community.
“We've had artists travel to Fort Wayne for the [exhibit] openings from Chicago or Detroit or Columbus or Indianapolis, and I feel like we’re providing a nexus,” Caldera says. “Fort Wayne is so well situated between these cities that have, I would maybe say, a bit deeper, or just larger art community than we have.”
Moving here from Tennessee and Texas, Buteyn and Caldera say they feel proud to be part of the lineup of artist-run galleries in Fort Wayne.
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Rachel Von Art LLCDana Caldera, right, talks about her work with Kaylan Buteyn in their studio space at Kinhouse Gallery.“It feels really exciting to be joining that community, but in kind of a new, different way because Kaylan is bringing in a larger audience than has previously been accessed,” Caldera explains.
“Because we're both not from here, we're naturally making connections between Fort Wayne and the communities that we came from, or the ways in which our own personal art careers as individual artists have expanded beyond Fort Wayne… I think that just provides these tendrils of connection that benefit us, but also that are benefiting the local arts community folks who get to see fresh work and get to connect with opportunities,” Buteyn adds.