The Herb Alpert Foundation, which included then-present Kip Cohen, and benefactors Herbert and Lani Alpert, approached then-CalArts president Steven Lavine with the proposition of providing young artists studying at the institute opportunities to engage with current American artists.
CalArts previously established a relationship with Herb Alpert from his support of the jazz program at the School of Music.
Artist are selected in the disciplines of dance, film and video, music, theatre, and visual arts, each representative of five of the six schools at CalArts.
Awardees spend a week at CalArts, lecturing, offering classes, and meeting individually with current students.
In addition to the residency, recipients have also shown or performed their work at CalArts' professional arts theater, REDCAT, in downtown Los Angeles.