Visual artists across the country are encouraged to apply by Saturday for a four-week artist-in-residence program at Zion National Park.

Zion and the Braithwaite Fine Arts Gallery at Southern Utah University's College of Performing and Visual Arts are joining to offer the program, in which one artist will be selected for each session between February and April. The artist will be given a space to live and work, free of charge, and will create artwork and present a public program to talk about their experiences at the park. At the completion of the four-week period, one piece of artwork created at Zion will be donated to the Zion Natural History Association.

The program is in its third year at Zion, but artists have been a part of the park for more than a century. Artwork created in the national parks serves as a voice for conservation efforts and creates a permanent record of the parks.

For more information about the program, visit www.nps.gov/Zion or call 435-772-0159. Applications are due Oct. 31.