What are artist residencies and why do you want one?
This week, Professor Lise tells us about artists who pick up their practice and temporarily transplant it
Hey guys! Are you an artist? Is it hard?
I get it. Being an artist comes with its good times — people want you at their parties and you get to eat a ton of samosas — but it's also a bit of a drag not having money, having your uncle tell you you should have been an actuary and eventually dying of turpentine fumes and high cholesterol. Fortunately, there are also perks — like artist residencies!
I'm Professor Lise. I have one BA, one Masters and less than one PhD, but I'm qualified enough to tell you about artist residencies on today's Art 101. They get you out of your normal world and land you in another, less familiar place.
Watch the video:
What's a residency? Most often, it's actually pretty literal. Residencies, or a chance to be an artist-in-residence, are places you have to travel to and live in. A gallery or other organization will bring you to where they are, and you'll make work on-site — sometimes alone, sometimes as part of a community.
You stay there for a few weeks to a few months, often paid, and at the end of your stay, you'll have a new artwork or even a series — plus a bunch of new friends (and, let's face it, usually one enemy).
Toronto artist Jon Sasaki took his time at the Glenfiddich residency in Dufftown, Scotland to build a plane. That's right, A PLANE. That he flew. At least for a few feet.
When experimental musician Maxime Michaud landed in Seia, Portugal for the Residência Artística DME, he used his time to listen to all the sounds of the town and the country around it and built an entire performance from everything he took in.
You can even live on a boat! Artist Christopher Boyne spent a residency at sea, traveling from Vancouver to Shanghai in 23 days — it was literally called the 23 Days at Sea Residency — and making his work while he spent time on the decks.
But beware: the next year, British artist Rebecca Moss boarded the same residency and was stranded for weeks when it was denied docking. (Lest you think that is a sign of a not-so-great residency, she kept making work the entire time.)
Residencies happen from Fogo Island in Newfoundland, to a small fishing village for the NES Artist Residency in Iceland, to the heart of the Canadian Rockies at Banff Centre, to working with The Large Hadron Collider at CERN alongside a scientist for the European Organization for Nuclear Research. Yes, you can science AND art at the same time.
Do not start packing your bags though! You still have to get in. Most residencies require some serious application — a portfolio, even a plan for the work you'll make. A jury of art people will probably make the call. You may have to cough up the funds to get there, even to feed yourself while you're on-site — so the financial reward varies pretty widely, as does the phone reception.
If you have kids, there are some places that you can bring them and some you can't. Some residencies aren't accessible for those who are differently abled. They are most definitely not one-size-fits-all. Residencies may also give you parameters for the work you're going to make — it might have to fit a certain subject or take a certain shape, and there are deadlines. Always, always deadlines.
But if you're adventure-inclined, residencies are a great way to escape your tiny studio and expand your point of view.
Also you may get to make out with someone and then never, ever, ever see them again.
See you next time for more Art 101.
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