Lessons from a Residency
At the BigCi Open Day with my two Forest Floor canvases.
In 2018 I wrote a blogpost about the lessons I learned from travelling. In today’s blogpost I want to write about the lessons I learnt from being on an artist residency.
My most recent residency at BigCi in the Blue Mountains is the fourth residency I have been on and only the second one I have had i Australia. My first was in France in 2018, the second in Central Australia, the third in Iceland in 2019. While their locations were different, there are similarities to the lessons I’ve learnt from all four.
Here are my top 10 lessons I’ve learnt from these experiences:
#1: Be flexible. Often the project you set out to do at the artist residency changes drastically when you encounter the space you are going to work in. The trick is to adapt your materials or process to where you are.
#2: Expect the unexpected. Responding to sudden changes of plan or weather catastrophes (like a flood) means being able to down tools and do what is necessary at the time. In my last residency it was stocking up on food when we were cut off during a flood. In Iceland it was living and working during a snow storm.
#3: Be portable. Pack your art making materials to carry easily. My big mistake in this art residency was lugging a huge and heavy roll of canvas with me. Next time I will cut the canvases to size first and take less.
#4: Hit the ground running. Although this seems a contradiction in terms, a reconnaissance mission helps you get on the ground FAST. Spend the first few days getting a feel for the space and place you are in. Walk, talk, be curious.
#5: Start with what you know. When you arrive in a new space, it is easy to become distracted and overwhelmed. Start creating in a way that is comfortable at first then go all out and experiment madly.
#6: Be social. Many residencies are with other artists, so it is important to make your time together as pleasant as you can. Find ways to interact and go for outings together. You will probably remember these more than making the artworks. Going to the Imagine Peace event in Iceland with two other artists will remain a strong memory of our time together.
#7: Meet the locals. Some residencies ask you to exhibit your works at an Open House public event. It’s really helpful to have a way to interact with the local people so they feel included. In my residency at Lasalle in France I recorded locals talking and incorporated a soundscape into the artworks. In Bipin, I invited the community to take part in a paper pouring experience to create a paper world together.
#8:Work hard but remember to enjoy yourself. Time away from the world to create in an artist residency is very precious. You can put in long studio hours, but remember to have fun too. Have a swim in the river, go for an excursion to the town, eat the local produce at the weekly market. Laugh and replenish your creative soul.
#9: Look for the negative space. That might seem a weird thing to say, but often it is the absence of what we are used to looking at that makes the greatest impact. In the last residency I made holes in paper. It was a revelation! In Iceland it was the absence of trees, in Central Australia the absence of water in the salt pan lake which inspired a series of works.
#10: Document everything. Keep a residency journal so that you can reflect on your ideas as they develop. It is important to recognise the process of how you got to make what you did and the thinking that went with it. These are the things you take home with you, the ideas that will springboard you into the future.
A final word: artist residencies can be the making of you and change your life. Apply often!
Photos taken by Camellia Taylor from Camellia Taylor Photography
Meet the locals: Pouring a paper world together at the BigCi artist residency Open Day.
