Why artist residencies?

In the repurposed fish packing shed at the Nes artist residency in Skagaströnd, Iceland in 2019.

Why go on an artist residency? Many artists ask me about the artists residencies I have been on, what I made there, what I loved about them and how I came to apply.

Most of the residencies have been on were with other people which I loved. Watching other artists processes, sharing meals with them and going on adventures together were some of the highlights of this experience.

The first residency I undertook was in France at a repurposed silk factory in the Cévennes. It was an extraordinary experience for several reasons. The first was that this was a solo residency but I did have the support of another artist I had met when I was in Taiwan who had a studio next door. 

The second reason was that it was in a country where I couldn’t speak the language, only a few words to get by which was challenging. The plus side was that we were staying in a beautiful apartment owned by the town council right in the centre of the town. There were views across the town square to the front and out to the countryside at the back. And we got to eat yummy French food from the pâtisserie every day.

The third reason was that it was in the middle of summer during a world cup year when France won the world cup. This was important (especially to my husband) as I was able to record the sounds of the revelry as part of my project and have it in a sound track that was played for the exposition afternoon.

The work I made was an ephemeral installation adapted to the huge space I was in. I constructed giant artist books of woven cardboard and included print outs of the sound recordings I made during my time in the village. I didn’t feel like it was a huge artistic success, but I loved the experience and learnt so much. I also got to hold artist book workshops which was fun!

The next three residencies all involved other artists, many of whom have become my great friends. We supported each other through extreme weather conditions, emotional upheavals and artistic self-doubts.

I now know that it is OK to not really know what you are doing when you turn up to the places you go. While you need a proposal to submit with your residency application, the work you make might completely go off on a tangent. Some residencies require specific outcomes like an artist talk, exhibition, workshops or an installation. All these are doable if you remain flexible and can talk about how you responded to the environment you were in and why you went off on the tangent to create the work you made. 

I enjoyed these experiences and learnt so much from them I am now running some “virtual  artist residencies” as part of my VIP Creators Circle programs. It’s a great way to experience the types of challenges faced and explore work you might like to make, without needing to leave your studio or lug all your materials halfway across the world.

I’ll be excited to see how these develop – watch this space…

Running a mini book workshop in Lasalle, France in the former silk factory as part of my artist residency in 2018.