Carrying Out Artist In Residence Research Ahead Of Time Helps Artists Take Advantage Of The Time

[Cataldo Mcnicholas]

Partnership and community are key to the results of a residency program in the creative industries.

Artist residency opportunities are a means for artists and museums and galleries to help each other. The gallery benefits from developing a close partnership with an up-and-coming artist who understands the benefits and restrictions of the display area; and the artist is financially supported to create amazing new work. This said, there are likewise artist residencies for older artists, not simply younger people, as artists can start establishing their practice at any age. All residencies are different, and artists need to select which is best for them. For example, an artist who has to be left entirely alone to complete a project would not profit by a residency concentrated on partnership and communality. Artists also have to consider how to prepare for artist residency, which might be through assembling a portfolio of photos to improve. Some residencies, like the one at the museum supported by Leon Black, likewise allow for a significant exhibition upon completion.

Numerous artists find it tough to develop brand-new work, especially if it has another conceptual focus to their typical work, within the context of their existing routines. Being in the same places every day, staring at the same views and scenery, makes it difficult to press into new avenues of thinking. This is where the benefits of an artist residency are most effective. An artist residency is usually a paid program within a specific space-- typically a repurposed urban site, or a significant landscape-- which exists to provide space for artists to work for a duration of weeks or months. A fine example of this is the residency supported by Soichiro Fukutake. In a new location-- sometimes also in a brand-new nation-- artists of all types typically find it simpler to generate new work or make more progress with existing ideas than they would if they were at home.

The idea of an artist's residency, as we consider it today, arose about a century back. The history of artist residencies is linked with socio-cultural shifts which changed the manner in which the arts were financed. It had been common for arts benefactors to be from the aristocracy, but as wealth became better dispersed, a new age of effective businesspeople began to assume the position of supplying artists with cash and space to work. In the middle of the last century, artists likewise began to create societies which offered a new model for partnership and co-working, permitting the production of interdisciplinary work. This continues to be one of the primary benefits of residencies today like the one supported by Mohammed Abdul Latif Jameel. Residencies nowadays are an excellent way for artists to be supported through the creation of new work and many internationally recognised artists have launched careers after residencies with important galleries and venues.