Understanding the Benefits of Artist Residencies and How to Apply.
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According to the Alliance of Artists’ Communities, there are about 500 art-centered programs in the United States that offer writers, visual artists, dancers, musicians, and other creative people support through artist residencies.
Residency programs are a retreat from the distractions and noise of daily life which enable artists to focus on their work. Look at the bios of most successful artists and you will find they’ve paid a visit to at least one residency program; a testament to how effective dedicated time to focusing on your craft can be at helping you develop a project.
How do you make this happen? Read on for tips on finding the right residency for you, applying, and making the most of an artist residency experience.
1. The Cost of Creation
If you are not independently wealthy, you need to think about the cost of participating a residency program.
Think about the length of time you can afford to dedicate to developing a project. If you are not working to maintain an income, how will you cover expenses (application fees, travel, lodging and food costs, and other personal needs).
2. What Do You Need?
Determine your need for equipment and supplies, then look to see if the residency program provides some or all of what you need. If not, you must consider the expense to leasing/purchasing and transporting needed equipment and supplies.
3. Should You Stay or Should You Go?
Is commuting to a local residency that provides free or low-cost studio space is what you need or do you want to go away to an artist residence that provides lodging as well as studio space.
4. Identifying for Resources
Utilize existing resources like the Alliance for Artist Communities and Rate My Artist Residency to conduct initial research
Search for the Arts Council in you state or city. Arts councils have a wealth of information of artist resources.
5. What to Look For
Focus your search on programs that support your specific artistic line (style or practice).
6. Funding Your Artist Residency
Visit the Foundation Center Library online. The FCL has a large database of grants for artists and references for artist residency programs in the United States and around the world.
Some residency programs provide partial or full stipends. For local studio rentals, consider a crowdfunding campaign.
7. See the World and Create
Be adventurous! Consider going abroad, there are artist residency programs all over the world. The expense to travel out of the country may not differ much more than traveling out of state. It’s worth taking a look.
8. The End Game
When you residency term and project are complete, what is next? Most residency programs organize showings for resident artists. You want to be sure that this is the case and that the Residency will provide you support with marketing and inviting prospective patrons to see your show.
9. Stay In Touch
Periodically, you should posts updates on the progress of your project to keep followers interested. When you are finished with your project, these are the same people you need to extend an invitation to attend your gallery opening or showcase.
10. Be Proactive
It is good to have organizational support to promote your work. However, it is your work, so take initiative to do a bit of self-promoting. Create a direct email campaign to inform your family, friends and associates.
Talk with the person handling media invites to find out what media outlets are being invited. If you have a few more entities that you would like to be invited, share that information. If the media representatives are personal contacts, request the PR materials and forward the material yourself.
All in all, the consideration for participating in an artist residency program is about building and promoting your career as an artist. Be clear about your goals and committed to achieving them.
Best of Luck!
Lioda Conrad, founder of The Lioda Initiative, is an illustrator, painter and fomage master (painting with fire and smoke). Ms. Conrad is in development of an artist residency program in South Africa.
Visit The Lioda Initiative online for more information.