— Ellen Mae Williams

Artist Residencies

The importance and joy of residencies for creatives

As soon as I get an inkling of spring/summer - a warm ray of sunshine on skin, a melodic birdsong, lighter evenings, when the sweet smell of fresh new grass shoots waft on the breeze, when colour slowly drifts back into the grey monotone landscape, my excitement for what the forthcoming summer holds starts and I reminisce about heady past summers. One that particularly stands out was a 3 week trip to the island of Skopelos, in the Sporades archipelago, Greece for an artist residency (Skopelos Foundation for the Arts). This residency I must state from the start was only made possible due to the fact I had been awarded a grant from the Arts Council England for DYCP funding. Residencies are expensive. Most artists do not have the income to live properly let alone jet off to foreign climes for a chunk of time. So I was extremely grateful for this opportunity.

This was my first real experience of a residency with a group of international artists in a different country (bar a couple of weeks as Bamford’s artist in residence in Daylesford, Gloucestershire in 2017). A solo experience, I remember feeling very alone and craved some social interaction, this was why I made sure that the next residency I participated in was centred around group discussions, excursions, and talks, as well as a shared studio space. Although daunting - a gaggle of creative strangers plucked from all 4 corners of the world - it was exciting, stimulating, inspiring and ultimately one of the best experiences of my life so far. I made friends for life, and was heart-warmed by time spent with creatives who also had such a passion for their craft. We shared the same studio but we also shared our life stories and dreams for the future over many glasses of Greek wine (oh the wine!) swapping numbers, addresses and planned future trips to visit each other in our home countries/towns/cities.

My time on the island was spent exploring the landscape, creating new work made with seasonal naturally abundant dyes collected during my many walks. Having time away from your usual daily routine, the commute, freelancing, food shopping, part-time jobs, commitments, bills, stress and city life was rejuvenating, and allows you to look at your life in a different way, through a different lens, giving you time and space to really think - or not to think at all, to switch off and be creative. Taking you outside of your everyday, exploring new landscapes, meeting and connecting with international creatives, developing and inspiring new ideas. My eyes were opened to the possibilities of my practice and the experience has directly influenced the work I’m producing now. I realised how valuable and crucial time like this is for artists and vowed to complete a residency every other year from then on.

Two years after that wonderful experience I’m now incredibly excited to be heading to Casa Julfa, France in May for a residency. On the theme of residencies I’ve put together a list of the best ones I’ve come across during my lengthy online searches, as well as some funding resources and general useful links for artists.

Where to find residencies/open calls/opportunities -

ResArtis, ArtQuest, Art Rabbit, TransArtists, instagram (Starving Artists), Crafts Council, ACAVA, ArtsHub, Curator Space, Arts Admin, word of mouth, exhibition private views, Alumni events, artist talks, networking events - if anyone has any other useful links/resources that I’m missing do let me know!

Funding/grants -

Arts Council England, Pollock-Krasner Foundation, ACAVA, ArtsHub UK, Jerwood Arts

Artist Residencies I’ve found and liked the sound of: