Artist residencies are programs for recent art graduates and working artists of all levels of experience. Unlike other artists programs, residencies provide temporary housing and encourage long, concentrated hours of practice.
They are similar to live-in internships, and participants work for companies that sponsor their art. Benefits included are networking, the ability to perfect one’s craft, and building a portfolio.
Applicants should be mindful of their submissions when applying for a residency. Highly sought-after artist programs are very competitive, so an applicant’s submission should be unique to stand out among the rest. Artists should turn in application packets on time, and early submissions are highly encouraged.
The following three residencies are possible options for upcoming art graduates and were featured on Chicagoist.com:
1. The School of the Art Institute of Chicago helps Ox-Bow recruit kids and adults for an eleven-week-long summer art program in Saugatuck, Michigan. The adult section of the term, the Professional Artists in Residence program, provides up to five weeks in seclusion and boasts a subsidized cost.
2. At the Kohler factory in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, four artists at a time are given access to industry facilities for a few months, courtesy of the Kohler Arts Center’s Arts / Industry program. The artists are not required to have previous factory experience. However, artists must be eager and talented to work with pottery and foundry.
3. On a campus in Lake Forest, IL, the Ragdale Foundation provides a retreat for 12 artists at a time for up to eight weeks. The artists have a common dinnertime but they are to determine their daily schedules.
In addition, the Hyde Park Art Center (HPAC) is establishing an artist residency program called Urban Space. The program will be run with help from the University of Chicago’s Division of Humanities. The vision of this program is to create a work space for artists from all over the world.
The program will let the artists’ artistic expressions take lives of their own. Since the residency will be in the culturally diverse city of Chicago, artists will have several media by which they can extract their creative energies.
The program will not only include usual artists, but writers, curators, and art historians. The residency is slated to open Fall 2007 in the HPAC’s new 32,000-square-foot facility.
The graduates of artist residencies are asked to give back by donating time to art students or various community art outlets. Artists’ work might be put on display by companies who sponsor or operate artist residencies.
Residencies give its graduates the benefit to live and work among other talented people who share their visions. This can be a very cultivating and enriching experience. If you are an art major graduating this spring or fall, look into artist residencies.