Artist Residency Reviews

I had a great experience at Fabrikken.

Opened up many opportunities at home.

I think this residency is perfect for a US based artist needing good production facilities. I came from Ireland and it would have been costly to ship large or heavy work home. There are amazing facilities both at Bemis and in Omaha. The Low End gig venue at Bemis is brilliant, I went to so many great concerts while I was at Bemis. The art community in Omaha is wonderful. Some of the warmest and nicest people I've met in the USA. Challenges were more based around the city, getting to the grocery store for example you need to drive the Bemis Van which I found terrifying but in the long run meant I ate less snacks from Trader Joe's which was a good thing. The sound bleed between the studio apartments can be tricky if your neighbor is making louder sounds. Overall Bemis is great.

Just a very great residency opportunity.

Would be good if they had different timings to suit everyone internationally because on my time zone the class was at 2 am. Loved the variety of workshops and the dynamic of the program; it covers what an artist would need in terms of art history, techniques, critique, mentorship, specific assignments tailored to each individual, and professional practice to help our career when it comes to opportunities, open calls, gallery representations, grants, and much more.

Bemis is an incredible place. The studios are fantastic and Okada was an amazing place for me to work. I was able to weld 24/7 there and build some really big sculptures. I loved my loft studio which was flooded with gorgeous natural light every day. And the sound studio was amazing—so much tech and equipment to experiment with! I was able to record an entirely new body of work in that space. The studio techs and residency staff were so helpful and wonderful.

First of all, the city Istanbul is very unique and inspiring. The centre is located in Kadikoy, on the Asian side, with lots of artists living and working around. ArthereIstanbul might not have all the facilities but the team will always think of a way to make things work. They also have a team of cats (resident cats) ready to give all visitors some love.

As the residency is a no outcome residency, I was able to spend time on my own practice and was well-supported. Being the invited artist, I did have to host a number of workshops and events, but these were well organised and supported by the organisation. The structure of the feedback sessions was innovative and very useful, and the other residents were all amazing people that I have established lasting relationships with. The residency was also extremely well funded, and I felt duly compensated financially for my time. I can't think of anything bad about the residency - it was certainly the best I've ever done. I suppose the environment is quite isolated, which could be challenging for some, but I appreciated being away from city life for the two months. The most difficult part was getting there, as I chose the eco travel option and so did not fly. The journey took me 3 days! Overall I would recommend it to any artist.

This residency is good if you have a project in mind and would need the infrastructure and support to execute it. They have large live-work studios, and the duration of 2-3 months can be used effectively.

This is an amazing experience, with great shared living houses in the east fjords village, and a spacious shared studio building (with many options for workshops and studio). The cost is very low, especially for Iceland.

This residency is well worth the cost. The experience of living and working so close to the heart of Havana is priceless.

Incredible location on an island in New York with a very generous stipend including a chef that cooks you dinners nightly. Serene landscape and ocean view studios, though small and limited shop facilities.

Having participated in numerous artist residencies around the US and abroad, the program that Bemis offers is truly unparalleled—it is by far the most transformative and supportive residency I have done in my career. Bemis is unique in bringing incredible national and international artists in a collective cohort, all of whom I have a strong relationship to this day from our time together at Bemis. The facilities of Bemis’s incredible personal studios, housing, common areas for exhibitions and gatherings, sculptural facilities, sound studio, gallery space, and libraries offer an immediate landscape of ease and accessibility for artists to succeed while in residence. Bemis is by far the most organized, well-run residency, overflowing with resources to complete any project imagined—and, with the help of its warm staff, an artist can approach and workshop new ideas to execute during their residency. If it’s not available directly through the fabulous fabrication facilities, such as working in another material like glass, large-scale printing, bronze, their team will connect you to the greater Omaha creative community which is rich with makers from many backgrounds. Similarly, if you want to collaborate with a particular member in the Omaha community for your artist project, the Bemis team is available to help you channel those resources. I was able to continue my oceanic research with the Omaha Aquarium and created a podcast episode detailing my time with the scientists in their coral conversation lab and other restoration efforts that the aquarium was doing behind the scenes. In the greater Omaha community, Bemis is unique in bringing artists from around the world to connect and forge lasting relationships with local artists and creatives through their extensive public programing, such as music and sound art events in their Low End performance space. It was at a performance that I met many local artists and musicians who I continue to have deep friendships with to this day. One ceramist I connected to in my first week at a Bemis Center Low End performance has become an invaluable friend who assisted me in developing my first ceramic glazes. Because of the generous stipend an artist receives while being in residence, I was able to later hire her as my glaze technician to learn alongside her in the glaze laboratory at the University of Nebraska Lincoln.

Staff is amazingly supportive and all are fantastic creatives themselves. Beautiful rural landscape surrounding with necessary stores within comfortable distance. With the building structures being old repurposed barns and a huge grain mill, studios feel very home-y (not in a bad way, gets the job done with ample space and the facilities/tools necessary). Fair warning, you’ll definitely be getting your steps in with all the stairs.

They take really good care of you. I've always had meaningful change in my work when I'm there. It's way out in a rural area, which is what makes it great but also difficult to get around if you don't have a car. They do help out with that, however. The visit does cost money; it's a reasonable $800, but they are very forgiving and will work with you on a case-by-case basis.

The residency provided the perfect environment and materials to deeply explore pigment sticks and encaustic paints in new ways. In order to make the most of the experience, the artist should have a prior interest in working with these materials and processes, as well as have a fairly strong existing studio practice. Whilst the area boasts a large community of artists, it is very much up to the artist to engage that community beyond a few core members.

The folks at R+F are lovely; friendly, knowledgeable, communicative, helpful, and welcoming.

Residency feel very balanced. Good mix of studio visits, production time, social opportunities, etc.

One challenge is to stay focused on the work in this beautiful environment. You won’t like all peers, and you gotta be patient and kind with them. However, I found most of my peers there to be awesome.

The studios are not so comfortable, but the environment is beautiful and inspiring.