Artist Residency Reviews

Vashon Artist Residency is in a beautiful location, the studios are well lit and well equipped, and they will give you a ride around the island if you need one. They host an informal critique and dinner one evening and connected us to experts in the community - like a geologist who took our cohort on an educational walk around Puget Sound. As a newer residency they welcome feedback and I've been incredibly impressed by their responsiveness and their commitment to provide more resources, flexible timing, and funding to all artists. Highly recommend.

It you’re the type of artist that likes to work in solitude while still have moments for community engagement this is your place. It’s peaceful and spacious and very accommodating. The staff members are loving and supportive beings and always around to help or answer any questions.

Beautiful studio and friendly atmosphere.

The residency is very well organized, with heavy programming at the beginning and the end. The residency's focus is a collaboration with the local textile partners which residents visit in the first two weeks of the residency. It is helpful visit all the partners prior to delving fully into any project as many ideas arise after each visit. I would nevertheless, investigate each individual partner as thoroughly as possible prior to starting the residency.

The way to find the place that where I can be myself with huge nature space. Share studio space; community, great home condition, well English communication with Art Residency Manager. Hard to go outside of the town. Good and Simple environment; one gym, one supermarket, one restaurant, one bus stop.

An amazing opportunity to immerse myself in a new landscape to inspire a creation of new artworks. The studio and resources was good for what I needed for creating paintings. For me personally I find to make a residency rewarding is to create an action plan of what you would like to achieve. The rewards of doing this residency was developing a new body of work, meeting like minded people and teaching students new skills by working with a local school.

The program overall was great. Program manager is super supportive, and reserve staff are lovely (folks working in all aspects of caring for the gardens) Facilities: the house is stunning, but there is no proper making stuff studio but staff will connect you to resources on the island. Other support includes stipend and a designated car for the duration. It’s a pretty magical opportunity to have solo access to the reserve after hours and time with trees, sea lions, coyote, and moss garden to name a few of the other residents.

If you are accepted for residency, prepare yourself properly and bring your own ideas to be ready to start as soon as possible. Be open for advices of the stuff there: They might widen your horizon quite a bit!

The Corsicana residency is a small, private program located in a small Texas town that is about an hour away from Dallas. It is a free residency that provides you with both sleeping space and a big private studio. A benefit of the program is that you will have a huge private studio and lots of quiet time to focus on your art. You will encounter small town Texas culture in a very peaceful setting. A challenge of the program is that because the residency is inside a historic building, you cannot work with studio materials or processes that may damage the building. Another challenge is that your sleeping space will either be inside or directly adjacent to your studio. The Corsicana residency is ideal for emerging artists who desire uninterrupted time to work on a large-scale project inside a historic Texas location. It offers a unique experience and I do recommend it!

Forest walks, rotating cooking sessions, early studio mornings, late night printmaking moments, coffee conversations, citronella infused terrace nights. I’m beyond grateful for the experience at Nectar. Situated in the Pre-Pyrenees in Catalunya, Nectar provides an inspiring and caring environment. Olga and Tai together with their children, animals and huge garden welcomed me warmly together with three other international artists. The residency is far up in the mountains away from disruptions of the city and surrounded by endless possibilities of the natural environment. We all used the spaces available depending on our needs, working in the cool cellar of the old house, in the barn, on surrounding forest paths, in the garden... I received critical feedback, curatorial and technical support and the freedom to research, create and push my practice. Nectar’s collaboration with Espronceda Institute of Art & Culture in Barcelona enabled us as a group of artists from different backgrounds to develop an exhibition that lifted our practice to another level. This is thanks to Olga’s and Tai’s expertise in curation, writing and production with the support of the gallery team. Thanks to a full stipend I was able to concentrate solely on my practice for a few weeks. My fellow artists-in-residence and I supported each other in our projects during the residency and in the creation of the exhibition. I maintained a relationship with the other artists as well as the Nectar team and love witnessing how the project develops over the years!

Boise has a full and consistently growing art community find ways to engage and connect with local artist while you are here.

Farm studio provides a peaceful and inspiring environment in a remote area in India. Accommodation and meals are included in the costs that are very reasonable for 4 weeks. The two hosts are very kind and supportive and also great artists!

I highly recommend Proyecto ACE to anyone interested in developing their printmaking skills and growing as a visual artist. I am very thankful to Sebastian and Alicia for teaching me a variety of printmaking techniques, providing constructive criticism on my work, and encouraging me to experiment and embrace a new direction. The guided tours, gallery, and studio visits were inspirational and well-organized. The Proyecto ACE residency is one of the best I've completed!!!

You can read about my experience on my website nicolealinelegault.com/iceland

Beautiful place and beautiful people.

3 months in the mountain, with a beautiful clean lake nearby, and full artistic freedom to develop one´s interest and research, instead of fulfilling an external agenda. Villa Waldberta´s hosts were extremely kind and understanding of each artist´s individual process. The place is magic, and helped me to go through a very difficult film production with grace, reconnecting with myself far away from the city. It was a little paradise. Funding is not a lot, but allows you artistic freedom. Hosts are considerate of special needs as well.

Remote location but car rental and nice grocery were available. Pool and indoor badminton and exercise building was lovely.

Excellent location for doing work. The scenery in the village and in Iceland is incredible and provides sources of inspiration. Enough space for solitude as well as opportunities for exchanges if needed.

Skagastrond is a beautiful location of solitude and I did get a lot of work done. However a few things were troubling, the workspace is shared but the kiln is not ventilated so when a glaze fire is happening (which takes a whole day) one can’t rightly ask others to leave. Also, being northern Iceland, you are very stuck with the other artists in the house and there’s not so much time for meeting with the community. The food there because of its location is very expensive and the lack of funding makes this a difficult hurdle to overcome. But I do really love the staff that I worked with and I believe the director did everything to make us feel safe and supported.

Benefits: to have a studio and a room to sleep 'for free', 45min from Paris. The first two weeks there is a paper in their plotter. Challenges: the 'technical studios' which instead of being available full time as they state in the open call are only once a week, the constant pressure of the residency to be a social worker instead of an artist, and the harassment against any one who complains. Also to be requested to be present when politicians pass by during the residence's publicity moments as if it's a circus (they sell the concept of a cultural neighborhood to other cities), the treatment of artists as 'parasites' who are supposed to 'owe' to the foundation because of their 'generosity'. Costs vs. Gains: wouldn't do it again nor recommend.