Artist Residency Reviews

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 anyone 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.

Pretty self functioning residency. Best options are to paint write or draw. Close to plenty of things, and art stores within walking distance.

I had an excellent experience at this residency and would recommend it to any emerging artists who need focused time to develop a project or body of work with curatorial support. The residency really allowed me to hone in on ideas and start developing a more cohesive practice. The curatorial support was essential in having a sounding board with the right questions to challenge me and push my work forward. Overall, it was an excellent experience that I am really grateful for. If you want to really integrate yourself in the community, this will have to be something that you put effort in yourself, but there are definitely opportunities to connect with the community and previous residents if you reach out. I would recommend the program most to those who need focused time at a critical point in their practice. (Photo Credit: Toni Hafkenscheid)

The main benefit from this residency is the time and space it provides to focus on developing your project in a quiet and amazingly beautiful environment. The fact that it is a small group of residents makes it easier to dedicate time to connect with others without sacrificing your individual space. I gained much from the feedback and dialogues with other fellows. At the same time, the environment was perfect to dive into my thoughts and work.

Fountainhead residency is really special because of the deep connections and knowledge Kathryn has to the Miami art world. My tip is to get up early so you can go to the beach.

Expanding Networks: I built connections with fellow resident artists and the local art community, which has opened up future collaboration opportunities. Focused Creative Environment: Being away from my usual environment allowed me to concentrate on my work, leading to the production of more pieces than usual. Challenges During the residency, I faced several challenges: Cultural and Language Barriers: Since the residency was overseas, adapting to language and cultural differences was difficult. Budget Constraints: Limited funding was provided, making it challenging to cover material and living expenses. This highlighted the importance of creating a detailed budget and preparing necessary supplies in advance. Practical Advice Be Prepared: Before starting the residency, thoroughly research the local area and make a list of necessary items to ensure a smooth experience. Set Goals: Clearly define what you want to achieve during the residency and work systematically towards those goals. Costs vs. Gains Although participating in this residency required an investment of time, money, and effort, I feel that the returns were worthwhile. The expanded network and new techniques acquired will significantly benefit my future career.

It is a public relations opportunity, not really a residency, especially since artists with gallery representation or sellable work are highly encouraged to attend. Making new work was difficult because most of your time is dedicated to visiting collectors. For some artists without connections that might be very helpful.

This residency is highly recommended for those who would like to experiment with sounds or are looking for new ways of creating sounds. This is not something about traditional instruments - the program is very useful for researching and trying out new methods. They have tons of components for DIY, special mics; such as geo and hydrophones. The location is perfectly inspiring: a small town near the sea in a beautiful and calm environment - which is famous from Bang&Olufsen! My practical advice would be to create a guideline to follow, it is easy to get lost in all these opportunities.

HIAP provided me residency at Nelimarkka Museo where I've got to implement an important project for my career. I work on a field of performance art, and I no need specific studio for working, but it was enough space for me to feel good and creative there.

I met great artists and the staff were also so supportive. The time staying in Finland was so inspiring too.

The people working at HIAP are wonderful. The living space is great, the studios are big and bright and in connection to the living apartment, depending on what you work with, the studio could be great, but for me as a sculptor it was dysfunctional with no ventilation. Unfortunately there was really no other space to work in either. No real workshop, and few tools. The location of the residency on an island in the archipelago of Helsinki is beautiful and inspiring, but of course also a bit challenging when it comes to getting material. My overall experience of my residency at HIAP is still great! The community created amongst the residents and HIAP crew was inspiring and developing for my work. HIAP are part of communal saunas, with sauna hours 4 times a week and the meetings happening in the saunas are truly special! I also want to give a huge credit to how great the residency is to welcome mothers and families. As a mother I had to bring my two year old and my husband, upon mentioning my family I got a PDF document on "good to know information for parents" with everything from things to do, how to get around and how to apply for child care (which we actually got on the island), and for my husband they were prepared to fix an extra studio, which we in the end felt we did not need. It was great to feel so supported as a family of artists! I would recommend anyone applying for HIAP and especially families.

The benefits of this residency are the freedom you are given to come and go as you please, the openness to ideas and questions when discussing your practice, and the continued support that the gallery offers after your time as a resident is finished. To get the most from this residency, I would say that it helps if you are self-driven and materially independent. Having lots of spare time to make the most of the studio space is always good, of course. A residency where you get 6-8 months' studio space for free, as well as a possible two exhibitions in the heart of Notting Hill for no external cost, I'd say, has an undoubtedly positive investment-to-reward ratio.

amazing spaces for free for a year.

I look back at my month at Latitude with such fondness, remembering nostalgic bus rides to a sun-filled, climate-controlled oasis. I was constantly invited to be in the space, experiment, and expand. The generous staff provided extensive expert knowledge on top of friendly kindness. I was able to shed feelings of reticence and intimidation when faced with the printing process and now feel empowered to integrate these techniques into my practice. As a media artist and sculptor, I was finally able to take digital renderings—otherwise bound behind a screen—into physical mediums. I experimented with different paper types, printing on textile, and image transfer, producing material that I have subsequently remixed into different shown work. Few residencies offer the level of care around access and accommodations as Latitude. As a disabled artist, I felt unburdened by the need to advocate for my needs while deeply cared for and considered. Anytime I visit Chicago, I plan to stop in and do some printing! Benefits included imparting new skills, community connections, opportunities for studio visits, and an ongoing professional relationship. The residency is generous with the free and low-cost printing resources and ink stipend so I left with a lot of high-quality printed material. The challenge is that housing is not provided, so I had to find a sublet, but this is relatively affordable and easy to find in Chicago. Practical advice would include having some files ready to print right away. Less time preparing files means more time printing and experimenting. Costs were greatly outweighed by the benefits: because the residency is an entire month and mostly autonomously structured, I was still able to work my remote job, making the visit more affordable. The amount of material I was able to print for free would have cost hundreds or thousands of dollars.