Residency programme: requirements and good practice
Jackie-Ruth Meyer
The purpose of proposing residencies is first of all to meet the needs of artists, providing them with suitable workspaces and the means and time necessary to carry out their research and production. They enable artists to benefit from a change of scene, to capture the singular aspects of reality, to master the isolation of research, to become acquainted with various audiences, to take a step back, and to enrich and even broaden their approach by presenting it with unexpected contexts. As for cultural establishments, residencies are a good way to support artistic production, to mentor artists through all the stages of their work, to renew contact with a diversified audience, to generate open collaborations between artists and various other participants on the subject of creative processes, and to strengthen the presence of contemporary art in the area. For ETAC, the decision to make residencies a central part of our action indicates our will to focus as closely as possible on the specific needs of artists, to provide them with comprehensive mentoring, to expand their contact network, and to develop new possibilities for territorial and international inscription and action, while enabling dynamic exchanges between participating establishments. The programme represents a long-term commitment for us, and expresses itself through mutual trust between artists and professionals in respect of objectives and methods.
Our project is defined by shared thematic proposals which are related to the geographical, cultural and social contexts of the cities concerned, and which are open to free artistic interpretation. The residency is meant chiefly for artistic research, with no obligation to produce results. The proposed residency will respect these specific conditions by providing the artist with a workspace and accommodation, as well as a visiting grant and technical and relational support from the team. In turn, the artist pledges to make him or herself available for the mediation, communication, and exchanges proposed by the establishments, with a view to sharing art as an innovative and noteworthy means of approaching the transformations in society today.
