All Discussions Tagged 'artists' - crafthaus2024-03-28T15:24:27Zhttp://crafthaus.ning.com/group/mfaguidebook/forum/topic/listForTag?tag=artists&feed=yes&xn_auth=noDiversity Versus Inclusion | Alliance of Artists Communities Annual Conference in Portland, Oregontag:crafthaus.ning.com,2017-01-16:2104389:Topic:5613512017-01-16T04:28:39.308ZJessica Toddhttp://crafthaus.ning.com/profile/JessTodd
<p><em><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1058801756?profile=original" target="_self"><img class="align-center" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1058801756?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" width="750"></img></a></em></p>
<p><em>The grand entrance - for some - of the Benson Hotel in Portland, Oregon, where the 2016 Alliance of Artists Communities conference was held.</em></p>
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<p>Perhaps the greatest take-away for me from the …<span style="text-decoration: underline;"><span style="color: #0000ff;"><a href="http://www.artistcommunities.org/"></a></span></span></p>
<p><em><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1058801756?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="750" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1058801756?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" width="750" class="align-center"/></a></em></p>
<p><em>The grand entrance - for some - of the Benson Hotel in Portland, Oregon, where the 2016 Alliance of Artists Communities conference was held.</em></p>
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<p>Perhaps the greatest take-away for me from the <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><span style="color: #0000ff;"><a href="http://www.artistcommunities.org/"><span style="color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline;">Alliance of Artists Communities</span></a></span></span> conference I attended <span style="text-decoration: underline; color: #0000ff;"><a href="http://crafthaus.ning.com/group/mfaguidebook/forum/topics/alliance-of-artists-communities-annual-conference-in-portland"><span style="color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline;">last year</span></a></span> has been the recognition of the gap between diversity and inclusion. As an administrator at an artist residency, this is an ongoing area of concern and need for growth. While we have the tools (that we must choose to utilize) to increase diversity of race, nationality, economic status, sexual orientation and identity, disability, age, discipline, etc., the important word we often overlook is <b><i>inclusion</i></b>.</p>
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<p>Conference keynote speaker, performance artist <span style="text-decoration: underline; color: #0000ff;"><a href="https://www.3arts.org/artist/Barak-ade-Soleil/"><span style="color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline;">Barak adé Soleil</span></a></span>, who also happens to be an artist-in-residence where I work, spoke to us about the politics of space. As a wheelchair user, he asked us simple questions: How were you welcomed into this space? Did you enter the hotel through the front entrance? Did you go up the five steps? Nod at the bell hop? Enter through the grand revolving door? Look up at the high ceiling with carvings and paintings before making your way to the reception desk? Or were you directed to the back of the building? Where you entered next to the dumpster? Where you weaved through service hallways and dodged housekeeping carts before finally reaching reception?</p>
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<p>That was all he needed to say – we all understood. In all honesty, prior to that moment I had never deconstructed word “accessible” and how it can be used without any regard to the feeling of inclusion. I continued to learn about this topic in the follow-up session, “Disability Access and Inclusion” with <span style="text-decoration: underline; color: #0000ff;"><a href="https://handson.org/ourstaff"><span style="color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline;">Beth Prevor</span></a></span>, co-founder and Executive Director of <span style="text-decoration: underline; color: #0000ff;"><a href="https://handson.org/"><span style="color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline;">Hands On</span></a></span>. As Beth pointed out, disability is the only category of diversity that we can and likely will all join at some point in our lives – all the more reason to address it. She underlined the points made by Barak – that in order to achieve equality, everyone must actually <i>feel</i> equal. An important component here is to communicate with the person who has the disability, to be clear about exactly what you mean when you describe access, and to work toward inclusive solutions with that person.</p>
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<p>The second keynote speaker, Cree singer-songwriter <span style="text-decoration: underline; color: #0000ff;"><a href="http://buffysainte-marie.com/"><span style="color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline;">Buffy Sainte-Marie</span></a></span>, discussed the exploitations she experienced throughout her career, including unintentionally selling the rights to her hit song <i>Universal Soldier</i>. She encouraged us to provide even more support to the marginalized, to teach artists to protect their rights, and to remember that as well-intentioned gate keepers, often the solution is as simple as reaching out. She shared the lyrics of her song, <span style="text-decoration: underline; color: #0000ff;"><i><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bTqV1pnQoos"><span style="color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline;">My Country ‘Tis of Thy People You’re Dying</span></a></i></span>:</p>
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<p><i> "The past it just crumbled, the future just threatens;</i></p>
<p><i> Our life blood shut up in your chemical tanks.</i></p>
<p><i> And now here you come, bill of sale in your hands</i></p>
<p><i> And surprise in your eyes that we're lacking in thanks</i></p>
<p><i> For the blessings of civilization you've brought us,</i></p>
<p><i> The lessons you've taught us, the ruin you've wrought us</i></p>
<p><i> Oh see what our trust in America's brought us."</i></p>
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<p>In the session, “Who Are We Serving and How?,” the conversation continued. Alliance Executive Director <span style="text-decoration: underline; color: #0000ff;"><a href="http://www.artistcommunities.org/staff"><span style="color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline;">Lisa Hoffman</span></a></span> repeated the call that we need to pursue inclusion with more urgency; that if we do not take immediate and intentional action, then we are complicit. As institutions, we need to delineate our terms of diversity and inclusion, and we need to question notions of meritocracy. When we talk about improving our reach to certain communities, we must actually <i>go</i> to those communities and ask <i>them</i> how we can serve them better, and be receptive to their response. We need to question our staffing, our Euro-centric definitions of art excellence, the underlying paradigms in our structures, and the transparency of our processes. We need to be willing to shake things up when an entrenched norm has unintentional consequences.</p>
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<p>I spoke to Lisa afterward and thanked her for her urgent call, evident in her own speaking, but also in the programing of the conference. I am thankful that this push is coming from the top of the organization, as it is often challenging to push up from the bottom. This leads me to my own field of Jewelry/Metals and the greater Crafts field, which I fear has yet to address me and my peers with a similar call to duty. I have seen a lot of fantastic work out there addressing social issues, but we can all look around at our conferences and in our publications and see that there is an inequity of representation. We are predominantly white, college educated, middle class background, cis-gendered, and non-disabled.</p>
<p><span class="font-size-4"><b>We <i>must</i> begin to question – if nowhere else than at our conference this year in one of the most multicultural cities in the world, New Orleans – Who is included here, who is not, and why?</b></span></p>
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<p>One thing I have noticed is a tendency when addressing social issues to point to individuals and question individual action. But when there are such visible and palpable overarching disparities, that means something in the system, in the framework, is wrong. <b>To my fellow metalsmiths, jewelers, craft artists: It’s time to look at ours.</b></p>
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<p><b><br/></b> <em>Check out the other conference topics I covered: <span style="text-decoration: underline; color: #0000ff;"><strong><em><a href="http://crafthaus.ning.com/group/mfaguidebook/forum/topics/redefining-the-residency-alliance-of-artists-communities-annual" target="_self"><span style="color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline;">Redefining the Residency</span></a></em></strong></span><em><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline; color: #0000ff;"><a href="http://crafthaus.ning.com/group/mfaguidebook/forum/topics/community-engagement-social-practice-alliance-of-artists-1" target="_self"><span style="color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline;">Community Engagement & Social Practice</span></a></span></strong>.</em><i><br/></i></em></p> Community Engagement & Social Practice | Alliance of Artists Communities Annual Conference in Portland, Oregontag:crafthaus.ning.com,2016-10-28:2104389:Topic:5584522016-10-28T17:46:48.124ZJessica Toddhttp://crafthaus.ning.com/profile/JessTodd
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1058790258?profile=original" target="_self"><img class="align-full" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1058790258?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" width="750"></img></a></p>
<p><span style="color: #333333;"><i>Postcard by Sharita Towne for the Exhibition</i> Our City in Stereo<i>, presented by Newspace Center for Photography in partnership with c3:initiative. Sharita spoke in the session, “Arts and Equity in the Neighborhood.” …</i></span></p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1058790258?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="750" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1058790258?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" width="750" class="align-full"/></a></p>
<p><span style="color: #333333;"><i>Postcard by Sharita Towne for the Exhibition</i> Our City in Stereo<i>, presented by Newspace Center for Photography in partnership with c3:initiative. Sharita spoke in the session, “Arts and Equity in the Neighborhood.” <span style="text-decoration: underline; color: #3366ff;"><a href="http://www.c3initiative.org/sharita-towne--c3studio-residency.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: #3366ff; text-decoration: underline;">http://www.c3initiative.org/sharita-towne--c3studio-residency.html</span></a></span></i></span></p>
<p><span style="color: #333333;"><b> </b></span></p>
<p><span style="color: #333333;">Community engagement and social practice are becoming more common in the art world and, frankly, have become something of a trend. The topic has been spoken about increasingly as an important initiative for artists communities, and I see it frequently in the practices of the artists-in-residence where I work. The craft community is seeing glimpses of it as well – in the Jewelry/Metals field, which I am most familiar with, at the <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><span style="color: #3366ff;"><a href="http://www.snagmetalsmith.org/conferences/impact-looking-back-forging-forward/home-2/"><span style="color: #3366ff; text-decoration: underline;">2015 SNAG conference in Boston</span></a></span></span> with the “Social Impact” presentations by Sam Aquillano (speaking about <span style="text-decoration: underline; color: #3366ff;"><a href="http://designmuseumfoundation.org/boston/"><span style="color: #3366ff; text-decoration: underline;">Design Museum Boston</span></a></span>), <span style="text-decoration: underline; color: #3366ff;"><a href="http://gabrielcraigmetalsmith.com/"><span style="color: #3366ff; text-decoration: underline;">Gabriel Craig</span></a></span>, <span style="text-decoration: underline; color: #3366ff;"><a href="http://www.michaeljstrand.com/"><span style="color: #3366ff; text-decoration: underline;">Michael Strand</span></a></span> (a ceramicist), and Jason Talbott (speaking about <span style="text-decoration: underline; color: #3366ff;"><a href="http://afhboston.org/"><span style="color: #3366ff; text-decoration: underline;">Artists for Humanity</span></a></span>). It’s a great trend – artists connecting with the community is an excellent vehicle for social change – but it’s one that can be not-so-great or even harmful when approached superficially or without careful consideration.</span></p>
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<p><span style="color: #333333;">During the session in my previous post, “Self-Declared: Practice and Politics of DIY Artist Residencies in Portland,” our group discussed the difficulty of reaching the underserved members of our communities. I was particularly impacted by the words of <span style="text-decoration: underline; color: #3366ff;"><a href="http://18thstreet.org/staff-and-board/"><span style="color: #3366ff; text-decoration: underline;">Betty Marín</span></a></span> of <span style="text-decoration: underline; color: #3366ff;"><a href="http://18thstreet.org/"><span style="color: #3366ff; text-decoration: underline;">18th Street Arts Center</span></a></span>. Betty emphasized that effective community engagement should not necessarily come in the form the artist envisions – which often comes from a place of social, racial, or economic privilege – but rather should come from the underserved community members themselves. This may manifest in more practical ways, such as providing childcare for community engagement events, or by providing art education in the form of skill-building services to support career growth.</span></p>
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<p><span style="color: #333333;">Her words opened my eyes to the meaning of social practice. I realized that artists who desire a practice of community engagement cannot decide themselves what the community needs or how they can best engage. The artist needs to invite the community members they wish to reach into the discussion, and allow <i>them</i> to define their needs and how they’ll best be served. That should be the starting point, and the rest should grow from there.</span></p>
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<p><span style="color: #333333;">Another session I attended, “Arts and Equity in the Neighborhood,” expounded upon this theme. A major focus in the session was gentrification and how each of us are individually implicated. We were instructed to be honest with ourselves about the role we play, and to speak from “I” statements, rather than making assumptions about others’ experiences. It was pointed out that even an arts organization in a gentrifying neighborhood can play a negative role in the fact that it appeals to a comparatively wealthy white population, and that it is important for those organizations to partner and collaborate with existing community organizations that directly serve the original community in a constructive way. A reverberating quote from the session was, <span class="font-size-3"><b>“If you’re not at the table, you’re on the menu,”</b></span> meaning that if members of the underserved population are not included to have a voice and an input – if you’re making assumptions about what they desire and need – then they are being <i>consumed</i>, meaning both drowned out and profited from.</span></p>
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<p><span style="color: #333333;">This is so important to keep in mind, <i>particularly</i> when we have the best of intentions. If you are creating work or working in the realm of social practice – no matter how loosely defined – make sure you are either speaking from your own experience, or bringing those with the experience to speak for themselves. Be open to the fact that your initial ideas may not work, and that you may have to adapt or hand over control completely. If you can’t do that, then consider why you are making the work. If you’re making it for yourself, then make work for yourself and call it what it is. There’s room for that kind of work, too. But if you’re making work to benefit someone else, make sure it is actually achieving that goal.</span></p>
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<p><span style="color: #333333;"><i>Check out the other conference topics I covered: <strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><span style="color: #0000ff;"><em><a href="http://crafthaus.ning.com/group/mfaguidebook/forum/topics/redefining-the-residency-alliance-of-artists-communities-annual" target="_self"><span style="color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline;">Redefining the Residency</span></a></em></span></span><span> </span></strong>and<strong><span> <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><span style="color: #0000ff;"><em><a href="http://crafthaus.ning.com/group/mfaguidebook/forum/topics/diversity-versus-inclusion-alliance-of-artists-communities-annual" target="_self"><span style="color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline;">Diversity Versus Inclusion</span></a></em></span></span><i>.</i></span></strong></i></span></p> Redefining the Residency | Alliance of Artists Communities Annual Conference in Portland, Oregontag:crafthaus.ning.com,2016-10-18:2104389:Topic:5577042016-10-18T01:04:43.346ZJessica Toddhttp://crafthaus.ning.com/profile/JessTodd
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1058783063?profile=original" target="_self"><img class="align-center" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1058783063?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" width="750"></img></a></p>
<p><span style="color: #333333;"><i>Photo by <span style="text-decoration: underline; color: #0000ff;"><a href="http://www.ericamerylthomas.com/artist-in-residence-project/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline;">Erica Thomas</span></a></span>, The ARTIST IN RESIDENCE sign is lit whenever someone at the house is doing creative…</i></span></p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1058783063?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="750" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1058783063?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" width="750" class="align-center"/></a></p>
<p><span style="color: #333333;"><i>Photo by <span style="text-decoration: underline; color: #0000ff;"><a href="http://www.ericamerylthomas.com/artist-in-residence-project/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline;">Erica Thomas</span></a></span>, The ARTIST IN RESIDENCE sign is lit whenever someone at the house is doing creative work.</i></span></p>
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<p><span style="color: #333333;">The first standout theme from the <span style="text-decoration: underline; color: #0000ff;"><a href="http://crafthaus.ning.com/group/mfaguidebook/forum/topics/alliance-of-artists-communities-annual-conference-in-portland" target="_self"><span style="text-decoration: underline; color: #0000ff;">AAC conference</span></a></span> that I will discuss is <i>Redefining the Residency</i>, a topic that can be applied to any arts discipline and one that I, too, have worked to <span style="text-decoration: underline; color: #0000ff;"><a href="http://crafthaus.ning.com/group/mfaguidebook/forum/topics/diy-artist-residency-in-residence-at-home" target="_self"><span style="color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline;">redefine in the past</span></a></span>. The session, “Self-Declared: Practice and Politics of DIY Artist Residencies in Portland,” presented five local artists discussing the ways in which they have reconstituted the parameters of an “artist residency” for reasons political, pragmatic, and artistic. Such alternative opportunities are especially important for artists who work in community engagement, experimentally, and/or with no intent of measurable outcome, for whom traditional residencies are not often a fit for their practice.</span></p>
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<p><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="text-decoration: underline; color: #0000ff;"><a href="http://www.ericamerylthomas.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline;">Erica Thomas</span></a></span> defined her declaration to become an artist-in-residence in her own life, resisting existing patriarchal structures and including in her practice her roles as wife, mother, and coworker, merging life with art. (Erica lists her marriage on her CV as an ongoing collaboration, 2012 to present.) Her audience for her work fluctuates from one to hundreds or thousands, but her practice is constant and exists in every aspect of her life. Erica pointed out that while her practice works in opposition to what typically defines institutional support – and that though, by definition, she must remain autonomous – her practice would benefit from funding, performance space, and conversations with a collaborative audience.</span></p>
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<p><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="text-decoration: underline; color: #0000ff;"><a href="http://taryntomasello.com/" target="_blank"><span style="text-decoration: underline; color: #0000ff;">Taryn Tomasello</span></a></span> shared her experience creating a renegade residency on <span style="text-decoration: underline; color: #0000ff;"><a href="https://orgsync.com/13029/events/1449278/occurrences/3289485" target="_blank"><span style="color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline;">Ross Island</span></a></span>, an island in the Willamette River (which bisects the city of Portland) that is part city-owned forested riparian zone, part quarry, part toxic land fill. Taryn, with her husband and children in tow, camped without permission on the island and completed ephemeral projects she documented in photos and video. She investigated ideas of displacement and ownership of land, while allowing her work to exist in communication with her ongoing residency in motherhood. Taryn brought in other artists to join her on the island, and a catalog and several exhibitions have resulted from the residency.</span></p>
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<p><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="text-decoration: underline; color: #0000ff;"><a href="http://efitzgerald.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline;">Emily Fitzgerald</span></a></span> began a self-declared residency at the Hollywood Senior Center in Portland after frequent visits with her grandmother revealed to her a community in need. Her practice is based around artistic research and storytelling, working with the residents to use photography and writing to learn about each other. The collective developed a printed book, performed readings in various locations, and <span style="text-decoration: underline; color: #0000ff;"><a href="http://efitzgerald.com/filter/Projects/Being-Old" target="_blank"><span style="text-decoration: underline; color: #0000ff;">created an installation</span></a></span> that made the Center’s public space more humanizing. In another project, Emily <span style="text-decoration: underline; color: #0000ff;"><a href="http://efitzgerald.com/filter/Projects/Some-Time-Between-Us" target="_blank"><span style="color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline;">grouped high school students</span></a></span> with the Center’s residents and had them write about the role of dependency in their lives and ask each other questions about their respective generation and life experience. This led to individually responsive work in the form of writing and drawing. Often, these social energies are not considered “art” in the context of the institution. The self-declared residency allows for them to be.</span></p>
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<p><span style="color: #333333;">Katy Asher and Ariana Jacob put a name to their project – the <span style="text-decoration: underline; color: #0000ff;"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/pg/ResidentResidency/about/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline;">Resident Residency</span></a></span> – in which they gathered fellow artists to create work in their own communities. Often, residencies bring in artists to an unfamiliar neighborhood to have impact there, but Katy and Ariana envisioned a residency where artists create impact in their own neighborhoods without having to leave home. Each artist developed a “residency” within his or her respective <span style="text-decoration: underline; color: #0000ff;"><a href="https://www.portlandoregon.gov/oni/28385" target="_blank"><span style="color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline;">Neighborhood Association</span></a></span>, groups already doing social practice-esque projects throughout Portland. The Neighborhood Associations provided a platform and a source of funding for projects such as community gatherings and project catalogs. However, the artists found it challenging to create subversive work inside the parameters of the Association’s vision, and struggled to reach underserved or peripheral members of each neighborhood.</span></p>
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<p><span style="color: #333333;">All of the speakers expressed frustration with finding funding for their projects after they had occurred, rather than before, when the funder holds stake in the outcome. They are hoping to spread the word about the value of self-declared residencies to their communities, funders, and art institutions. (A representative from <span style="text-decoration: underline; color: #0000ff;"><a href="http://www.americansforthearts.org/by-topic/united-arts-funds" target="_blank"><span style="color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline;">United Arts Funds</span></a></span> shared that her organization is one to reach out to for such funding.)</span></p>
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<p><span style="color: #333333;">For me, what resonated is that you do not have to wait for an institution such as a university, gallery, museum, funder, etc. to grant you lines on your resumé or venues for your work to develop or be shown. You can create your own opportunities and they are just as valid, and just as resumé-worthy. Too often we wait for acceptance or permission to do what can be done on our own.</span></p>
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<p><span style="color: #333333;" class="font-size-3"><b>My charge is this: Think, declare, and do for yourself as an artist, and soon the institutions will catch up with <i>you</i>.</b></span></p>
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<p><span style="color: #333333;"><i>I would be remiss not to plug my December 2015 Crafthaus article <strong><span style="text-decoration: underline; color: #0000ff;"><a href="http://crafthaus.ning.com/group/mfaguidebook/forum/topics/diy-artist-residency-in-residence-at-home" target="_self"><span style="color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline;">“DIY Residency: In Residence at Home”</span></a></span></strong>.</i></span></p>
<p><span style="color: #333333;"><i>Also check out the other conference topics I covered: <strong><span><span style="text-decoration: underline; color: #0000ff;"><em><a href="http://crafthaus.ning.com/group/mfaguidebook/forum/topics/community-engagement-social-practice-alliance-of-artists-1" target="_self"><span style="color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline;">Community Engagement & Social Practice</span></a></em></span> </span></strong>and<strong><span> <span style="text-decoration: underline; color: #0000ff;"><em><a href="http://crafthaus.ning.com/group/mfaguidebook/forum/topics/diversity-versus-inclusion-alliance-of-artists-communities-annual" target="_self"><span style="color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline;">Diversity Versus Inclusion</span></a></em></span><i>.</i></span></strong></i></span></p> Alliance of Artists Communities Annual Conference in Portland, Oregontag:crafthaus.ning.com,2016-10-14:2104389:Topic:5575192016-10-14T20:16:50.724ZJessica Toddhttp://crafthaus.ning.com/profile/JessTodd
<p style="text-align: center;"><span class="font-size-3" style="color: #333333;"><strong>Alliance of Artists Communities Annual Conference in Portland, Oregon</strong></span></p>
<p><span style="color: #333333;"><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1058783420?profile=original" target="_self"><span style="color: #333333;"><img class="align-center" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1058783420?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" width="750"></img></span></a></span></p>
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<p><span style="color: #333333;">Last week I attended the…</span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #333333;" class="font-size-3"><strong>Alliance of Artists Communities Annual Conference in Portland, Oregon</strong></span></p>
<p><span style="color: #333333;"><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1058783420?profile=original" target="_self"><span style="color: #333333;"><img width="750" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1058783420?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" width="750" class="align-center"/></span></a></span></p>
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<p><span style="color: #333333;">Last week I attended the <span style="text-decoration: underline; color: #0000ff;"><a href="http://www.artistcommunities.org/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline;">Alliance of Artists Communities</span></a></span> annual conference in Portland, Oregon, with my organization, the <span style="text-decoration: underline; color: #0000ff;"><a href="http://www.rauschenbergfoundation.org/residency" target="_blank"><span style="text-decoration: underline; color: #0000ff;">Rauschenberg Residency</span></a></span>, a program of the <span style="text-decoration: underline; color: #0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://www.rauschenbergfoundation.org/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline;">Robert Rauschenberg Foundation</span></a></span></span>*. The Alliance is an international association of artist residencies who gather annually to share advice, network, and advance the field together. I’d like to share what I learned as a residency administrator, but also as a contemporary craft artist and metalsmith and how it can be applied to our field.</span></p>
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<p><span style="color: #333333;">The conference opened with what would become major overarching themes of the week – seeking out balance and equity in the field; redefining “excellence”; and highlighting the gap between access and inclusion. The Alliance’s new Executive Director, Lisa Hoffman, began with a call to all of us to improve the inequities still thriving in the residency field as a whole. <span style="text-decoration: underline; color: #0000ff;"><a href="https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems-and-poets/poets/detail/elizabeth-woody" target="_blank"><span style="color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline;">Elizabeth Woody</span></a></span>, a Native poet from Portland, opened with an acknowledgement of the people on whose land we were gathered – including the Multnomah, Kathlamet, Clackamas, and Chinook <span style="text-decoration: underline; color: #0000ff;"><a href="https://www.portlandoregon.gov/oni/article/505489" target="_blank"><span style="color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline;">Indigenous people</span></a></span> who were colonized and displaced by Europeans. This introduction was repeated frequently throughout the conference – something I think we should all strive to include in the gatherings in our own towns and cities. Writer <span style="text-decoration: underline; color: #0000ff;"><a href="http://www.corporealwriting.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline;">Lidia Yuknavitch</span></a></span> followed with a moving reading about the talented students she has worked with as a professor at the <span style="text-decoration: underline; color: #0000ff;"><a href="http://www.mhcc.edu/" target="_blank"><span style="text-decoration: underline; color: #0000ff;">Mt Hood Community College</span></a></span>. She shared a message that excellence can come from the “bottom” up – from people who have spent time in jail, from the homeless, from illegal immigrants – and that it is our responsibility to keep an eye out for their talents and not to pass everyone through a lens that only celebrates those from a certain background, a certain level of education, or a certain aesthetic. We, as human beings, are all pieces of each other and it is our responsibility to lift each other up.</span></p>
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<p><strong><span style="color: #333333;">Over the next several posts, I will work through what were for me the highlights of the conference, thematically:</span> <span style="color: #333333;"><span style="text-decoration: underline; color: #0000ff;"><em><a href="http://crafthaus.ning.com/group/mfaguidebook/forum/topics/redefining-the-residency-alliance-of-artists-communities-annual" target="_self"><span style="color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline;">Redefining the Residency</span></a></em></span></span><span style="color: #333333;">, <em><span style="text-decoration: underline; color: #0000ff;"><a href="http://crafthaus.ning.com/group/mfaguidebook/forum/topics/community-engagement-social-practice-alliance-of-artists-1" target="_self"><span style="color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline;">Community Engagement & Social Practice</span></a></span></em>, and <em><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><span style="color: #0000ff;"><a href="http://crafthaus.ning.com/group/mfaguidebook/forum/topics/diversity-versus-inclusion-alliance-of-artists-communities-annual" target="_self"><span style="color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline;">Diversity Versus Inclusion</span></a></span></span></em><i>.</i></span></strong></p>
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<p><span style="color: #333333;"><i>*<em>This article was written by Jessica Todd in her personal capacity. The opinions expressed in this article are the author's own and do not reflect the view of the Rauschenberg Residency or the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation.</em></i></span></p> DIY Artist Residency: In Residence at Hometag:crafthaus.ning.com,2015-12-14:2104389:Topic:5290612015-12-14T12:36:03.168ZJessica Toddhttp://crafthaus.ning.com/profile/JessTodd
<p><span style="color: #333333;">I work full time as the Residency Coordinator at the <span style="color: #3366ff;"><a href="http://www.rauschenbergfoundation.org/residency" target="_blank"><span style="color: #3366ff;">Rauschenberg Residency</span></a></span> in Captiva, Florida. Seven times a year I watch a group of wide-eyed artists arrive with brainfuls of possibilities, work intensely for five weeks, and emerge at the end marveling at all they’ve achieved and reflecting upon a…</span></p>
<p><span style="color: #333333;">I work full time as the Residency Coordinator at the <span style="color: #3366ff;"><a href="http://www.rauschenbergfoundation.org/residency" target="_blank"><span style="color: #3366ff;">Rauschenberg Residency</span></a></span> in Captiva, Florida. Seven times a year I watch a group of wide-eyed artists arrive with brainfuls of possibilities, work intensely for five weeks, and emerge at the end marveling at all they’ve achieved and reflecting upon a life-changing experience. It’s fulfilling, inspiring, and the very thing that makes my job more than a desk job. But, as an artist, it’s a tad bittersweet. Working a full-time, nine-to-five, Monday-to-Friday desk job has left me with less creative energy than I imagined it would. Despite the fact that I worked far longer hours in grad school – between studio time, teaching, assistantship duties, art sales, my Etsy shop, and waitressing – I felt far more creative and was far more productive. It had flow. It was flexible. Something about my regimented week curbs that flow, and I’ve talked to enough fellow creative nine-to-fivers to know I’m not alone.</span></p>
<p><span style="color: #333333;">This led me to think: Why not do my own residency, for myself? This fall I attended the <span style="color: #3366ff;"><a href="http://www.artistcommunities.org/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #3366ff;">Alliance of Artists Communities</span></a></span> annual conference in Providence and learned that artist communities come in an incredibly diverse range of forms, but there is one common thread: The offering of time and space. It’s that simple. So rather than gazing enviously at residencies I can’t attend for various reasons – work schedule, cost, qualifications, etc. – I realized it would be quite easy to create my own. I also realized that now, thanks to my job, I’m pretty well-versed in what it takes to create a residency and that I can help others to build their own “DIY Artist Residency.” And so, this holiday break, I’m signing up for the Jess Todd Residency – live/work space included, no travel costs to cover, low-cost meals available, no fees – a no-pressure residency with all the comforts of home.</span></p>
<p><span style="color: #333333;">So, how do you transform “home” into “residency”? I looked to my job and thought about all of the components that come together to create the magical residency experience:</span></p>
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<p><span style="color: #333333;"><strong><u>THE DAY-TO-DAY</u></strong></span></p>
<p><span style="color: #333333;"><b>Find the Time</b>: This can be challenging for some, but is actually easier than you think. If you were offered the residency opportunity of a lifetime, would you be able to make the time for it? Of course! You would find a way and make it happen. The advantage of your DIY Residency is that it’s extremely flexible. I’m doing mine during a holiday break I already have from work – 11 days – but it can be any length of time, from a long weekend to a month or more depending on your schedule.</span></p>
<p><span style="color: #333333;"><b>Prepare for Departure</b>: If you were leaving home for the length of your DIY Residency, what would you need to get done? Get the everyday stuff out of the way - clean, do the laundry, pay bills – in short, clear your to-do list. Get a partner, friend or sitter to watch the kids or pets, and tell friends and family you’re on a stay-cation… that doesn’t include them. Again, imagine you finally got the residency opportunity of your dreams – it’s a time you’re allowed to be selfish!</span></p>
<p><span style="color: #333333;"><b>Plan Meals</b>: Many residencies offer meals because grocery shopping and cooking are time consuming. Cook up a freezable-meal storm and portion out dinners for the length of your residency. Get quick, easy meals for breakfast and lunch – sandwiches, canned soups, take-out – whatever you’re into. Unless you’re a rare gem who’s inspired by cooking, it’s just a distraction.</span></p>
<p><span style="color: #333333;"><b>Power Off</b>: Get the Netflix and Facebook out of your system beforehand. Put an away message on your email or online shop. Limit your work-related and social/entertainment-based use of technology as much as possible.</span></p>
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<p><span style="color: #333333;"><strong><u>THE WORK & STUDIO</u></strong></span></p>
<p><span style="color: #333333;"><b>Plan Ahead, or Don’t</b>: Some artists like to go into a residency with a clear idea of a body of work they’ve been wanting to get to for years, and others come completely open to experimentation and whim. It’s up to you and how you operate best, but it’s a good idea to allow for a little of both structure and freedom.</span></p>
<p><span style="color: #333333;"><b>Studio Space</b>: If you have a studio space that typically serves as your place of work (i.e., you create work to sell, for example), clear everything work-related out. The same goes if your studio doubles as a home office, laundry room, or junk storage unit – find a temporary home for distractions. If you don’t have a dedicated studio, set up a workspace – no matter the size – that is void of your everyday life. Add things that help it feel new, separate, and peaceful, such as artwork, room dividers, hanging sheets, lighting, music, etc.</span></p>
<p><span style="color: #333333;"><b>Materials & Equipment</b>: Even if you don’t have an exact plan, think about what you may be interested in working on. Find, collect, buy, borrow, or rent the materials and equipment you need and have them ready and waiting for you on the first day of your DIY Residency.</span></p>
<p><span style="color: #333333;"><b>Funding</b>: Your DIY Residency’s “stipend” can come from a variety of sources: application-based grants, sponsorship from a gallery, crowdsourcing, sales of all varieties (yard, bake, art, etc.), cashing in spare change, or your bank account, for example. But just because you don’t have a big wad of cash doesn’t mean you can’t conduct meaningful research and experimentation, or even create complete works, with free or low-cost materials.</span></p>
<p><span style="color: #333333;"><b>Studio Assistance</b>: Unless you have a studio assistant already or a reliable and talented friend open to bribery, this could be tricky. You don’t want to waste time training someone, so consider avenues for outsourcing – laser or plasma cutting, 2D or 3D printing, CNC routing, fabrication services, or handwork by local tradespeople.</span></p>
<p><span style="color: #333333;"><b>Local Research</b>: Many artists find inspiration in the physical location of a residency. Is your work influenced by place? Plan trips to local museums, libraries, or educational/cultural centers to conduct research. Depending on your practice, this may be integral to your work time or may occur ahead of time. Take time to notice your neighborhood and surroundings with fresh eyes – walk, talk, sketch, collect, and think as if you are there for the first time.</span></p>
<p><span style="color: #333333;"><b>Other Research</b>: Gather reading materials online, at a local library, or via interlibrary loan so that you have everything on hand to start research. Plan trips for site-specific research prior to the residency.</span></p>
<p><span style="color: #333333;"><b>Community Outreach</b>: Many artists find community outreach to be an important aspect of their time at a residency. Will your work go further with community connections? If so, plan any meetings or outreach programs ahead of time with local schools, organizations, artists, etc.</span></p>
<p><span style="color: #333333;"><b>Fellow Resident Artists</b>: Interaction and collaboration with fellow resident artists is a big part of artist communities. Unless you have a guest bedroom and a big studio you’re willing to share, you’ll need to get creative with this one. Challenge an artist friend or colleague to do his/her own DIY Residency concurrently. Set up meeting times throughout – in person or via Skype – to discuss your research and progress.</span></p>
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<p><span style="color: #333333;">This concept of “time away” is something I hear about over and over and over at my job – how invaluable that simple thing is to one’s work. Rather than waiting around for the opportunity to do a residency – whether the restriction is time, money, family obligations, or the competitive nature/availability of artist communities – create your own opportunity. Award yourself the residency you’ve always wanted.</span></p>
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<p><span class="font-size-3" style="color: #ff0000;">Comments and suggestions are welcomed and encouraged!</span></p> MFA Student Interview Series | Gaelin Craigheadtag:crafthaus.ning.com,2015-11-06:2104389:Topic:5261972015-11-06T19:01:32.601ZJessica Toddhttp://crafthaus.ning.com/profile/JessTodd
<p style="text-align: center;"><span class="font-size-3" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; color: #333333;">MFA Student Interview Series | Gaelin Craighead…</span></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><span class="font-size-3" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; color: #333333;"><span style="color: #333333;"><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1058714967?profile=original" target="_self"><img class="align-center" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1058714967?profile=RESIZE_320x320" width="200"></img></a></span></span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; color: #333333;" class="font-size-3">MFA Student Interview Series | Gaelin Craighead</span></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; color: #333333;" class="font-size-3"><span style="color: #333333;"><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1058714967?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="200" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1058714967?profile=RESIZE_320x320" width="200" class="align-center"/></a></span></span><em style="color: #333333; text-align: left;"><span class="font-size-2">Gaelin Craighead received a BFA from Louisiana Tech University in 2013. She is now in her third year at Florida State University working toward her MFA in Studio Art. Gaelin's website: <a href="http://www.gaelin-craighead.com/">http://www.gaelin-craighead.com/</a></span></em></p>
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<p><span style="color: #333333;"><b>Tell us about your work.</b></span></p>
<p><span style="color: #333333;">In my work I use repetitive sewing techniques that allow me to reflect on my personal history and spirituality. This process serves as an avenue for spiritual meditation, through which I create visuals that are loosely narrative. I work in techniques such as weaving, embroidery and fabric collage, incorporating a variety of found materials and fibers.</span></p>
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<p><span style="color: #333333;"><b>What were the major reasons you decided to attend an MFA program?</b></span></p>
<p><span style="color: #333333;">I decided to get an MFA because I would like to teach art at the college level. I also wanted the opportunity to develop my artistic practice even further.</span></p>
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<p><span style="color: #333333;"><b>What were the major factors that led you to choose the MFA program you’re currently attending?</b></span></p>
<p><span style="color: #333333;">I chose Florida State because my program offers assistantships to cover tuition – that was a major draw for me. Tuition is paid in exchange for working as a lab monitor or teaching foundations courses.</span></p>
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<p><span style="color: #333333;"><b>What is your best piece of advice for applicants when choosing a program?</b></span></p>
<p><span style="color: #333333;">I would advise applicants that if they are about to attend an institution that will cause them to take out immense loans, to be aware of that reality and what it entails. I caution them not to overlook some of the less popular MFA programs that might offer assistance to them. You can make your artwork all over the country, it just depends where you want to be situated.</span></p>
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<p><span style="color: #333333;"><b>Describe a typical day in your life as an MFA student.</b></span></p>
<p><span style="color: #333333;">My day usually starts with working in the sculpture lab as a part of my assistantship or teaching 3D Foundations. That is followed by time in the studio working on my current projects or researching and writing about my practice. After quite a few hours, it’s time for dinner. Usually I head home and either do my homework, grade my students’ work, or work on small weavings on the couch.</span></p>
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<p><span style="color: #333333;"><b>What do you enjoy most about being an MFA student? What is your greatest struggle?</b></span></p>
<p><span style="color: #333333;">I most enjoy not having to worry about maintaining a full-time job – the chance to focus on my artistic practice for three entire years is one that cannot be matched. Sometimes I struggle with getting caught in a routine. You have to remember to question and challenge yourself in your work – it’s what makes you a better artist.</span></p>
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<p><span style="color: #333333;"><b>What is your best piece of financial advice for potential and/or current MFA students?</b></span></p>
<p><span style="color: #333333;">Try to find a school that fits your needs as an artist and also provides funding. But, if you have to take out loans, don’t take out more than you need just so that you can live nicely. If you need more finances for your practice – for example, if you have an expensive medium – apply for grants or look for other resources. Imagine yourself post-MFA: The amount of stress you would be under financially if you had taken out large loans, or how it would be to live simply, with just the basics, without a lot of debt. I would gladly take the second option.</span></p>
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<p><span style="color: #333333;"><b>What are your career plans following grad school? How do you feel your degree has helped facilitate your plans?</b></span></p>
<p><span style="color: #333333;">I plan on looking for college-level teaching jobs as well as opportunities to show my work in galleries or other institutions. I am also looking into artist residency programs after graduation. I think my MFA will help me to advance in my career and has prepared me to apply for jobs or galleries without being fearful.</span></p>
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<p><span style="color: #333333;"><b>Is there anything else you’d like to add to assist prospective and current MFA students?</b></span></p>
<p><span style="color: #333333;">Don’t let anyone tell you what your artwork is about – it’s your work, so stand up for yourself and be confident about what you’re making. Take grad school seriously – wherever you’re accepted, remember that they didn’t have to choose you, so be grateful for the opportunity and get some work done! It’s going to be really hard and you will probably want to quit a few times, but stick it out because it’s worth it and you’ll come out on the other side a better artist.</span></p>
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<p><span style="color: #333333;"><strong>Gaelin's work:</strong></span></p>
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<p><span style="color: #333333;"><strong><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1058715521?profile=original" target="_self"><span style="color: #333333;"><img width="750" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1058715521?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" width="750" class="align-full"/></span></a></strong></span></p>
<p><span style="color: #333333;"><i>I Hope That’s all I Got, Hinton Waist</i> and <i>You Look Better With Your Hair Down</i> (left to right), yarn, fabric, dress patterns, 65” x 20” x 2”, 2015 (photo by artist)</span></p>
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<p><span style="color: #333333;"><b><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1058718334?profile=original" target="_self"><span style="color: #333333;"><img width="750" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1058718334?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" width="750" class="align-full"/></span></a></b></span></p>
<p><span style="color: #333333;"><i>Trinity</i>, yarn, 14” x 8”, 2015 (photo by artist)</span></p>
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<p><span style="color: #333333;"><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1058718351?profile=original" target="_self"><span style="color: #333333;"><img width="750" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1058718351?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" width="750" class="align-full"/></span></a></span></p>
<p><span style="color: #333333;"><i>Pieced</i>, mono-printed fabric, scraps of found fabric, 10” x 8”, 2015 (photo by artist)</span></p>
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<p><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="color: #3366ff;">Would you like to participate in the <strong>MFA Student Interview Series</strong></span><span><span style="color: #3366ff;">? Learn more here: </span><a href="http://crafthaus.ning.com/profiles/blogs/call-for-artists-mfa-student-interview-series">http://crafthaus.ning.com/profiles/blogs/call-for-artists-mfa-student-interview-series</a></span></span></p>