How to Be a Good Artist-in-Resident
Photo by Eddy Klaus on Unsplash
Are you afraid to apply for your first artist-in-residency because you don’t know if you are ready? Have you been accepted to an artist-in-residency, but are unsure what that actually means? Here are 5 steps for being a great Artist-in-Residence!
Step 1) Clarify
If you only learn one thing from this reading, remember that getting clarification on what the residency organizers expect from you is critical. The only way to meet expectations is to know what they are.
Step 2) Record
Your artist-in-residency is most likely includes a set duration of time when you have access to the residency organizer’s resources (e.g. time, space, funding, materials, etc.). Often times your organizer raised outside funds in order to pay for the resources you will use, so it is helpful if you keep a modest record of when and how you used the available resources. At the end of your residency, you can share this report with the organizers, who can then share it with their funders to prove that the residency was a SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound) decision.
Step 3) Network
If there is an established artist, gallery owner, museum curator, or other art world aficionado you have been hankering to talk with, now is the time to use the big name of your artist-in-residence to start the conversation. Perhaps you can reach out with something like:
Hi [insert their name], my name is [insert your name], and I am an Artist-in-Resident at [insert organization’s name].
This week, my fellow residents and I were discussing our dream dinner guest and when I mentioned you, everyone agreed that I should reach out.
Would you be open to a 20-minute video chat or coffee conversation?
Step 4) Share the Shine
Whether you communicate with your audience via social media, email newsletter, or weekly meetup, make sure to take time and shout-out your residency organizers. For example, if the organizers have an event coming up, share the link to buy tickets.
Step 5) Be Quotable
Finally, your residency organizers will want to talk about the success of their program once it is over, and you can help by organizing the details of what you did, who you served, where you created impact, and how you changed lives. Here’s an example from my archive: bit.ly/WonderStarWorkshop.
Curious about what is going on inside the mind of an Artist-in-Residence organizer? Hear from Lean Brenner Clark - Executive Director of Street Wise Arts - episode 12 of the Wonder Stars of the Universe podcast to learn how she makes decisions and defines success!
