Image description: A group of conference attendees for the 2023 Res Artis Conference: 'Mind the Gap: designing residencies for everyone'- hosted by Acme with University College London. Image courtesy of Hydar Dewachi. [Image description: A large group of attendees of the 'Mind the Gap' Res Artis Conference stand and sit outside of UCL East.]
Res Artis thanks all of the wonderful 200+ attendees of our recent annual conference. 'Mind the Gap: designing residencies for everyone' took place from 6th - 9th September 2023. It was hosted by Acme at University College London (UCL). Acme brought together a stellar line-up of speakers and presenters from all over the world. The conference addressed issues of access, inclusion, diversity and equity within the arts residency sector. We have left London with a lot of questions, suggestions and thought-provoking conversations and are working hard to implement what we have learnt in our current strategic planning. We can't wait to share some of our insights and information from presenters with you over the coming months! Stay tuned...

Image description: Agency AiR. artists Sonja and Elisa Jane Carmichael Residency at Garambi Baan, Eltham. March 2023. Photograph courtesy of Timothy Hillier.
Agency AiR is a program of residencies dedicated to First Nations participants, developed by Agency in collaboration with different partners. The program includes: urban residencies, regional residencies, community-based residencies, hybrid residencies (with both IRL and digital components), and international residencies. Residencies are offered to First Nations artists, curators, writers, cultural leaders, Elders, experts and art practitioners—selected by invitation or through an EOI process.

Image credit: Photograph courtesy of Res Artis Member Sam Rit Residency in Thailand. [Image description: 4 people connected with the Sam Rit Residency Program in Thailand facing and pointing at the camera.]
Head to the Res Artis Youtube channel to watch artist Clayton Junior(Berlin) create an alphabet for school children through the Waaw residency program in Senegal; see artists working in the desert of South Africa through the Tankwa Artscape Residency; experience the multi-artform programming of Arts Letters & Numbers in the United States; hear from feminist artists at Centre Pompadour in France; and discover the possibilities of Sam Rit Residency in Thailand!

"Womb" by Shaymaa Sjoukry. Documentation courtesy of Mostafa Abdel Aty. [Image description: A photograph of artist Shaymaa Shoukry performing 'Womb'. The artist is semi-lit, standing and facing the camera and has a light source held in either hand.]
"Being on a creative residency is akin to experiencing a shift in the fabric of time and space. It's a transformative journey that allows one to transcend the boundaries of reality and access the inner realm where inspiration and manifestation intertwine. It becomes a profound dialogue between the artist and the untapped potential that lies within, eagerly waiting to be expressed. Moreover, the magic of the present moment within the residency space intertwines with this process, offering its unique energy and insights. A creative residency serves as a solid foundation for delving into a profound creative process, acting as the cornerstone of a transformative journey of creation." - Shaymaa Shoukry
Shaymaa Shoukry is a multidisciplinary artist with a background in visual arts, interested in integrating diverse disciplines in her creations. She thrives on a passion for choreographing, performing, and creating video art and is motivated and inspired by working collectively, while developing personal work in an organic build-up process, where each project paves the way for the next. Shaymaa presented at our recent annual conference!

Image courtesy of Res Artis Member BIRCA, Denmark. [Image Description: A group of people sitting outside on grass in a circle.]
We have been busy at Res Artis, starting conversations with residency providers, artists and cultural professionals to assess the main needs and issues that exist within the arts residency sector in relation to access, inclusion and diversity. The information we collect over the coming months will be used to create resources for our Members, to ensure their programs are as inclusive as possible.Do you have a story you want to tell relating to access within arts residencies? We want to hear from you!
Email our Communication & Program Coordinator Josephine Mead: josephine@resartis.org

"I left Wollemi feeling creatively nourished and with a dossier of new artwork ideas in tow. My time was focused by working with the premise of a broken chord to create a fractured composition, performed with disfigured string instruments, for the fire damaged forests of the Blue Mountains. My aim was to re-imagine troubled ecologies between human-nature relationships through ruptured song, while considering the landscape through multiple lenses: such as that of colonisation, feminism, isolation, phenomenology, coexistence, trauma, loss and life cycles. My ambition was to engage with the complex history and scars of this landscape and to position art as a navigational tool to work through dissonance and to find the points at which harmony sits, strikes or sings. The inspiration gleaned from living alongside this distinctive site still persists within me." - Jen Valender
Jen Valender is a contemporary artist who works site-specifically to create performative encounters on and with the landscape that raise questions about arts subsequent relationship to the natural world.

Our friends at Culture Action Europehave been busy producing 'The Culture For Health and Well-being Compendium!' It's available to download for free through the CAE website...
The Culture for Health and Well-being Compendium is a very practical guide for those interested to design, improve or scale up effective cultural interventions aimed at improving health and well-being. CultureForHealth reflects the European Commission’s recognition that culture can have health and well-being benefits. But what are these benefits exactly and how can they be unleashed and supported by European, national and local actors and decision-makers? These questions were among the starting points of the CultureForHealth report, which summarises a review of existing academic studies and other documents and makes recommendations with the aim of triggering policy change and bringing the health, cultural and social fields closer together.

Around the world, socially engaged artists are being threatened, harassed, and persecuted by authoritarian governments. Artists at Risk Connection's new report documents the ways artists are fighting back against these menacing tactics and urges the art world and human rightd organisations to improve information sharing, collaboration, and coalition building, and jointly advocate for the development of policy frameworks that better define artistic freedom and guarantee the safety and wellbeing of artists.
“Art is Power: 20 Artists on How They Fight for Justice and Inspire Change” spotlights artists in 20 countries who use their creative talents to uplift, sustain, and mobilize social and political movements around the world. ARC issues a call to action for international organizations to extend the protections afforded to human rights defenders to artists on the frontlines of social movements and expand other safeguards for them.The report draws on interviews with five experts from the field – among them, Karima Bennoune, the former UN Special Rapporteur in the field of cultural rights – as well as in-depth conversations with 20 profiled artists.

Image credit:IImage: Herman's Library in der Akademie Schloss Solitude. Photograph courtesy of Jana Hochdorfer. [Image Description: A close up photograph of books in a shelf.]
Do you have publications or ephemera that you would be willing to donate to the Res Artis Library? At our global headquarters in Melbourne, Australia we have an archive of books and ephemera, collected from valued Members and partner-organisations over our multi-decade history. The collection celebrates the diversity and innovations of the arts residency sector. We are always interested in adding to the archive, to ensure our Member's work, projects, and initiatives can be shared and appreciated for decades to come! We want to celebrate the work done by our Members and the creatives they support. If you have produced or own publications relating to residency experiences and would like to donate to the Res Artis archive, please post any materials to:
Res Artis
44 Glasshouse Road, Collingwood, Victoria, Australia, 3002.