Residencies

Artist residencies are on the increase in the North East region with a greater number of organisations opting to take on artists in the workplace to produce work, much of which can be displayed after the residency is over.

For the artist, a residency offers them not only studio space but also an opportunity to experience people and places that might otherwise not be available to them. This often has a positive effect on the artist’s development.

For the residency sponsor there can be clear business benefits. The residencies often involve staff involvement in projects, which promotes employee co-operation. The resulting artwork from the residency is often given to or given first refusal to the sponsoring business. Residencies can also provide the sponsor with an alternative creative insight to the workplace and any resulting PR from the residency is also advantageous.

Following a residency promotion event organised by the Sponsors Club, NGI and Northern Arts in May 2002, entitled ‘What the Hell Do We Want an Artist Here For?’, Universal Building Society appointed visual artist, Lionel Playford, for a residency within their offices. As well as working within their head office in Newcastle from March to November 2003, Lionel visited schools linked with the building society. Christine Heslop, from the Universal Building society details her reasons for going ahead with the residency,

‘We believe the scheme will help to raise and develop the profile of the Society within the local area and create interest in the project amongst staff. We also see it as an opportunity to create interest amongst our customers and plan to use it to develop our links with the communities we serve’.

Although most artist residencies involve visual arts other art forms are still possible such as literature and poetry.For more information on the Universal Building Society Residency, go to:

www.theuniversal.co.uk/artistFrameset.html

If you are an artist and you want more information,go to:

www.a-n.co.uk/cgi-bin/db2www.exe/home.d2w/input