The Australia Council for the Arts has announced the 21 successful artists for the 2017-18 International Residencies program. The residencies will provide the artists with the opportunity to develop their practice and build knowledge, networks and partnerships.
Australia Council for the Arts Chief Executive Tony Grybowski congratulated the successful artists and said the Council’s research revealed that artists who undertook residencies felt that it provided critical time and space to advance their professional practice and immerse themselves in a new arts context, community and market.
“An international residency enriches the work of the artist and contributes to Australia’s engagement with creative innovation and meaningful cultural exchange,” said Mr Grybowski. “This is a unique experience for artists to immerse themselves in their chosen art form within a global context, creating connections and partnerships that will support and influence their future work.”
The Australia Council has offered international residencies since 1979, forging relationships with some of the best international residency providers and delivering world-class opportunities for Australian artists across North America, Europe, and Asia.
The 2017-18 Australia Council for the Arts International Residency artists are:
ACME, London
Claire Lambe (Northcote VIC)
Diana Smith (Elizabeth Bay NSW)
BR Whiting, Rome
Josephine Rowe (West Hobart TAS)
Kristel Thornell(Rochester, NEW YORK)
Cité International des Arts Studio, Paris
Melissa Ashley (Riverhills Qld)
Mohini Chandra (Potts Point Nsw)
Nicola Gunn (East Melbourne Vic)
Rachel Arianne Ogle (Mount Lawley Wa)
Experimental Media and Performing Arts Centre, NY
Mish Grigor (Werrington NSW)
Helsinki International Artist Programme, Helsinki
Laith Mcgregor (Kuluin QLD)
Matt Shilcock (Adelaide SA)
Natalie Abbott (Carlton North VIC)
Tessa Rapaport (Newtown NSW)
Keesing Studio, Paris
Michelle Wright (Eltham VIC)
Wayne Macauley (Brunswick VIC)
Kluge-Ruhe, Virginia
Carol Mcgregor (Ashgrove QLD)
Julie Gough (West Hobart TAS)
Künstlerhaus Bethanien, Berlin
Brook Andrew (Sneddon VIC)
Nashville Songwriters’ Residency
Larissa Tandy (Murchison VIC)
Omi International Arts Centre (Dance), New York
Anna Seymour (Northcote VIC)
Omi International Arts Centre (Music), New York
Jeremy Rose (Marrickville NSW)
The Australia Council’s International Residencies Program (IRP) is an invaluable platform for individual artists to further their practice in a global context, exploring new markets and opening up opportunities for international collaborations. It ensures that the future of Australian international arts activity is supported through extensive knowledge building, networking, skills development, and the presence of Australian work across Europe, America, and Asia.
The Council’s partnerships with world-class international residency providers enables a suite of programs that support the development of new work, acceleration of artistic practice, and cultural exchange. As a result of these opportunities writers have published novels, plays and poetry collections during their residencies and artists across art forms have gone on to divide their practice between continents, form long-term collaborations with their international counterparts, and exhibit and present work in some of the world’s most prestigious galleries, theatres, and venues.
Visual artist Rebecca Baumann, who participated in a three month residency at HIAP in 2016 said her Australia Council residency was timely. “My residency enabled me to undertake research that delivered outcomes across a wide spectrum,” said Ms Baumann.
“From research and development of new innovative work, an exhibition of some of these outcomes at the Art Gallery of Western Australia and helped to create opportunities for further exhibitions in Australia and overseas (New Zealand, Los Angeles and Hong Kong) which have the potential to deliver further market and audience development.”
The IRP sits within the Australia Council’s wider international program of activity, which include outbound programs that enable artists, arts mediators and arts organisations to participate in international platforms and inbound programs which support incoming delegations in conjunction with key Australian events. These activities facilitate and build on the global engagement capability of the Australian arts sector.
For more information, visit: www.australiacouncil.gov.au for details.
Image: Nicola Gunn in Piece for Person and Ghetto Blaster – photo by Sarah Walker