My time with the Durham Art Guild (DAG), as an artist in residence (AiR) has come to an end. It was bittersweet, excited about the new opportunities in front of me (more to come) but sad I won’t see everyone as often. I can highly recommend this 6-month (ish) artist in residence. I got so much out of it.
I learned a lot about myself through this residence, which could be in part due to the fact I had a lot to learn about being a full-time artist for the first time in my life. Things I learned about myself:
- I am scheduled driven person. Once I left corporate I thought I would never need scheduled meeting requests have my daily life ruled by planned activities. I was so wrong. I need all my meetings in my outlook calendar or I forget. I also need a weekly planner. I have much better focus and also tend to accomplish things with a weekly plan. It is really just a list for me, broken into three parts – Things I want to get done this week (art, business or home activities), stretch goals (activities I would love to do if I have extra time) and lastly things carried over from the previous week which have highest priority.
- I enjoy working in a studio whether at home or outside the home. It is harder to have two spaces though, as you either need two of everything or you need to know what you need to bring with you depending on what you are working on.
- As an introvert, I still find it hard to talk about my art but its easier if I take someone with me especially someone that will help promote my work.
- I’m ok at administration tasks but terrible at the accounting side of my business (as in collecting receipts, mileage, and taxes etc. )
- I need community and access within a future studio space outside my house. If I don’t get those things in a studio space, I can work from home.
- I am terrible about asking for help but I learned when asked not to always jump to “I’m OK” and take time to think about items where I didn’t need to complete them on my own.
- I got a lot out of hanging work I might now have shown if I had more time or I wasn’t restricted to only new work for the show. There was a lot of positive feedback and folks connecting to those pieces I wasn’t sure about. Seeing all the pieces together and hung also gave me a different perspective which let me accept all the pieces.
The residency not only gave me insights into myself but also provide me:
- A close group of people who were my fellow AiR, DAG staff and also, our mentors in the program who I would consider friends. This was the best part of the residency. I cherish the friendships made.
- Networking opportunities. I tried to attend and submit to every event DAG provided or shared. With this I met some more wonderful people, that I need to know in the art community, and other wonderful artists who I can converse with and learn from.
- New Opportunities like First Christmas Market, First Critique, Second Solo Exhibition and more.
- Opportunity to experiment and produce new work for 6-8 months.
- Studio Space outside the house for free was invaluable, especially to work out what I need in a studio space if I was to pay for one outside my house.
- Provided me additional skills in organizing a solo exhibition. Check out my checklist for a show.
There are things I wish I had known before or within the first month of the residence and things I would change:
- I might have missed this originally or it didn’t sink in….The solo show was going to consist of just new work created during the 6-8 month residence. For me, this meant experimenting was really limited to the first two months, as I needed to start finishing things for the show. It worked out for the space 6-8 new pieces were needed for the gallery. I actually wish the residency could be longer to get more time to experiment.
- A guide on what is needed for a successful solo show. Activities list, I should look at and dates in which I should have these completed.
Other than that, the experience is amazing, something every artist should get a chance to experience (especially as an emerging artist).
If you are interested, the 2024 -2025 program (July – December with a show in 2025) is currently open for applications. You can apply here by 1st May 2024.