Thursday, May 22, 2008

Creative Retreat: Artist communities

Need to revitalize your creative energy? Perhaps you need to treat yourself to a creative retreat, artist colony, or residency. These are programs that support artists by providing time and space for the creation of new work.  A gem of a book is the Artists Communities: A Directory of Residencies that Offer Time and Space for Creativity, and it's just that, a directory. Gone are the days of Google searches and bookmarking! This little directory is chock full of insightful essays by former artists-in-residents like Jhumpa Lahiri and Seiko Tachibana; contains a list of residences across the US and the world; and finally each residency is explained in detail with  mission statements, message from the director, history, past residents and contact information. 

“Artists have always needed patrons and that is what our artists’ communities have become—the least interfering, the least demanding, and the most nourishing patrons of artists.”
Robert MacNeil, Introduction to Artists Communities: A Directory of Residencies that Offer Time and Space for Creativity 


According to the Alliance of Artists Communities –
• There are more than 250 artists’ communities in the U.S., and approximately 200 in another 40 countries worldwide.
• 66% of artists’ communities are multidisciplinary, bringing together all kinds of creative professionals, including visual and performing artists, composers and choreographers, playwrights and poets, creative and scholarly writers, architects and designers, historians, ecologists, scientists, and more. 
• Each year creative communities serve approximately 12,000 artists and provide an estimated $36 million in direct support to artists (in the form of stipends, travel, materials, room/board, technical support, etc.).

Learn about the hundreds of residency opportunities available for artists of all kinds. Find out about locations, offerings, application procedures, and how to get the most out of the experience. 

Alliance of Artists Communities
255 South Main St.
Providence, RI 02903
Phone: (401) 351-4320
Aliance of Artists Communities

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