The Self-Appointed Artist Residency, Explained
You can be the unofficial artist in residence of anything!
This is the first is a series about the idea of appointing yourself the artist-in-residence of something. You can read much more about this idea right here.
Longtime readers of this newsletter might remember that in 2018, I declared myself the unofficial artist-in-residence of Washington Park, just down the street from my house in Portland, OR. I wrote about it on my blog and in my newsletter at the time, and a reporter from the local paper interviewed me about it in 2020, when everyone was in lockdown and looking for ways to pass the time.
A few months back, I wrote a note here on Substack about how the director of Washington Park asked me if she could use sketches from my unofficial artist residency to make notecards as thank-you gifts for their board of directors. I was happy with this nice, low-key outcome for a decidedly low-key project.
What happened next was definitely not low-key! Hundreds of people liked and shared my note, and many very cool artists wrote back to say that they’d like to declare themselves the artist-in-residence of something. For instance:
has been the unofficial artist in residence of the local national park. wants to be the artist in residence of something, as does . was super enthusiastic and I have a feeling there’s an artist’s residency coming soon! isn’t in one place long enough, but I suggested that a person could be the artist in residence of airports. Or train stations. Or Chinese restaurantsSo given all this enthusiasm, I thought I’d share this idea far and wide and give you all some encouragement to start your own unofficial artist’s residency—and share it right here! And come back early and often for more ideas, support, and inspiration!
What is an artist in residence?
An artist in residence is generally a person who has been invited by a host to come and make art at the host’s location, probably (but not necessarily) about their location. A residency could last any amount of time—a week, a year—and the artist might make any sort of art: music, writing, painting, photography, video, sculpture, dance.
Sometimes a residency involves a little bit of a payment (charitably called a ‘stipend’), and often—but not always—it involves lodging or other travel expenses. Or not—your local museum might have an artist-in-residency program that offers no money or lodging at all, only the freedom to explore the collection and make art about it.
These residencies often have hoops to jump through: applications, interviews, and some sort of obligation to do a public event, show, or community project. If that sounds like it might fall into Thoreau’s “beware of all enterprises that require new clothes” category, then I ask you this:
Why not declare yourself an artist in residence and skip all that hoopla?
The benefits of a self-appointed artist’s residency
No application process
No deadlines
No mission statements or project descriptions
No work samples, portfolio, CV, or letters of recommendation
You don’t have to get dressed up and meet with a committee
You don’t have to give a talk, curate an exhibition, sit for interviews, host a lecture series, or even show your work
All you do is make the art. On your own schedule, in whatever format you prefer, for whatever time frame suits you and the project. Share it or don’t share it, as you wish.
What could you be the artist in residence of?
First, you don’t have to be the artist in residence of a physical place. You could be the artist in residence of jazz! Or spring! Or cats! Or—I don’t know, love. Or grief.
But if you were going to pick a place, what about:
Your local museum, theater, library, or historical site
A farmer’s market, summer concert series, or county fair
Your local bus line! I’d love to be the artist in residence of Portland’s excellent public transit system.
All the trees on your street (spoiler: I’m doing this one now) or birds in your neighborhood
A nearby park, river, mountain, forest, etc.
Your favorite coffee shop, dive bar, breakfast place
An upcoming vacation spot. YES, you can be the self-appointed artist in residence of PARIS if you can get yourself there! Why not?
Your own residence! Here’s a project I did in 2017, where I drew every single thing I loved about my house before I sold it. It was my way of saying good-bye. But it was also my way of being the artist in residence of my own residence
What’s the difference between a self-appointed artist’s residency and any other project?
The difference is how it feels to YOU. Award this honor upon yourself, and I guarantee you’ll feel—well, honored. Important. Proud of your work. Like you’re doing something that matters.
When I was doing my unofficial artist’s residency in Washington Park, people would stop to chat and look at my sketches. Sometimes they’d ask if I was drawing for a class, or if I came to this spot often to draw. I’d say, “Yeah, I’m this year’s artist in residence for the whole park.”
People would say, “Oh wow, I didn’t know they had an artist in residence.”
and I’d say, “Oh, they don’t know they have one either. I appointed myself.”
That always got a laugh. People admire it the plucky spirit of an enterprise like this! They want to get in on the fun themselves!
I would hazard a guess that your friends would even come to a little party to celebrate the completion of your self-appointed artist’s residency. Hold your own event! Buy your own Champagne!
Now it’s your turn
If you want to be the artist in residence of anything at all, I hope you’ll tell me about it in the comments. And if you’re looking for ideas, inspiration, encouragement, stay tuned! Over the weeks and months ahead, I’m going to share many more examples of what artists can do with a residency.
Remember, this does not have to be a drawing or painting project! Do some writing. Take some photographs. Make some videos. Gather up some leaves and press them into a notebook. Try a collage. Knit something. You do you.
I’ve been drawing the trees on my street on and off for a while, but I decided to make it official and be the artist in residence of the trees on my block. (There’s a lot of them! This will take a while.) I have one of these giant 16 inch tall Moleskine watercolor notebooks that I’ve never used, and I think it’s perfect for a tree project. Here’s the first page:
Supporters are taking a deeper dive into the magic of a self-appointed artist residency
I’m so excited about sharing the idea of self-appointed artist residencies that I’m adding so much more for supporters:
Art Lessons, as always: Over the last year, I’ve posted weekly art lessons aimed at helping you to do anything and everything in a sketchbook: drawing in ink, colored pencil, and markers, sketching busy city streets, tranquil landscapes, and whatever’s on your kitchen table. We’ve taken deep dives into some of the more challenging subjects for beginning artists: People, trees, and water, for example.
Over the next year, we’ll do more of that! And I always take requests for art lessons.
Tips and tutorials for short or long-term projects: We’ll also take a deeper dive into what it means to be the artist in residence of something. This can be a short-term project: for instance, this fall, you could be the artist in residence of AUTUMN.
Or it can be a long-term project: you could spend six months or a year as the artist-in-residence of a nearby river, your local public library, your favorite jazz club.
Ideas and prompts for adding writing and other elements: I’ll be there to support you, post art lessons related to the subjects you’re working on, and offer ideas and prompts for adding writing and other elements like collage, photography, and so on.
Chat: We can keep on using Substack’s chat feature to share what we’re working on.
A public gallery for your completed projects! Okay, so this is the thing I’m really excited about: If any of you want to share your completed artist-in-residence project, I’m happy to post it to the free newsletter, which goes out to almost 7000 people and lives on the internet as a page you can share with anyone, anytime.
Giveaways: Oh, and sometimes I give away whatever piece of art I made for the demo.
For the price of a couple of pencils, these art tutorials go out every Friday, and you get access to the full archive. Plus, your support helps keep the lights on around here. Much appreciated.
The Bit at the End
I’m doing a virtual event with the Northwest Horticultural Society about The Tree Collectors on Sept. 11. It’s a ticketed event—details here.
Order signed copies of my new book, The Tree Collectors, from Broadway Books here in Portland.
Come find me on Instagram, or see paintings for sale- Right here
Order signed copies of some of my books from my husband’s bookstore, or order my books and many books I love at Bookshop.org
Take one of my online writing or art classes here
Leave a comment! I love hearing from you!
Voila! When I came to Substack a year ago, I appointed myself literary artist-in-residence of the social and cultural history of the community where my mother grew up and I spent summer vacations as a kid: Warroad, MN. A small town (pop. 1800) on the Canadian border along the shores of Lake of the Woods. My appointment to this residency has been renewed! Oh, joy!
genius idea. i can see such a movement produce joy, wonder, curiosity and overall help re-enchant many things around us. well done 🫶