WHAT ARE THE MOTIVATIONS AND BENEFITS FOR ARTISTS?
Artists do residencies because it gives them time and space, and allows them
to develop their artistic practice.
In general, artists seek residencies that offer:



Time and resources for reflection and experimentation;
Development of artistic practice; and
Opportunities to connect with other artists who can stimulate ideas and
possibilities.
Figure 1: Motivations for artist residencies (all respondents, n=244)
Time and space for your practice
62%
Developing your artistic practice
51%
Furthering your professional career
37%
Connecting with other artists
29%
Interest in the host institution
19%
Opportunity to exhibit, perform, present or publish
17%
Stipend or financial support
14%
Access to specialised resources e.g. archives
13%
Connecting with new markets
12%
Prestige and recognition of being selected
11%
Learning a new skill or technique
9%
Other
9%
Connecting to other artists is a particularly strong driver for residents early on
in their career.
Figure 2: Motivations for artist residencies by career stage
n=
Interest in the host institution
Beginning/
starting out
Becoming
established
Established
52
116
73
15%
21%
21%
Access to specialised resources e.g.
archives or equipment
Time and space for your practice
6%
14%
18%
69%
60%
59%
Developing your artistic practice
52%
52%
49%
Furthering your professional career
37%
38%
38%
Connecting with new markets
Connecting with other artists
Prestige and recognition of being
selected
Stipend or financial support
Opportunity to exhibit, perform, present or
publish
Learning a new skill or technique
2%
52%
11%
22%
22%
23%
17%
13%
3%
10%
12%
21%
12%
22%
14%
12%
9%
8%
Other
4%
13%
8%
Motivations to undertake a residency vary by art form. Literature residents were
generally motivated by the offer of time and space and connecting to other artists.
Visual Arts residents were more motivated to develop their practice and have access
to specialist resources, such as archives, collections or equipment. Artists in
Emerging and Experimental Arts practice were largely motivated by their interest in
the host institution and furthering their professional careers.
Artists benefit from career boost that comes with doing a residency.
Some of the benefits of residencies that were highlighted by the artists were that the
residency experience can:







Inspire you creatively;
Sustain you professionally;
Generate possibilities artistically and professionally;
Build international connections and networks;
Expose you to international trends in your art form;
Build your confidence and pride, and a sense of being taken seriously; and
Provide career boosting prestige and recognition that come with being
awarded a residency.
Benefits of the residency:
“The residency was extremely valuable to me as it allowed me to immerse myself in
a city at the epicentre of the contemporary art world whilst also allowing me to
establish relationships with galleries, curators, writers and other artists which have
since resulted in multiple career advancements and achievements.”
The confidence boost and recognition that comes with being awarded a residency
was also acknowledged:
“Being awarded an international residency, or any residency for that matter, is a
wonderful endorsement to have. As an artist, many are not able to feel pride in what
they do and share their experiences with more people. So this is a very enriching
and important part of a residency.”
The residency providers said that residencies:





Are an engine room for contemporary practice;
Are a place for research and development;
Lead to performances, exhibitions and publishing outcomes;
Give artists an “enormous lift” from the interaction with other artists; and
Contribute to Australia’s arts reputation internationally.
The key outcomes achieved by artists on residency are the expansion of
networks, improvement of artistic practice and increased confidence.
“It’s the difference between making work and showing work, because you can make
work anywhere, but the good thing about the one I did last year is because I knew
there would be an outcome because there was this performance, and then I guess
the point of meeting curators is this possibility you get to show your work.”
“I think a residency works really well if there is some active collaboration, the artist
feels that something has happened, changed, knowledge is gained, the place and
people have a certain impact on the project and the artist. I do not think that there
has to be an artwork in the end to measure the success of a certain residency.”
Figure 3: Outcomes achieved as a result of residency (all respondents, n=244)
Expanded your network of contacts
73%
83%
Improved or expanded your practice
71%
84%
Gained confidence in yourself as an
artist
64%
Created a new work
55%
Increased your public profile
Been commissioned to create work
Increased sales of your work
76%
39%
Presented or published work
Been invited to collaborate
75%
65%
35%
69%
17%
33%
10%
5%
Outcomes ever
achieved
29%
Outcomes achieved
by end of residency
20%
Increased confidence as an artist was a key outcome of residencies for early career
artists, and became less important for established artists. Established artists were
slightly more likely than early career artists to feel that they had improved their
practice as a result of their residency.
Figure 4: Outcomes achieved by end of residency by career stage
Beginning/
starting out
Becoming
established
Established
52
116
73
Improved or expanded your practice
60%
73%
75%
Expanded your network of contacts
84%
72%
71%
Created a new work
50%
59%
53%
Been invited to collaborate
14%
18%
18%
Been commissioned to create work
6%
16%
4%
Presented or published work
28%
41%
32%
Increased your public profile
Gained confidence in yourself as an artist
Increased sales of your work
36%
86%
2%
41%
66%
3%
40%
47%
8%
Other
0%
6%
1%
n=
Residencies had slightly different outcomes for different art forms. Improved practice
was a major outcome for Dance, Emerging and Experimental Arts, Theatre and
Visual Arts. Gaining confidence as an artist was most common for Literature.
Figure 5: Outcomes achieved by end of residency by art form
Dance
n=
Improved or expanded your
practice
Expanded your network of
contacts
Created a new work
Been invited to collaborate
Been commissioned to
create work
Presented or published work
Increased your public profile
Gained confidence in
yourself as an artist
Emerging &
Literature
Experimental
Theatre
Visual Arts
21*
35
96
24*
91
86%
83%
57%
79%
84%
76%
80%
77%
71%
74%
24%
19%
63%
29%
47%
8%
33%
29%
78%
22%
5%
14%
4%
13%
15%
29%
43%
51%
40%
20%
29%
25%
42%
52%
46%
57%
49%
70%
50%
63%
Increased sales of your work
0%
3%
3%
0%
8%
Other
0%
3%
2%
0%
2%
* Small sample size, therefore results should be read with caution. Please note, Aboriginal
and Torres Strait Islander Arts, Music, and Community and Cultural Development were not
included due to small sample sizes.
There can also be flow-on effects that can impact the artist and sector several years
after the residency. These include:



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Artists retain their relationships developed during residencies;
Artists may be invited back to the host organisation or country to present
work;
Artists develop lifelong associations with key presenters, stakeholders,
supporters and friends; and
Artists make contacts which they would not have made without the residency.
One residency connection can lead to others:
“The world of residencies is very interesting because it is a sphere in which we can
exert generosity towards each other. I look back and think about that contact from
Singapore whom I didn’t know very well, and I reflect that the generosity of the
information he gave me was probably the key factor in my residency in Bangkok,
more so than all the other interesting and worthwhile things that occurred.”