By Emily Goligoski
Photo above: Berlin Reed brought a special studio assistant during his 2023 residency at Wassaic Project, by Jeff Barnett-Winsby
Artist residencies are notoriously competitive. With hordes of applicants jockeying for limited slots, hiding one’s parental status from residency selection committees is not uncommon. Get in first, then figure out the rest later, is how the thinking goes.
But, finally, residency programs are starting to welcome not just artists but the children and elderly loved ones they care for. With some creative scheduling and a commitment to working artists who happen to be parents, these innovative programs in the region are worth watching.
1. Collar Works
Granville, NY
A 77-acre farm provides the backdrop for the Elizabeth Murray Artist Residency (EMAR), created in 2017 to offer support, respite, and productive time for emerging, established, and underrepresented artists. (For the non-artists among us, the namesake painter’s work is on view at MoMA this spring.)
Elizabeth Dubben, director of Collar Works, said that during the EMAR Parent Residency, “artists have dedicated time and space in the studios to focus on their work and to build connections with fellow artists, while their children participate in a parallel residency in the form of a week-long art and nature program.” Artists, their family members, and staff eat a communal dinner together each evening.
2. Wassaic Project
Wassaic, NY
Started in 2015 following the urging of past residents who expressed a wish to bring their dependents, the Wassaic Project’s Family Residency program welcomes children and elderly parents. Once it was able to secure a private house where family artists-in-residence could stay, the artist-founded Wassaic Project was keen to oblige the request.
Co-founder and artist Eve Biddle said, “We recognize that artists who have caregiving relationships, as providers or recipients, often opt out of peer community building for practical reasons, and we aim to provide family accommodations which increase access to our residency program.”
While some residencies consolidate family visits, Wassaic Project mixes individuals and families throughout the year, encouraging networking with people who aren’t caregivers to further the practices of all participating artists.
“Sometimes what you miss as an artist parent is those longer stretches of time to hang out and chat with other artists and be in community, especially as art openings are around kids’ bedtimes and few—although it’s starting to change—residencies allow families to attend,” said Hannah Rowan, an artist who took part in a Wassaic Project residency 10 years ago and returned with her family last summer. “The folks running Wassaic are really perceptive to those needs and in tune to what makes a fun residency.”
3. MASS MoCA
North Adams
When asked why she believes that hosting visiting artists’ family members is important, Senior Manager of The Studios at MASS MoCA Carolina Porras Monroy put it simply: “Attending artist residencies is a privilege many cannot afford!” She went on, “Many residencies do not have the infrastructure to support artists to bring their families with them, which means that parents are pulled away from their children when they have artistic opportunities.” Porras Monroy is an expert on the topic: She catalogs artist residency programs across the U.S. as co-publisher of Piney Wood Atlas guides.
Artists selected for the Family Residency program receive a fully supported two-week residency that comes with a $600 stipend, 24/7 access to an assigned studio on MASS MoCA’s campus, and a private apartment near the museum. Applicants can submit in September and October for residencies the following August, with timing aligned to Camp MASS MoCA. Children of artists-in-residence gain access to the museum’s day camp, with sessions this summer set to include weeks for Cardboard Everything! and Skateparks, Arts, and Advocacy.
