To find out more about artists currently in residence at Crescent Arts, click on the images or follow the links by name. If you want more information about studio residencies or about how to apply for a residency, read on.
Information about studio residencies
Crescent Arts offers studio residencies at subsidised rents to provide artists with the opportunity and support to develop their work in a stimulating environment.
Helen Donnelly's studio at Crescent ArtStudios
Professional development is a key factor and artists are encouraged to work strategically to promote their practice beyond the studio; whether this is through exhibitions, off-site projects, presentations, educational activities or cultural exchange.
Artists and Crescent Arts’ Director, Stuart Cameron, work closely together to identify appropriate and realistic goals. Training and support is provided whenever possible to assist artists in planning for and achieving their aims. Crescent Arts can provide modest financial support for training, research and development which at the same time enhances our artistic and cultural programme.
Artists are encouraged to contribute to the running of the gallery, studios and workshops programme by providing services in these areas for appropriate remuneration.
Resident artists are expected to share their skills and experience and frequently organise group projects and exhibitions. Prospective resident artists are considered in terms of their ability to contribute to collaborative ventures; and of course for the potential of their individual work.
Studios are licenced to artists at a subsidised rent of £40 per month which includes heating, lighting and office facilities. The Licence is renewable on a quarterly basis for a period of up to 18 months, during which time artists are expected to make their work available for public presentation promoted by Crescent Arts through exhibition, intervention, publication or other appropriate means.
How to apply
We are particularly interested in artists whose work is innovative and challenging and especially those at formative stages in their careers who would benefit most from the facilities and support we can provide. There is no restriction on visual medium or practice (unless otherwise stated). Artists should be able to work consistently in the studio or from it as a base.
To apply, please send a CV, 10 slides / CD / DVD and a short statement (one side A4 maximum) about your work and how you would benefit from working at Crescent Arts. All material should be clearly labelled and include your contact details. If you would like documentation returned, please enclose an SAE.
Please note that currently all studios are occupied and a waiting list for studio applications will be kept on file until such time as studios become available.
Crescent Arts is committed to equal opportunities. Please note that resident studio artists are required to undergo CRB disclosure checks prior to working with children or vulnerable adults.
For an informal discussion and further information please contact:
Stuart Cameron, Director of Crescent Arts
T: 01723 351461 E: stuart.cameron@crescentarts.co.uk
Crescent Arts in Istanbul
Crescent Arts headed to Istanbul in September to sample the offerings of the 11th Istanbul Biennale, entitled “What Keeps Mankind Alive?”, after the song from the Threepenny Opera by Bertholt Brecht. Bed bugs apart, the experience was highly invigorating in terms of both the art on display and the energy of the city and its people. With a smattering of Turkish we managed to find our way round easily, taking in the three main sites of the Biennale – two enormous warehouse spaces and a former Greek School. The latter was put to particularly good use by artists who were mindful of its educational, political and historical context in relation to their work.
Susan Timmins writes:
‘The lack of a sense of a commercial market for the individual artists struck me straight away and was a relief. There was heavy emphasis on power politics, war and economies, cultural and religious differences seemingly stretching back further than the dismantling of the USSR and the subsequent fallout for the ‘new’ nations and other mainland European and Eastern countries. The main theme for me was a massive displacement for peoples of their national identity as their nations either tried to embrace or play capitalism their way, to survive. A struggle with fear to adjust to a new order that they had not necessarily wanted or understood. An exchange sometimes of one hell for another.’
141 projects were presented by 70 artists from 40 different countries. The sheer concentration of artists’ work, selected and curated by the Croatian curators’ collective ‘What, How and for Whom?’ (WHW), was initially rather daunting; especially since textual information and data played such a strong part in the reading of work and providing political context.
Helen Donnelly writes:
‘Many works stood out to me but one particularly was Marko Peljhan’s ‘Territory 1995’. an installation concerning the massacre in Sebrenica Yugoslavia where more than 8,000 people were killed. When entering the installation consisting of a darkened room with sound padded walls and looking into the distance at hanging illuminated glass panels with command signs written onto them, you automatically feel uncomfortable like you shouldn't be there. You get the feeling you are in a radio control room, waiting for the next command. Sounds of radio control commands fill the room. I found this installation to be very eery, the darkness of the room reflecting the darkness of the commanding messages. What was interesting to me was how Marko tries to reconstruct the movement of the troops and the military operations through the use of archiving and documenting and the ways in which modern warfare techniques are used; new and alternative communication systems.
' Istanbul has to be one of the most vibrant cities I have visited. The biennial a must-visit for any artist not only for showing art in unconventional places , but for the insight into the history of conflicts and clashes that have taken place within our developing world, reflecting on the political, and questioning Modernisation, Urbanisation and the architectural conditions of a city.’