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.

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 £45 per month which
includes heating, lighting and office facilities. The Licence is renewable on a
quarterly basis for a period of up to 2 years, 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

Crescent Arts advertises residencies as studios become available.
We do not accept applications at any other times, but are happy to provide
information packs in response to enquiries and for further reference.

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.

For an information pack, informal discussion or further information please contact:
Stuart Cameron, Director of Crescent Arts (Studio Applications)
T: 01723 351461  E: info@crescentarts.co.uk

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.

Crescent Arts in Istanbul

Crescent Arts Director and artists visited Istanbul for the Biennial in September 2011.
It was yet another fascinating and thought provoking experience.

Susan Slann, one of our resident artists, comments:
‘The personal and the political. The personal is political. A theme which ran through the
Istanbul Biennial, referencing the works of Felix Gonzalez-Torres whilst showcasing a mix
of new and established artists from all over the world.

In one room stood a large sculpture formed from the barrels and butts of rifles.
It dominated the room and flowed down from the ceiling like a cascading waterfall.
The Dutch artist Eylem Aladogen, commented that this work had arisen from his fascination
with the idea of generating willpower; of having the courage and capacity to discover
or re-discover latent abilities in yourself and to develop them. The rifles, although referencing
violence, also represents the need to change and evolve and with change there is also fear.

A powerful piece of work, which on first glance seemed to comment purely on violent
political struggles.  Another look and it also contemplates our individual and personal
struggles in the society we live in’.

There’s also an interesting review in The Economist and still time to
catch the Biennial.

http://www.economist.com/node/21530072

Two of our artists comment on our previous visit in 2009.

Crescent Arts headed to Istanbul in September 2009 to sample the offerings of
the 11th Istanbul Biennale, entitled “What Keeps Mankind Alive?”
after the song from the Threepenny Opera by Bertholt Brecht. 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.’

Photo (above): Helen Donnelly 2009