Anne Plaisance: Residencies can be bridges made of patchworks

 1. Dear Anne Plaisance, you/we have just returned from the DFEWA residency at Mallnitz in Austria. Please tell us more about your involvement in this residency. What made you join it and how would you describe the whole experience now that it's over?

Anne Plaisance: I joined it after being invited by Dora, who I met in 2022 during the International Transcultural Exchange conference in Boston. I was intrigued by the venue and the artists she invited. 

The whole experience was amazing: the artists, the warm welcome by Dora and Elisabeth, the fascinating conversations with artists from all over the world, the visits around Mallnitz, the opportunity for personal and artistic growth, the spontaneous joy and life celebration that we all shared, the unexpected bursts of music and connivence, the opportunity to see the immense talent of others. 

We were all so different, but so mysteriously deeply connected that it felt unreal, almost magic.

2.What is the present role of art residencies in the contemporary art ecosystem?

Anne Plaisance:
Art residencies allow artists to go out of their comfort zones, to shake their brains, biases, open their minds to other ways of thinking, creating, interacting, and approaching art and life. My sense is that they are necessary for a healthy art ecosystem. When we grow as individuals, our art grows and evolves too. The exchange of ideas from one part of the planet to another one might have surprising consequences, as the butterfly effect. Connections were made on a deep level, that can transform into friendships, exhibitions, opportunities. 

When one artist showed me his video art one afternoon, I was so struck by it that I invited him to take part in a show I curate in October in Boston. You never know what will touch or inspire you. Possibilities are endless.

3.     How do art residencies meet the changing needs of individual artists?

 Anne Plaisance: Art residencies meet the changing needs of artists during their exploration journey and life: for example, this residency in Mallnitz, was focused on connection, and building bridges. When I was in Japan for a residency in 2020 just before the lockdown, I was focused on peace, taking some distance, and painting as much as possible. 

Each residency fills a need, whether it’s creative, spiritual, emotional, psychological, physical. One residency I was in few years ago in Vermont was a life saver for me, after a family traumatic journey. Often life and art are intertwined. 

The DFEWA Mallnitz residency was for me like coming back to myself, after a long hibernation. The joy and camaraderie I found will stay in my heart, healing wounds with gold, like kintsugi.

4.     How can residencies provide alternative openings and infrastructures to nurture artistic work in the midst of current societal transformations and environmental
crisis?

Anne Plaisance: Residencies can provide alternative openings as spaces for collaboration, experimentation, reflection, conversations, feedback, creativity, risk taking, as well as offering safe spaces where each individual is welcome. They can offer space and time, where the mind and heart can wander and be inspired to create more art, more meaning, whatever the end form/result. Often they are a bit like laboratories where the minds and hearts meet, change the artist, and have an impact on the art produced. In our day-to-day activities, we don’t always have this privilege of taking a step back, or a step aside, take in whatever inspiring activities are offered (in Mallnitz case, spending more time in nature, in the mountains, surrounded by beauty and its fragility), and be in the moment.

5. The practices and models of residencies are focused on cultural and societal development, rather than on that of the artists' careers. They are forging new connections and pathways between various regimes of society. As in the case of ecological biodiversity, at present, it is necessary to resist the homogenization of intellectual, aesthetic and cultural knowledge. Are residencies reinforcing the process of cultural homogenization, or are they supporting cultural diversity?

Anne Plaisance: I would say it depends on the residency, and on the individual. The Mallnitz residency was a mixed cultural pot, that helped me realize how deeply I was constrained by a cultural echo chamber, despite my curiosity for other cultures.

One day, Dora said something that just struck me, and made me realize how much effort we can each do, to be more curious about other people, their origins, their culture, their stories, and heritage, and that the language barrier is a false excuse (ok, she’s a polyglot speaking 7 languages, which helpsJ). With modern technology tools, each tiny effort comes with infinite rewards. She inspired me to be a better human being. Which hopefully will translate into better artworks and projects too.

To reinforce cultural diversity, you must be proactive and conscious about your biases and cultural background, natural tendencies (we all navigate towards the known, it’s easier and natural). It takes a “go out of your comfort zone” to be proactive towards cultural diversity. It takes a village. My sense is that it was particularly successful in Mallnitz. I can’t wait to see where it takes all of us. Of course, we can’t diminish the impact of globalization, but I like to think we all weave together an interesting patchwork made of our conversations, art seen, cultures, experiences, emotions. Residencies can be bridges made of patchworks J