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)
62%
Time and space for your practice
51%
Developing your artistic practice
37%
Furthering your professional career
29%
Connecting with other artists
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%
Factsheet: What are the motivations and benefits for artists?
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
Access to specialised resources e.g. archives or
equipment
Time and space for your practice
Developing your artistic practice
Furthering your professional career
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
Other
Beginning/
starting out
52
15%
6%
Becoming
established
116
21%
14%
Established
69%
52%
37%
2%
52%
17%
10%
12%
60%
52%
38%
11%
22%
13%
12%
22%
59%
49%
38%
22%
23%
3%
21%
14%
12%
4%
9%
13%
8%
8%
73
21%
18%
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.
Artists benefit from the 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.
Factsheet: What are the motivations and benefits for artists?
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.”
Factsheet: What are the motivations and benefits for artists?
Figure 3: Outcomes achieved as a result of residency (all respondents, n=244)
83%
73%
Expanded your network of contacts
84%
71%
Improved or expanded your practice
75%
64%
Gained confidence in yourself as an artist
76%
55%
Created new work
65%
39%
Increased your public profile
69%
35%
Present or published your work
Been invited to collaborate
17%
Been commissioned to create work
10%
33%
Outcomes ever
achieved
29%
Outcomes achieved
by end of residency
20%
Increased sales of your work 5%
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
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
Increased sales of your work
Other
Beginning/
starting out
n=
52
60%
84%
50%
14%
6%
28%
36%
86%
2%
0%
Factsheet: What are the motivations and benefits for artists?
Becoming
established
116
73%
72%
59%
18%
16%
41%
41%
66%
Established
3%
6%
8%
1%
73
75%
71%
53%
18%
4%
32%
40%
47%
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
Increased sales of your work
Other
Literature
Theatre
Visual Arts
21*
86%
76%
24%
19%
5%
29%
43%
57%
Emerging &
Experimental
35
83%
80%
63%
29%
14%
51%
40%
49%
96
57%
77%
47%
8%
4%
20%
29%
70%
24*
79%
71%
33%
29%
13%
25%
42%
50%
91
84%
74%
78%
22%
15%
52%
46%
63%
0%
0%
3%
3%
3%
2%
0%
0%
8%
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 shown 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:
•
•
•
•
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.”
Factsheet: What are the motivations and benefits for artists?