Rachel Withers at R14’s ‘Sharing is Caring’ event.
Nicholas John Jones looks back on R14 with its lead-resident Rachel Withers
NJ: Now That’s What I Call an Artist’s Residency! finished on 7 September. Looking back, are there moments that stand out for you?
Interestingly, that’s a hard question to answer! The whole residency was packed with interesting, enjoyable, productive activity, making it tricky to pick out isolated moments. My presiding memory is of a continuum of lively, thought-provoking and informative events and exchanges. I led a series of evening meetings that sketched out ideas for an expanded critical and historical enquiry into the idea of “residency” in today’s art world. That required some intense preparation, but it gave me a hugely useful focus and tons of insights for future writing – the discussions were useful and informative. The sociability of the residency was delightful. And thanks to PRAKSIS’s contacts, we got a real insider view of diverse facets of the city of Oslo and its art spaces and community. Maybe the literal highlight was our visit to the studio of the artist who presently occupies a vast workspace at the top of Oslo Town Hall. We stepped out onto its tiny balcony, right at the top of one of the towers (the one without the clock), and had a fabulous aerial view of the harbour, stretching all the way down the fjord. What a lucky guy!
NJ: Who was working alongside you? Can you tell us a bit more about your fellow residents and their work?
We were a diverse bunch in terms of age, life experience and disciplines, but we formed a harmonious, connected group wonderfully quickly and easily. Swedish curator Olivia Berkowicz came to Oslo to get to know it better, and develop her maverick geopolitical-cultural research into the global distribution of yerba mate and its use by Jesuits, hackers and ravers. Artist Anton Benois, originally from Russia, was in the process of relocating to Oslo. He took on the prodigal task of visiting thirty museums in thirty days (and now has a t-shirt to prove it!). Local artist Beatrice Alvestad Lopez and Canadian artist Morgane Clement-Gagnon shared interests in ideas of wilderness and remoteness; Morgane came to Oslo in pursuit of the “idea of north”, and Beatrice with a plan to develop a publication based on her sea voyage to the Hebrides. By the end of the residency Beatrice and Morgane had come up with ideas for a new collaborative project. Local artist Magnus Tomt’s residency activity combined interests in conceptualism, painting and institutional critique and led to his making two new works. At the end of the residency, we put together a one-night-only presentation based on ideas and work we’d developed. That was another definite highlight of our month working side by side.
R14 Residents visiting ‘How The Universe Works’ at Kunsthall Oslo.
NJ: What did you take away from the experience?
As PRAKSIS co-founder, I’ve never had any doubt that the organisation is doing really valuable work. However, participating in a PRAKSIS residency is something else. I gained a much more vivid understanding of how affirming and energising it can be. The chance to focus almost entirely on one’s chosen task for (in my case) five weeks and shed other concerns; to explore such a great city and region; and to spend time in the company of fellow cultural practitioners who somehow just get it, straight away – not just intellectually, but imaginatively and emotionally – is very special. Before, I understood this in a rather abstract way. Now that I’ve been a PRAKSIS resident I have a much deeper grasp of the enterprise’s full potential and a more profound sense of its value.
NJ: You’ve mentioned the seven seminars you led, focused on the idea of ‘residency’ in the contemporary art world. Can you sum up any discoveries or conclusions?
What I researched and learned convinces me that the rather diverse, sometimes contradictory, art world phenomena labelled ‘residencies’ form a vast, underestimated and under-reported component of contemporary art’s economy and ecology. I still think that although there’s a lot of interesting writing on the subject (and quite a lot of rather stodgy “policy statement” type material too!) there remains a lack of literature that fully reflects the sector’s sheer scale and huge influence. My continuing research needs to focus on interviews and networking to build a true picture. I also need to liaise with key organisations and (tremble) see what digital research tools might help in building up quantitative and well as qualitative data to support the argument. That’s what I’m now investigating.
Rachel Withers leads one of the Resident Good, Resident Evil, Resident Confusion? Seminars.
