Artist Room:
Online Studio Residency
A flexible online residency designed around the needs of each artist and project.
Applications are accepted throughout the year.
About Artist Room
Artist Room is CISTA ARTS’ online residency programme for artists who want dedicated time and curatorial support to develop a new or ongoing project from their own working environment.
Rather than following a fixed residency model, each Artist Room residency is shaped around the artist’s practice, the stage of the project and what would be most useful for its development.
The programme is process-led. It can provide space for research, experimentation, reflection, testing ideas, developing work-in-progress and considering how a project might evolve. A residency may lead to a new body of work, but artists are not required to complete a finished project during the residency period.
Artists remain based in their own studio, home, community or working environment and can share selected aspects of their process with CISTA ARTS as the project develops.
Who Is Artist Room For?
Artist Room welcomes applications from artists and creative practitioners working across a wide range of disciplines, including visual art, photography, moving image, performance, interdisciplinary practice, design, writing and research-led practice.
Artists at different stages of their careers are welcome to apply.
The programme is particularly suited to practitioners who are interested in developing a project through research, experimentation and critical dialogue, rather than presenting only a finished body of work.
Applicants may be based anywhere in the world.
A Residency Designed Around Your Project
No two Artist Room residencies need to follow exactly the same structure.
Before the residency begins, CISTA ARTS and the selected artist agree a working framework based on the proposed project. This may include the residency period, the rhythm of exchanges, the type of curatorial support, materials to be shared, and any public-facing presentation or documentation.
The structure is intended to provide direction while remaining flexible enough for the project to change as new questions, discoveries or difficulties emerge.
A short Residency Confirmation is provided before the residency begins so that the agreed arrangements are clear for both the artist and CISTA ARTS.
Curatorial and Professional Support
Depending on the needs of the artist and project, an Artist Room residency may include:
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Written curatorial feedback on research and work-in-progress
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One-to-one online curatorial discussions
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Support in developing the conceptual and visual direction of a project
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A flexible working timetable or development plan
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Feedback on editing, sequencing, presentation or documentation
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Editorial support for project texts and artist statements
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A shared online workspace for materials, exchanges and feedback
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Support in considering future directions for the project
The precise combination of support is agreed individually before the residency begins.
Presentation and Documentation
Artist Room can also provide opportunities to document and share the development of a project where this is appropriate.
Depending on the residency, this may include:
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A dedicated Artist Room page on the CISTA ARTS website
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Work-in-progress or process documentation
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An artist interview or blog feature
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Selected social media presentation
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Written, photographic, video or audio material
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A final reflection or project update
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Inclusion in the CISTA ARTS Artist Room archive
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A Certificate of Participation
Not every residency will use all of these formats. The form of presentation is discussed with the artist and designed in relation to the project.
Artists retain control over which aspects of their work and process are made public.
What Can Be Shared?
Material shared during the residency might include studio photographs, sketches, research notes, visual references, material experiments, contact sheets, unfinished work, test images, video or audio recordings, written reflections, conversations, documentation of daily practice, or other material relevant to the development of the project.
We are interested not only in successful outcomes, but also in questions, experiments, changes of direction and unresolved aspects of artistic practice.
Duration and Working Structure
Artist Room residencies are arranged individually.
A residency will often take place over approximately four weeks, but the duration and working structure may be adapted where a different format would better support the project.
Residency dates are agreed with selected artists and are subject to availability.
The residency is entirely online and does not include accommodation, travel, physical studio space or a production budget.
How to Apply
We would be pleased to hear about your practice and the project you would like to develop through Artist Room.
Please send:
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Your full name and contact details
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An up-to-date artist CV
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A short biography and artist statement
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A short proposal describing the project you would like to develop
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Examples of your recent work or a link to your portfolio
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Your website and relevant professional links
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Your preferred residency period, if known
Your proposal should give us a sense of what you would like to explore, where the project currently stands and what you hope the residency might help you develop.
There is no need to design the complete residency structure yourself at the application stage. If your proposal is selected, we will discuss the project with you and develop the residency framework together.
Please send your application to:
Subject: Artist Room Residency Application
Selection and Next Steps
Applications are reviewed by the CISTA ARTS curatorial team on a rolling basis.
Selection considers the quality and development of the artist’s practice, the proposed project, its suitability for a process-led online residency and the ways in which CISTA ARTS can meaningfully support its development.
Selected applicants will be contacted to discuss the project, possible residency dates and the most appropriate structure of support.
The residency format and any public-facing activity are agreed with the artist before the residency begins.
Submitting an application does not guarantee selection.
Apply for Artist Room
Develop a project, test new directions and open a window onto the process behind your practice.
Applications are accepted throughout the year.
The Story Behind Artist Room
residency
Artist residencies have traditionally been connected to place: an artist leaves their usual environment, travels somewhere new, and is given time and space to research, experiment and develop work.
But travelling elsewhere is not always possible. Residencies can involve significant costs, visa restrictions, caring responsibilities, employment commitments or simply the difficulty of stepping away from everyday life for an extended period.
Artist Room began with a different question: what if the residency travelled to the artist instead?
Rather than asking artists to leave their own environment, CISTA ARTS created Artist Room as an online space in which the artist’s existing studio, community, routines and surroundings can become part of the residency itself.
This also shifts attention away from presenting only finished work. Artist Room creates space for what usually remains less visible: research, experimentation, unfinished ideas, changes of direction, studio processes and the questions that emerge while a project is still developing.
Artists decide what they want to share and what should remain private. Depending on the project, this might include photographs, sketches, writing, audio, video, conversations, research material or moments from everyday practice.
Over time, Artist Room has developed into a flexible, process-led residency in which CISTA ARTS works with each selected artist to shape a programme around the particular needs of their project. The residency does not follow a single fixed model; its structure is developed together before the residency begins.
