STILLS RESIDENCIES

Director Deirdre MacKenna discusses a new phase of international artist residency opportunities “Edinburgh’s Stills opens its doors to new groups of artists in 2010 as we embark on a new chapter of artistic exchanges working with a network of partners from Italy, Germany the Middle East and North Africa.

Over the past ten years our residency model has evolved to support artists based in Scotland to undertake sustained periods of research and tailored skills-based training. Success has come from offering an open model where the opportunity to experiment and make use of Stills’ networks of curators, writers, artists and technical experts is tailored to each artist’s needs.

This year we will continue to work with artists based in Scotland, while launching our new annual residency programme in summer (join our mailing list to be kept up-to-date with application procedures, www.stills.org). We are also looking forward to welcoming Katharina Kiebacher to Stills to develop her ambitious new project as part of the RSA Residency scheme and to Ilana Halperin presenting her work in Milan as part of Fondazione Pomodoro’s ARS International Residency exhibition in May. The nomadic working practices of contemporary artists has inspired us to explore possibilities around developing new programmes and partnerships internationally: in 2009 we presented newly commissioned works by Elín Jakobsdóttir as part of Cologne Contemporaries following an invitation from Regina Barunke and Lilian Haberer from Projects in Art and Theory. Spring 2010 we launch our new partnership with Fondazione Fotografia, Modena in Italy, selecting two groups of artists: one drawn from recent graduates of Scottish art schools invited to take part in a major survey exhibition involving 13 countries, ‘International Departure Gate’. The second will be a residency opportunity for three artists and one curator in Modena during October and November as part of a cultural exchange exploring local identity. Finally, talks are underway with a number of artists and curators and organisations in the Middle East and North Africa aimed at bringing additional opportunities, perspectives and cultural legacies to our network for artists.”