Shona Neary / Sketchy Shona
I have hosted and coordinated artist residencies in Da Nang and Berlin, and continue the work at THE FLOOR in Berlin. Read about my experience and contact me.
Three residency contexts
At Experiment Residency in Da Nang, Vietnam, I took part as an artist and co-hosted the residency. I also coordinated it. I keep the project together in the archive through its mural work, shared walls and flash drawings.
In Berlin, I hosted and coordinated Späti Residency by Experiment, where I also worked as curator. These roles put me close to a residency from its organisation to the work made through it.
At THE FLOOR, I continue to host artists in the Berlin home, studio and project room I founded. The residency is residential and artist-run. Its current application, terms and stay information are on the THE FLOOR page.
Why the host matters
My work has moved between being the person who arrives to make work and the person who holds a space or programme for others. They are different responsibilities, but they inform one another.
I know from the artist's side that a residency is not valuable simply because it takes place in another city. Its conditions matter: where the work can happen, how a resident enters a place, what the hosts have promised and whether the artist has enough freedom to follow the work.
Planning a residency
At THE FLOOR, I have an ongoing residency programme in Berlin. Elsewhere, I can be approached about hosting or coordinating a residency with an organisation, cultural space or local partner. Every context is different; I would first want to understand who is involved, what the place needs and what the residency is expected to make possible.
If you are looking for an artist residency host or coordinator, contact me with the location, dates, intended artists and what you need me to hold. I am based between Berlin, New York City and Philadelphia and travel for projects. We can talk about fit, responsibilities and scope before treating it as a defined programme.
Start with the records
The Da Nang archive holds the residency's murals, shared walls and drawings together. The THE FLOOR page has the current application information, and the Journal includes a resident's account of a month in the Berlin space.
Images from this journal record
Hosting and coordinating artist residencies in Berlin and beyond / da nang 06 mural courtyard