Res Artis Worldwide Network of Arts Residencies

Annual Report 2019

https://resartis.org

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Table of contents OVERVIEW FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR __________________________3

ABOUT US________________________________________________________4

MISSION, VISION AND VALUES______________________________________ _5

DEFINITION OF ARTS RESIDENCIES _______________________________ _6

RES ARTIS STAFF & BOARD OF DIRECTORS______________________________7

OUR MEMBERS____________________________________________________8

MEMBER BENEFITS________________________________________________10

STRATEGIC PLAN 2015 - 2020___________________________________ 11

RES ARTIS MEETINGS & INITIATIVES ________________________________13

RES ARTIS ADVOCACY & VISIBILITY ________________________________14

COMMUNICATION_________________________________________________15

CUSTOMISED SERVICES FOR OUR MEMBERS_______________________ 17

2019 FINANCIAL SUMMARY FROM THE PRESIDENT ___________18

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OVERVIEW FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

2019 was a year of system upgrades for Res Artis. After tremendous input and feedback from our members, Res Artis was delighted to launch our brand new website! It was no small task migrating and enhancing 26 years of accumulated data into the new platform. I would like to thank all members and staff for their patience, hard work and dedication to achieving this milestone. The new website is finalised now and offers some great advancements for members and users alike. Member residency profiles and open calls have been improved with larger, better quality images; enhanced search parameters and greater visibility through a map. Members can now update their information and access Res Artis resources more easily through a dedicated Member Portal. Most importantly, our new website is easy to navigate, GDPR compliant, and has the capability to fulfil further developments and serve Res Artis into the future. Along with the new website, we underwent internal upgrades of all systems including a new remote cloud server, email migration and financial system that ensured all our platforms and processes are GDPR compliant in order to maintain the confidentiality of member data. From 6 – 8 February Res Artis hosted our 2019 conference Creative Encounters: Reimagining Residencies in partnership with the Kyoto Art Center, Kyoto City and Agency of Cultural Affairs. The conference was attended by around 150 participants from across 45 countries. The conference examined the evolution of the arts residencies field – what has gone before; what external factors have shaped arts residencies today; what are these new residency models and categories; and what is our future? The feedback received on the ground and through our evaluation survey was overwhelmingly positive. For members who missed out on attending the conference, you can find photos and a beautiful short documentary here.

Last year Res Artis continued to reach some impressive targets. In 2019 we welcomed 59 new members, taking our total network number to 768. This increase in members was reflected in our communications reach too. Our social media channels achieved increases of 0.26% for Facebook; 17% for Twitter; 21% for LinkedIn; and Instagram more than doubled its follower base. We communicated 1,402 open calls on behalf of our members. Diversity is so important to Res Artis in order to respond to our diverse global membership. We achieved significant diversity targets in 2019 with the number of countries represented in our membership jumping dramatically from 70 to 85. Likewise, our board and staff represented 11 different countries and we collectively spoke 15 different languages.

As the peak organisation for the arts residencies field, Res Artis is proud of the collective achievements of our organisation and network over the past 26 years, and 2019 was no exception. As a not-for-profit foundation that is run entirely by way of annual member fees, Res Artis exists because of you. Thank you for your support, loyalty and the ongoing role you continue to play in improving and growing Res Artis and the global arts residencies landscape.

Eliza Roberts Executive Director, Res Artis

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Res Artis is a 27 year old network of arts residency centres from around the globe. Our network comprises more than 750 members in over 85 different countries. We operate from three international offices: the Netherlands, Australia and Iran. We are the worldwide professional body for the field, ensuring sustainability and growth by providing capacity building tools for our members through face-to-face and digital platforms. We aim to support and connect residencies, develop and expand networks, engage and advocate the importance of residencies in today’s society, and provide recommendations towards international cultural mobility policy and research.

Our unique composition of international members, staff, board members and partners ensures Res Artis is responsive to member needs around the globe and sensitive to cultural differences within the field and broader cultural landscape.

"Encounter the world in residencies"

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ABOUT US

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Mission The mission of Res Artis is to:

Enable sustainability by providing tools for professional development.

Respect the regional, cultural and structural diversity of the artist residency field through adherence to our core values.

Actively engage with and be responsive to members’ needs and changes in the field.

Ensure transparency through clear communication with members, the cultural sector and wider public.

Connect and promote members through face to face meetings and the use of digital platforms.

Vision We are the worldwide professional body for artist residencies, ensuring sustainability and development of the field through enabling connection and facilitating professional development for our member organisations.

Values The Res Artis Board, Staff and Membership adhere to: Professionalism: We are committed to continuous professional development and enhancement of knowledge and skills. We listen to each other and are responsive to artists’ needs and changes in the field. Diversity: We value regional, cultural and structural differences by respecting individuality. Transparency: We believe in the value of clear, accurate and proactive communication between Res Artis, our member organisations and visiting artists. Sustainability: We strive to improve the resources available to enable the longevity of Res Artis, our members and the artist residency field.

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Definition of Arts Residencies

Res Artis recognises that the field of arts residencies is rapidly expanding and evolving in today’s fast-paced global and innovation age. Therefore the definition of Arts Residencies should remain somewhat fluid and responsive to new developments, contexts and times. Despite the fluidity and growth in the field, Res Artis believes the following core principles are crucial to

the definition and success of any model and scale of Arts Residency.

Arts Residencies are:

Organised and sufficient time, space and resources Enablers of the creative process Reflective of their lexical meaning as ‘an act of dwelling in a place’ Based on clear mutual responsibility, experimentation, exchange and

dialogue Engaged with context by connecting the local to the global Crucial to the arts ecosystem Bridging mechanisms between different arts disciplines and non-arts

sectors Tools for inter-cultural understanding and capacity building Essential professional and personal development opportunities Catalysts for global mobility Encounters with the unknown Profile-raising with immediate and ongoing artistic, social and economic

impact Important contributors to cultural policy and cultural diplomacy

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Res Artis Staff & Board of Directors

Staff: Eliza Roberts, Executive Director (Australia) Birte Gehm, Communications and Operations Manager (Germany/Netherlands) Maryam Bagheri, MENASA (Middle East, North Africa, and South Asia) Cluster Coordinator (Iran)

Board of Directors: Lea O’Loughlin (United Kingdom) – President Frederik Hardvendel (Denmark) – Vice-President Sarah Gardner (Australia) - Secretary Vincent Liew (Singapore) – Treasurer Jean-Baptiste Joly (Germany) Tooraj Khamenehzadeh (Iran) Mella Jaarsma (Netherlands/Indonesia) Clymene Christoforou (United Kingdom) Luigi Galimberti (Italy) Raquel Cámara (Spain)

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Our Members

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As the worldwide network of artist residencies, Res Artis is the only truly global organisation in the artist residency field. Our goal is to be active in as many regions as possible. We strive to maintain our strong roots in Europe and members in North America, while simultaneously increasing membership and our presence in under-represented regions like Africa, the Middle East, Oceania and parts of Central and Southeast Asia. Res Artis comprises over 750 members in more than 80 different countries.

ResArtismembershipcompositionbycontinent

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Maya Traditions

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“Every artist residency centre should have the opportunity to connect with colleagues and to support their organisational sustainability regardless of their size, or challenges of their cultural or geographical context.” - Lea O’Loughlin, President Res Artis, Board of Directors

The Res Artis network comprises a multitude of different artist residencies of all shapes and sizes, ranging from artist-run initiatives and independent associations to programs that form part of a larger structure like a museum or university. In 2019, Res Artis counted a total of 768 members. Throughout the year we welcomed 59 new members and received 31 membership cancellations most of which were due to residencies ceasing operations.

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Membership Development

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Member Benefits

In order to be inclusive to artist residencies from all corners of the globe and to offer our members value for money in their membership, Res Artis is pleased to offer the following Member Benefits: • Being part of a global community • Regional support and information (colleagues, peers, funding, guides, spotlight on region, board

contact) • 50 % reduction in meeting registration fees • Free Visibility (online listing, open calls, social media). The Res Artis website currently receives

over 2,000 visitors a day, more than 120,000 followers on our Facebook Fan Page, and more than 6,000 followers on Instagram.

• Receive public & members only newsletter every three months and members are invited to provide content

• 50% reduction in advertising fees (workshops, residency events etc.) • Professional development

o Online (Res Artis Artist Residency Handbook) o In-person consultancy/training o Meetings o Meeting documentation and live-streaming (online) o Thematic webinars (interactive)

• Members only Facebook Group (Res Artis Node) • Members only online library and funding resources • Reputation and validation through membership and use of the Res Artis logo • Welcome pack outlining all benefits above • Membership survey to determine ongoing network improvements: conducted every five years

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Res Artis recently evaluated our membership fees and benefits in order to ensure value for money and a fair and inclusive approach for arts residencies from diverse backgrounds. We strive to maintain existing members, while simultaneously growing and improving the network. BUDGET YEARLY MEMBERSHIP FEE €0 - €4,999 €59 €5,000 - €49,999 €102 €50,000 - €99,999 €294 €100,000 - €199,999 €508 €200,000+ €615

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Strategic Plan 2015 - 2020

(From left to right: Francisco Guevara, Leena Vuotovesi, Karol Frühauf, Kavita Shah, Lea O’Loughlin, Mark Vennegoor, Eliza Roberts, Birte Gehm) In September 2015 the Res Artis board and staff came together in Štúrovo, Slovakia for a week-long Strategy Meeting to outline the future direction of Res Artis through to 2020. The starting point for our planning was the results of a member survey conducted in 2014 aptly titled ‘What do Res Artis members want us to be?’ In response to member feedback, Res Artis identified priority areas over the next 5 years. The full ‘Strategic Plan 2015 – 2020’ can be found in the members only section of the Res Artis website. A snapshot of these priorities is below: Global approach through Regional Clusters Res Artis, as the worldwide network of artist residencies, is the only truly global organisation in the artist residency field. In order to be active in as many regions as possible, Res Artis will introduce regional chapters that will be represented by board members in liaison with member regional ambassadors. These regional chapters will strengthen the residency field regionally, by addressing geographical concerns and issues. The regional chapters will feed into the worldwide network and will aid in highlighting activity in particular regions, funding and opportunities for collaboration. Res Artis will work with existing regional residency bodies and networks to ensure this mode of working is mutually beneficial.

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Tools for Professional Development At the very core of Res Artis is our vision to equip our members with the necessary tools to succeed and sustain in the artist residency field. Res Artis took the first step towards increased professional development tools for our members by releasing our ‘Res Artis Artist Residency Handbook’ in November 2016. In the future Res Artis will use the handbook as a basis for further developing each chapter in an online format using case studies from our membership and interactive tools. Over the next 5 years Res Artis aims to interact with our members more closely and hardness their tremendous collective skills, knowledge and experience to benefit other network members and the sector at large.

Upholding Professional Standards The field of arts residencies has grown exponentially over recent years, and with this comes diversity in standards and professionalization. Res Artis prides ourself on the quality and integrity of our members, and the support and opportunities they offer to artists in residence. In response to member concerns about upholding quality standards, Res Artis has introduced a more detailed application procedure to enable us to better understand new member organisations. In addition, we ask that all existing and new Res Artis members, board and staff adhere to our Vision, Mission and Values.

Flexible Meeting Models Meetings have always played an important role in the history of Res Artis and there is increasing interest from members in organising smaller meetings around geographical or thematic concerns. In response Res Artis has dissolved our previous ‘General’, ‘Regional’ and ‘Thematic’ meeting categories to offer more flexible meeting models that will enable higher frequency and greater accessibility for members. Res Artis will ensure a balanced representation in our meeting schedule of diverse thematic concerns and geographic regions. There will be content relevant to emerging start-ups as well as established arts residencies.

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Arts (i

Res Artis Meetings & Initiatives Res Artis Meeting Tokyo, Japan, 6 – 8 February 2019 Creative Encounters: Reimagining Residencies

Res Artis 2019 conference, Creative Encounters: Reimagining Residencies hosted by Kyoto City and Kyoto Art Center in cooperation with the Agency of Cultural Affairs from 6 – 8 February 2019. This 3 day meeting addressed the evolution of artists residency models and rapid expansion of the field. We compared traditional ‘time and space’ models with new residency typologies that reflect our changing social economy. Nomadic, start-up, virtual and Airbnb residencies were all explored. The meeting posed questions about the progression of the field using examples in Japan and internationally. How can we evaluate these new models? How can artists residencies remain socially engaged and respond to artists’ needs? How are these innovative new models funded? These key themes of the conference were reflected in Kyoto, a unique city where traditional and contemporary arts co-exist. Like artists in residence encountering different places for the first time, participants experienced the rich culture of Kyoto by way of excursions, city walks and tea ceremonies that encouraged further dialogue and networking.

Group photo of Res Artis Meeting Kyoto participants 2019

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Res Artis Advocacy & Visibility External Meetings & Events In addition to our own meetings and initiatives, the Res Artis staff and board actively attend and participate in external meetings and events in the arts residency field. This enables us to represent the voice of our membership and support development of the field on a public scale. These external meetings are held by Res Artis members, partners or like-minded cultural organisations around the globe. In 2019 we participated in 16 different meetings and events world-wide:

EVENT ORGANISER DATES IN 2018 LOCATION European Capital of Culture 2019 Opening Ceremony

Fondazione Matera Basilicata 2019, Scorribande Culturali

15 January Matura, Italy

Res Artis conference Kyoto: Creative Encounters; Reimaging Residencies

Res Artis, Kyoto Art Center, The Agency of Cultural Affairs

6 -8 February Kyoto, Japan

AiR Symposiusm discussion, TPAM2020 | Performing Arts Meeting in Yokohama

TPAM2020 | Performing Arts Meeting in Yokohama

9 February Yokohama, Japan

KUPP Music Norway 25 February Oslo, Norway

World Summit on Arts and Culture IFACCA 11 – 14 March Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

On the Move Assembly On the Move 23 – 25 April Prague, Czechia

Membership Management Workshop

European Choral Association – Europa Cantat

15 – 17 May Bonn, Germany

Curatorial Panel Discussion on Haft Paykar Exhibition

Mohsen Gallery 21 May Tehran, Iran

Curatorial Intensive South Asia (CISA) 2019 Khoj International Artists Association

8 – 20 July; with December outcomes

Delhi, India

European Cultural Network Communications Meeting

European Music Network 9 – 10 July Bonn, Germany

Symposium on Hosting International Artist Residencies in Greater Melbourne

Res Artis, Asialink Arts, Communittee for Melbourne, Grimshaw

4 September Melbourne, Australia

National Swedish residencies conference: Perspective on Artistic Residence,

The Swedish Arts Grants Committee

13 September Stockholm, Sweden

Public panel discussion for book release: “Contemporary Artist Residencies: Reclaiming Time and Space”, Irmeli Kokko, Taru Elfving, eds.

IASPIS 13 September Stockholm, Sweden

Ottawa Mission to The Netherlands Ottawa Delegation to The Netherlands

19 September Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Policy Recommendations Workshop i-Portunus, Creative Europe 15 – 16 October Brussels, Belgium

Fine Artist Summit Fine Artist Summit 22 – 28 November

Online

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In total, we published 1,402 upcoming deadlines containing residency opportunities, communicating upcoming deadlines and open calls, directly from our members to the public.

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Communication

A total of 59 new members joined our network last year contributing to our continuous growth over the past years. In 2019, our network comprised over 750 members in more than 80 countries. Our members are at the core of our network and we are proud of our strong and diverse membership. We thank our members for another year of hard work for the artist residency field!

We tried to keep up our communication efforts in 2019 as well. We sent out five Newsletters – in February, July, September, November and December. 27,000+ subscribers received our Newsletters. The newsletters covered news about upcoming Res Artis events, opportunities for cooperation and mobility funding, and features about membership benefits and resources. Also our website as well as our social media channels registered an increase in visitors and followers.

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Through our website and social media Res Artis can count on a global audience of artists and creative people following our activities and engaging with the field of artist residencies. We pride ourselves on this international community of followers.

289,318 creative persons visited and benefited from our website resources and our website was consulted 547,395 times, while registering 2,761,377 overall page views. There was a short-term decrease in web traffic which is unavoidable when launching a brand new website, but our Google Analytics tools informs us that traffic has now recovered. Our social media platforms experienced growth to varying degrees, with Facebook steady on a yearly increase of 0.26% and greater increases on Twitter with 17%, LinkedIn with 21% and Instagram the star performer has more than doubled its follower base.

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Customised Services for our Members In addition to our general promotion efforts, we put a strong focus on providing our members with solid guidance and feedback regarding their Res Artis membership. The online survey revealed that online visibility is one of the most important aspects for our members. As a service to our members, we carried out profile screenings for our entire membership base in order to provide our members’ profiles with an effective online positioning. For 89% of our members we saw possible improvements and gave individual advice on how to improve their Res Artis public profiles. Not only does a more complete and attractive page express professionality but several profile fields also translate into parameters for our search filter. Complete and detailed profiles better position a page in our search engine and allow visitors to filter and find a residency.

Res Artis Node: We also reactivated our Members Only Facebook Group, the Res Artis Node, encouraging our members to join and become active in this unique discussion platform bringing together colleagues in the artist residency field from all over the world. In 2019, the Res Artis Node counted 315 members. Group topics were

ranging from conferences and calls in the field of artist residencies, over resources concerning cultural mobility to discussions on structures of different residency places such as the special needs for writers in residence and the use of a residency garden.

Res Artis Artist Residency Handbook We launched a new edition of the Res Artis Artist Residency Handbook. The handbook provides emerging artist residencies with useful information on things to consider when starting an artist residency, while at the same time offering inspiration for improvement for more established organisations. It contains a multitude of examples we received from the Res Artis community providing our members with real-life experiences and hands on material from the field. The handbook is not for sale but only available to Res Artis members.

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2019 Overview and Financial Summary

from the President of the Board Dear Res Artis Members and Community, Thanks to stringent spending and budgeting measures and an active membership recruitment drive in 2018 Res Artis commenced 2019 with a total equity/foundation capital (sum of all previous profits/losses over time) of +€830.10. Unfortunately, committed in year expenditure for critical upgrades to our website and IT provision coupled with an unexpected decrease in end of year membership income has meant that we end the 2019 fiscal year with an annual loss of -€6,450.38, which also brings back our total equity back into negative figures. The outcome is a negative total equity figure of -€5,620.28. The details of our Profit and Loss Statement can be viewed in the Members Only section of our website: https://resartis.org/res-artis-reports/ The bulk of the deficit is attributed to a decrease in membership income from the 2018 year (-€4,577), and we ended 2019 with a number of outstanding membership dues, which we which we hope to recoup in 2020. It is important to note that 74% of Res Artis annual expenditure is allocated to staffing the organisation. This means that every membership payment is essential, and results in direct benefit back to our members through the support and services provided by our dedicated staff team. 2019 marked a period of critical investment in systems and operations for Res Artis as we completed the launch of our new member website and IT systems, improvements that will further help us to better serve our members. Despite achieving these important targets, and increasing staffing commitment expenditure increased by only €24,950.47 (23%) in 2019. We are aware of the constant challenge in sourcing for funding and 2019 is no exception. In 2019, we increased our non-membership cash income by +€14,072.56 (9%). This increase was achieved by active fundraising beyond our membership fees through donations, grants, advertising and conference associated revenue. I do want to take this opportunity to thank our generous benefactors, Michael Schwarz and David Clouston in Australia, and Ehsan Rasoulof in Iran. Our staff and offices in Melbourne and Tehran would not be able to function without their extraordinary support and commitment. Our goal of building on last year’s success of a positive equity outcomes was not achieved. However, by investing in our core capacity, membership and digital provision, and by looking to diversify income we continue great strides forward together. As such, the constant support from members and patrons remain critical to the continued success of Res Artis. I like to take this opportunity to thank you all for being part of this extraordinary community, and hope to communicate with as many of you as possible through our newly enhanced digital capabilities or at our next Res Artis conference, which will be hosted in Bangkok, Thailand. Yours, Lea O’Loughlin President of the Board

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Connect with us www.resartis.org Subscribe to our Newsletter Become a fan on Facebook Follow us on Twitter Follow us on Instagram Connect with us on LinkedIn Amsterdam office Sarphatistraat 470 1018 GW Amsterdam The Netherlands Melbourne office 44 Glasshouse Rd Collingwood, Victoria 3066 Australia

Res Artis Web : www.resartis.org Email : office@resartis.org Phone : +31 617135449 Website : www.resartis.org

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