Artist Jeff Musser was an artist-in-residence at Pantocrator Gallery in Shanghai, and had since decided to stay in China. As a friend once told him, "Ya know, being an artist right now, in this country isn't exactly the best plan. When people ask you what you do, you might as well tell them, I Run A Unicorn Shop!" which became the name for his blog, where he chronicles his adventures in painting. 

China Residencies: You started out in Northern California, what first got you interested in China?

Jeff Musser: I vacationed there shortly after I graduated, and there was just something about being there, more than just the glow of be ...

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The Sanbao International Ceramic Art Institute is nestled in the Sanbao valley outside Jingdezhen. Terrance Lazaroff, Sanbao’s International Program Advisor, talks about their residency program for ceramic and visual artists housed in old farms in the Sanbao valley.

China Residencies: Please tell us about how Sanbao got started.

Terrance Lazaroff: Sanbao began as a dream of Jackson Li of Jingdezhen and Wayne Higby of Alfred University, USA, back in the mid-1990’s. They envisioned an international ceramic art center located in China, that would provide the opportunity to the international art commun ...

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I: project space is a new non-profit platform and residency program that holds exhibitions, workshops, lectures and more in their space in Beijing's hutongs. I: project space was founded earlier this year by two curators and art critics: Antonie Angerer and Anna-Viktoria Eschbach. 

China Residencies: I: project space opened a few months ago, in August 2014. Tell us a bit about how it got started:

Anna Eschbach: We, Antonie Angerer and I, have known each other a rather long time now. We met while studying art history in Tübingen, Germany. After finishing our BA, we continued in two different directions: Antonie concentrated on h ...

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China Residencies and Red Gate are greatly humbled by the overwhelming response for the inaugural Crystal Ruth Bell Residency. We received applications from over 250 artists from 62 different countries, representing an incredibly wide range of mediums and practices, and we had a very difficult choice to make in order to narrow it down to just one artist.

We shortlisted fifteen project proposals that captivated our imaginations and best reflected Crystal's aspirations for creative cultural exchange:

Catherine Sarah Young - Christiane Huber -  Emma Dixon - Fredman Barahona / Elyla Sinverguenza - Huong N ...

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To honor the spirit and and life of our friend Crystal, Red Gate, together with China Residencies, is thrilled to announce the inauguration of the Crystal Ruth Bell Residency. 

Crystal loved helping great projects happen in China, and she herself had a very eclectic art practice that spanned video, photography, design, fashion, food and street art. For the inaugural residency in her memory, we'll choose an artist from any discipline who proposes to make something new, exciting, and that's never been done before in Beijing. There are no restrictions on the artists' mediums, age, nationality, ethnicity, gender, or an ...

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China Residencies visited Beijing’s Institute for Provocation residency, located in a historic courtyard right in the center of the city’s old hutong alleyways, to speak with director Max Gerthel and residency cooridnator Sid Gulinck about architecture, public space and the importance of experimentation.

China Residencies: How did IFP get started?

Max Gerthel: Institute for Provocation grew out of its predecessor Theatre in Motion, a residency programme and culture exchange project focused on alternative performing arts founded by Belgian sinologist and dramaturge Els Silvrants-Barclay in 20 ...

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This year marked the launch of China Residencies’ “Two to Three 二到三” program, which sends three Australian artists on funded residencies to partner organizations in second and third tier cities in China.  

We are proud to announce the three artists chosen for this year’s program: Iain Bonner, Jason Hendrik Hansma, and Astra Howard. Jason will be attending the Organhaus residency in Chongqing, Iain will be attending the TCG Nordica residency in Kunming, and Astra will be attending the Chinese European Art Center (CEAC) residency in Xiamen.  The artists selected for this opportunity will draw on their past experienc ...

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Crystal Ruth Bell, China Residencies' founder, passed away on Sunday, August 10th, 2014. For over two and half years, Crystal lived with advanced skin cancer, but that didn't stop her in her efforts to open the world of China's opportunities to artists all across the globe.

In 2009, Crystal moved to Beijing and became director of the Red Gate Residency. I met her that fall, when I began an internship at Red Gate Gallery. Crystal was working on increasing the program's diversity, in terms of the artists' medium, age, backgrounds and country of origins. Crystal also loved maps. In her two years at Red Gate, she expanded the prog ...

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We got the chance to interview Luo Fei, TCG Nordica's curator and residency program manager while in Kunming to talk about their mission of bridging cultures through artistic exchange:

China Residencies: How did you first get involved with TCG Nordica?
Luo Fei: I started here in 2006, and before that I worked at Lijiang Studio on art projects and the residency program with Jay Brown. After that I started at TCG Nordica as the gallery curator and then started to manage TCG's residency program for international and Chinese artists.

CR: When was TCG founded?
LF: Nordica started in 2000. We were one of the first galler ...

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We caught up with Gordon Laurin, the founder and director of Where Where Art Space in Caochangdi, outside of Beijing, to talk about his young program:

China Residencies: Can you tell us the history of Where Where Space?
Gordon Laurin: Three years ago, I decided to relocate to Beijing. After doing one year of freelance curating and writing, I thought that it would be interesting to set up a project space for artists from all over the world to come and do a residency here. I also wanted to have a project space where we could host exhibitions for young, emerging Chinese artists, and other artists from the internation ...

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Anna Glynn is an Australian artist working in painting, drawing, photography, sculpture, writing, music, sound, installation, film making, moving image, digital animation and theatre. She has built a lasting relationship with China over multiple residencies, exhibitions, and collaborations in China.

China Residencies:  What sparked your interest in China?

Anna Glynn:  I grew up on a farm in Melbourne on the Yarra River. The area was the site of historic gold mining in the 1800s – many of these miners were Chinese. As a child I created small archaeological digs at the bank of the Yarra River, discovering broken smoki ...

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[Applications are now closed.]

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Tim Darbyshire is a dancer and choreographer from Australia whose works question how abstract ideas can be translated through movement and the body outside of traditional dance vocabulary. While Tim was on an Asialink residency at Rhizome in Lijiang, we filmed a snippet of his work-in progress and interviewed him about the experience:

China Residencies: Tell us about the inspiration behind this piece.
Tim Darbyshire: I’m interested in body as luggage, as an object that doesn’t have it’s own autonomy. Also, I've been exploring martial arts training, kungfu, tai chi, qigong  — obviously China is the birthplace of a ...

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Multimedia artist and photographer Ross Kelly tells us about his time at the Global Exchange Center Artists Residence in Beijing.

China Residencies: What sparked your interest in China?
Ross Kelly: I had completed several works in China before and had been looking for an opportunity to return to photograph some more. It's something I have wanted to do for several years. Also, I wanted to look into accessing the Chinese art market and see if there were any possibilities to show my work there.

CR: Your work often addresses themes of urbanism, mapping, and borders. Is travel an integral part of your practice?
RK: I w ...

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Barbara Suen was an artist-in-residency at Imagine Gallery in 2011, generously funded by the Ontario Arts Council. She reached out to tell us about her experiences and the international collaborations that arose from her time in China.

China Residencies: What sparked your interest in China?
Barbara Suen: I am a Canadian of Chinese ethnicity. My great-grandfather was one of Canada’s first Chinese settlers, so I am extremely interested in deepening my knowledge and appreciation of my heritage culture.

CR: Did you apply with a specific project idea in mind, or were you looking for inspiration on the spot?
BS: I ha ...

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Artist Thomas Wunsch, who digitally manipulates photographs into abstract expressionist creations, tells us about his incredible experience on residency during the spring of 2013 at the Huantie Times Artist Residency Program in Beijing.

China Residencies: What sparked your interest in China?
Thomas Wunsch: I had never been to China before, but I've had an interest in the country for a long time. With all the conflicting news I was hearing about China, I thought I should go and check it out for myself. I have travelled and worked extensively in other countries in Asia, but I had a hunch that China would be com ...

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Artist Mark Rumsey was an artist in residence at the Swatch Art Peace Hotel in Shanghai in 2013.

China Residencies: What sparked your interest in China?
Mark Rumsey: At university, I participated in a study abroad program at East China University of Science and Technology in Shanghai. It was the first international trip I had taken out of the United States and it had a major impact on my understanding of the world. I had always wanted to return and see how Shanghai had changed, so when I learned about the Swatch Art Peace Hotel, I applied.

CR: How did you hear about the Swatch residency?
MR: As an artist half of my job is appl ... Read More

Artist Tommy Ting was an artist in residence at Organhaus in Chongqing over the summer of 2013. We reached out over email to hear more about his time there:

China Residencies: What sparked your interest in China? How did you hear about Organhaus? 
Tommy Ting: I lived and studied at the Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing from 2008 to 2009. When I started doing some research into possible residencies in China I wanted a different experience so I purposely looked at cities away from Beijing and Shanghai. Organhaus appealed to me because they have a strong and dynamic exhibition program. They also have a long h ...

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Avigail Talmor, an artist and painter from Israel, was invited to spend a month long residency at Da Wang Culture Highland in Shenzhen. This residency opportunity arose from a collaboration between Residency Unlimited, Da Wang, and China Residencies to offer a residency in China as part of RU's annual fundraising raffle. 

Avigail's work is concerned with the relations between the institutionalized and private, personal and public spaces. Her painting series of Checkpoints observe the non places that exist in our architectural surroundings, exploring the contradiction between security and threat.  

Av ...

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We visited Tai Project (formerly Contemporary Yunnan 943 Studio) in Kunming (where Kay Lawrence recently completed an eco-art residency) to speak with the space's founder and director, Liu Lifen:

China Residencies:  How many residents do you host and what is recommended length of stay?
Liu Lifen: Lately, we've had assistants run this program full time so we can accept 5 to 6 artists each year who stay at minimum for one month and up to six months on residency. We don't really take artists for less than a month, we prefer at least two or three months. One month is just too fast. But overall, the artist's application is much mor ...

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