The Hudson Valley has long been a summer destination for artists and creative types escaping the city and looking for quiet inspiration in nature. With orders to shelter in place extended through May and beyond, it is a particularly difficult time for the Hudson Valley’s many artist residencies. The COVID-19 pandemic is forcing residencies to rethink their programming and policies. Artist residencies in the region welcome anywhere from two to twenty or more artists each month, with some participants traveling internationally to attend. As summer quickly approaches, residencies have had to make difficult decisions. Some have announced that they are closed for the season, while others have postponed their programs and are waiting to see what will happen. I recently spoke with the directors of five artist residencies in the area to better understand the difficulties they face, and to hear about the creative solutions they are finding to continue their programming and support artists.

In my discussions with representatives from Byrdcliffe, ChaNorth, Interlude Artist Residency, Wassaic Project, and Women’s Studio Workshop I learned about the different challenges for each artist residency and the strategies they are using to stay connected. Collectively, residencies are trying to make the best of a terrible situation. The most common thing I heard was that they have to support the artists, which includes those who were scheduled to attend this year as well as alumni from previous years. Everyone whom I spoke with emphasized the importance of the residency experience for artists. Time to make work in a peaceful environment is a major benefit, but that’s only part of it. Artist residencies are also about making connections—with other artists, as well as with visiting curators, residency staff, and members of the community. The bonds that form at residencies can last for an artist’s entire career, and can lead to exhibition opportunities, sales, and more.

Another shared concern is how the absence of visiting artists this summer will impact the community, including local businesses such as shops and restaurants. Education programs for children, artist talks, open studios, and other events enrich the lives of those who live in the areas surrounding the residencies. The cancellation of an artist residency is a huge loss for everyone involved, but the people I spoke with are working extra hard to find ways to support, promote, nurture, and inspire the artists and communities around them.

Byrdcliffe, Woodstock, NY

The Byrdcliffe Artist in Residence program is one of the oldest in the United States. Byrdcliffe was founded as an artist colony in 1902 and is located within 250 acres of forest about two miles outside of the town of Woodstock, NY. Byrdcliffe’s artist residencies range from four weeks to five months, and the program also provides year-round accommodations spread between more than 20 buildings. They offer residencies for visual artists (including ceramicists and weavers), writers in all categories, architects, designers, filmmakers, healers, composers, and more. In February 2020 I started working as Exhibitions Director at the Kleinert/James Center for the Arts, Woodstock Byrdcliffe Guild’s gallery on Tinker Street in Woodstock. I spoke with Byrdcliffe’s Artist in Residence Assistant Program Manager Erika Kari McCarthy to find out more about what has been happening behind the scenes since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Due to the large amount of property and variety of housing available, Byrdcliffe has perhaps the most positive situation of all the residencies I interviewed. They welcomed nine new residents in May who are participating in a 5-month program. Residents live in individual cabins and can be socially distant while still enjoying the beauty of their surroundings. Unfortunately the bulk of summer residents at Byrdcliffe live in communal housing, and these artists were forced to postpone their residencies until the fall or next year. The first two summer sessions have been cancelled, and Byrdcliffe is still deciding what to do about the third session that starts in August. Everyone who was accepted for the 2020 season will be scheduled in the fall or deferred to 2021. McCarthy stressed that most artists will create their own studio spaces wherever they are and find a way to make work no matter what happens. That said, artists still need assistance. “As we move forward,” McCarthy said, “I hope there are ways to support artists, even from a distance. How do you make sure that artists can continue to be seen and to be inspired to make work?” McCarthy and Byrdcliffe’s Program Manager, James Adelman, hope to extend the nurturing environment of Byrdcliffe to artists they have hosted in the past and to those they plan to welcome in the future. This includes staying in contact with alumni and featuring them on social media. Adelman and McCarthy also want to use social media to inspire people and share the feeling of being at Byrdcliffe for those who can’t attend or visit this summer.

For McCarthy and Adelman, the biggest challenge will be to deliver the Byrdcliffe experience to the nine artists who recently arrived, but from a distance. In a normal year there are potluck dinners, open studios, and other events that create a sense of community. Adelman and McCarthy have to re-envision what programming this summer will look like. At a recent orientation, a group of artists stood outside 10 feet away from each other wearing masks. (They were required to quarantine for 14 days before this gathering could even happen.) The following week they played a socially distant game of croquet. It is the beginning of a series of events that could include socially distant picnics, drive-in movies, and projecting images of artwork on a screen outside. McCarthy commented that sharing each other’s work is a great way to get to know each other, even from a distance. 

woodstockguild.org/artist-residencies
Instagram @air_byrdcliffe
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ChaNorth, Pine Plains, NY

The ChaNorth artist residency in northeastern Dutchess County, NY was established in 2006 as a program of the New York City non-profit Chashama. I spoke with Brigitta Varadi, who has been Residency Director at ChaNorth since autumn 2017 and was a resident there in 2012. She explained that ChaNorth accepts about 7 artists for each of 6 sessions annually in creative fields including visual arts, choreography, writing, music composition, and performance. Artists range in age from 22 to 70 and the residency’s focus is on emerging and mid-career artists. ChaNorth has two houses that are mixed use with domestic spaces and studios together in each building. When the pandemic forced ChaNorth to close for the summer they rescheduled some artists for 2021, while others are waiting to see if they can come in the fall. 

Varadi spoke passionately about ChaNorth’s engagement with the local community, an initiative that had grown stronger in recent years. In 2018 and 2019 ChaNorth residents gave artist talks at the Pine Plains Library. The partnership with the library increased last year to include artist-led workshops. The rural Pine Plains community is a mix of farmers, retirees from New York City, second homeowners. weekenders, seasonal laborers, and other local residents. Varadi is especially disappointed that these community programs won’t happen this year. The cultural exchange goes both ways; a writer’s club in Pine Plains welcomes resident writers to participate, and open studio events can draw 40-60 people to see an artist’s work. Residents are also offered a work exchange program with nearby McEnroe Organic Farm that provides fresh local produce for ChaNorth’s communal kitchen. The kitchen is the cornerstone of the residency. Varadi describes how residents create their own dynamic with cooking meals. Frequently someone will start to make dinner and others will pitch in to help prepare something. Sharing food creates an atmosphere that allows the artist to be comfortable and make connections with each other as well as with visiting artists and curators who are invited to stay for lunch or dinner.

Varadi is working with each artist individually to figure out how ChaNorth can best serve them during this time. The artists selected for 2020 are being featured online at #chanorthathome. Alumni from previous years are also being promoted on social media and with interviews on the ChaNorth website. Another popular online project is about sharing recipes. Varadi is working now to engage with the Pine Plains community so they can keep building programs for 2021. In addition, each year Chashama in New York City organizes solo and group exhibitions for ChaNorth alumni, and they hope the shows will happen in the fall. Varadi, like others I spoke with, has a lot of empathy for the artists who have to postpone a summer residency, perhaps their first experience of this kind. She commented: “You are just starting your career and then it has to be put on hold.”

chanorth.com
Instagram @chanorthartresidency
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Interlude Artist Residency, Livingston, NY

Interlude is a new artist residency that was scheduled to open in 2020 in southern Columbia County, NY. I spoke with founder Elsie Kagan about her decision to postpone the residency to next year. Interlude was created to support artists’ practice and meet the concurrent needs of creative and family lives. Artists can bring their children and partners, and living spaces are designed to accommodate families. The first group of resident artists and their families was scheduled to arrive in July 2020 and others were scheduled through August 2021. All the artists have now been postponed by one year. Kagan said that she felt fortunate that the residency program had not officially started at the time of the COVID-19 pandemic because no one had to be sent home. She is concerned about what the social and health ramifications will be for the rest of the year. After years of preparation for the first group of residents to arrive, it was very difficult to decide to postpone the program.

Like others I spoke with, Kagan wants to support the artists who could not be there this year. Knowing that many artists live with precarious financial situations, Interlude offered the option of receiving a grant to artists who would not be able to attend. The grant would be in place of a future residency, so that the their immediate needs were met. Most of the residents wanted to defer their residency rather than take the grant. It is gratifying for Kagan to know that artists are committed to this new residency and are willing to wait a year despite economic uncertainty. Interlude plans to highlight the 2020 residents work online and on social media and bring them together virtually somehow, perhaps with an online exhibition. Kagan can understand what they are going through. An artist herself, she had a series of artist residencies lined up for this year and next. She’s hoping to postpone and reschedule, but there is so much uncertainty now.

In addition to rescheduling artists, most residencies hold annual fundraisers and other events that will have to be postponed or brought online. Interlude was scheduled to hold a fundraiser in Brooklyn in May, but it was placed on hold. With everything happening right now, the timing wasn’t right for the fundraiser.

Kagan mused that she has to figure out how to live in the present when she is so excited about the two ventures that were about to begin, the first Interlude season as well as her own residencies. So many of us live in anticipation of future events. As we all wait this out there is a massive amount of uncertainty about the future, yet at the same time, the knowledge that there is a special experience waiting for them next summer gives artists hope, something that Kagan acknowledged is in short supply right now.

interluderesidency.com
Instagram @interluderesidency
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Wassaic Project, Wassaic, NY

I spoke with Will Hutnick, Director of Artistic Programming at Wassaic Project in eastern Dutchess County, NY.  As of May, the summer sessions (May to September) have been cancelled and the residents have been rescheduled for winter 2020 or 2021. Wassaic Project hosts artists throughout the year and also offers a family residency. In March 2020 when everything began to close they were forced to end the session a few weeks early. A few residents requested to stay since they were not able to travel at that time or didn’t want to return to areas with high rates of COVID-19 cases. They were allowed to stay in Wassaic for a few more months, but the residency program itself had ended.

Regarding plans for the future, Hutnick is optimistic that he’ll be able to welcome residents back in November, but like everyone else he will have to wait and see. One scenario involves inviting fewer artists who could work alone, but at that point it is no longer the same experience as a typical Wassaic residency. The interaction with other people is an important part of the experience, from the camaraderie between residents and meeting visiting curators, to events such as potluck dinners and artist talks.

Many residencies offer public programming in addition to artist residencies, and Wassaic Project’s annual exhibition and festival are a highlight of the Hudson Valley’s summer art scene.  Each year a large immersive group exhibition is installed throughout the seven floors of the Maxon Mill building. The summer festival includes art, music, dance, food, and educational activities. Unfortunately this year the exhibition and festival have been cancelled, but the show will continue in the form of a book, which will be available as part of the annual Summer Benefit. An important fundraiser, the Summer Benefit is happening online on June 13, 2020. According to Wassaic’s website, all ticket-buyers get access to an intimate, curator-led virtual tour of the exhibition on June 13, as well as pre-sales of the book and work in the show.

Fortunately there will still be art on view at Wassaic Project this summer. Hutnick explained that they are expanding their summer outdoor art program, and artists are installing work that can be viewed safely from a distance. Artist Daniel Carello is creating a large painting on the side of the mill building. Five or six artists who are local can spend time working alone to install their work. Other artists who can’t make the trip to Wassaic are shipping their work.

Like other residency managers, Hutnick is concerned about the impact that closing Wassaic for the summer will have on the greater community. The Art Nest, an education space for making art has grown over the years, and their programs have welcomed as many as 30 kids on a summer Saturday. Unfortunately, this free resource for the public is not happening this year. Educators at Wassaic are thinking of creative ways to revamp the program. In the meantime, Wassaic is offering a large variety of events and online programming such as Instagram Live studio visits, happy hours, bingo games, and more. There is also the Instagram Live series Ask the Residency Director on Wednesdays at 6:00 pm during which Hutnick and guest Residency Directors discuss their programs as well as the current situation.

wassaicproject.org
Instagram @wassaicproject
Support Wassaic Project – Summer Benefit June 13, 2020

Women’s Studio Workshop, Rosendale, NY

Women’s Studio Workshop (WSW) was founded in 1974 and has been offering artist residencies to women since the 1980s with a focus on printmaking, book arts, papermaking, ceramics, and photography. I spoke with WSW Artistic Director Erin Zona about the challenges they are facing this spring. Like Wassaic Project, when the COVID-19 pandemic forced businesses to close in March there were residents at WSW who had to be sent home early. Residency sessions scheduled from March to June were postponed, and the fall residencies are on hold for now. Zona mentioned that WSW has two apartments that could accommodate individual residents, but the normal residency experience would be vastly different. She wasn’t sure if this would be an experience WSW would even want to offer. Most of the residencies require staff to assist with different processes in various studios on the property. For example, one program is specifically for artist book publishing, with residents producing a whole book by the end of their session.

Artist residencies at Women’s Studio Workshop typically run from 4 to 10 weeks from September through June, with no residencies held in July and August. Even if residencies can resume in the fall, WSW has made the decision to postpone all international and long distance residents. Zona explained that only artists from the United States who can return home by car have been rescheduled. That way if there is a new surge in the virus later this year, everyone can drive home and no one will be stranded. Zona commented that everything is unpredictable, and you have to do what is best for your organization.

Women’s Studio Workshop usually offers workshops during July and August, but this year they are being held online. The workshops are planned a year in advance, which has left staff to quickly put together virtual programs. This has led to another challenge: what can be provided in a digital space that is unique and specific to WSW? While there is no substitute for in-person workshops, there could be benefits to offering online classes since they can reach a wider audience. The content created could become a resource for people to access at a later time, possibly with a subscription for content. In April WSW launched WSWTV on Instagram as a way to stay connected to their community from afar. They are releasing a weekly schedule of video content ranging from in-depth interviews with book artists and technical tutorials to live Q&A sessions. In lieu of their annual benefit, WSW organized an Online Art Auction & Benefit, which runs through June 10 and features work from 2019 and 2020 alumnx.

wsworkshop.org
Instagram @wsworkshop
Support Women’s Studio Workshop – Online Art Auction & Benefit

My recent conversations with Erika Kari McCarthy, Brigitta Varadi, Elsie Kagan, Will Hutnick, and Erin Zona emphasized the hard work and deep commitment of artist residency staff. In a normal year, they schedule dozens of artists, provide housing and food, make travel arrangements, and plan programming and entertainment for artists and the community. In 2020, artist residencies have to quickly reinvent themselves to continue supporting artists. When residency programs are put on pause, there is also a potential loss of income for the organizations, most of which are non-profits. Many of them rely on grants and donations, as well as fees from artists to keep programs running. It’s important to support these organizations now to guarantee that they will be available for artists and the Hudson Valley community for years to come.

Lead image of this post (chair in studio) is courtesy of ChaNorth.