Immersion and Risk: Why Artist Residencies Matter

I’m often asked, “What is an artist residency?”

People tend to imagine it’s a place where you go to learn, study, or attend art workshops. Others picture it as a kind of retreat  and a place to rest and recharge.

In truth, an artist residency is something much more focused and personal. It’s a space and time dedicated purely to developing your practice. A place to make, think, and be fully immersed in your art.

Time and Space to Create

Residencies give artists the one thing that’s often hardest to find: quality time. Time to make work, to take risks, to explore ideas that might not have a clear outcome yet. For many of us, the creative process can be solitary . There are hours or days spent alone in the studio. A residency offers something different: the chance to work alongside others, to share conversations, meals, and creative energy, while still having the space to be deeply in your own process.

Immersion in New Landscapes

For me, residencies are about challenging myself with new landscapes and environments. Recently, I spent time at The Corridor Project, located along the Bila Galari (Lachlan River). The site includes beautifully restored shearers’ quarters and a historic woolshed, all set amid granite hills, river systems, and open skies.

The view from The Corridor Project Residency

The Corridor Project supports community, visual and performance artists through residencies, research, workshops, exhibitions, and professional development. Its annual program encourages projects that weave together art, science, and environmental practice.

The landscape there was both intimate and vast. It was close and textured, yet framed by sweeping mountains and organic rock formations. The undulating lines of the hills, the river’s quiet presence, and the expansive 360-degree views were endlessly inspiring to witness and respond to.

What I didn’t expect during my time there was to rediscover drawing, something that had been dormant in my practice for years. Being away from my usual environment allowed me to loosen the hold of my familiar methods. Residencies encourage us to step beyond what feels safe. Residencies allow us to experiment, to play, and to reconnect with parts of our creative process that might have been forgotten or left behind.

Why Residencies Matter

Being an artist often means working alone, navigating your own ideas and momentum. Residencies disrupt that isolation in the best possible way. They create opportunities to connect, collaborate, and be influenced by place . It is also a place to see your work anew through the lens of a different environment or community.

At their core, residencies give artists permission to pause and go deeper. To be present with your practice. To be brave in your making. To explore without knowing exactly where it will lead.

Residencies remind me why I paint which is to connect, to observe, and to respond to the world around me. Each new landscape offers a different kind of conversation, one that unfolds slowly through colour, texture, and light. And this is why I love them!

Yours in art,

Rebecca