The Watermill Center has announced that it has awarded residencies and fellowships to twenty-one artists from France, Germany, Greece, Israel, Italy, Mexico, Norway, Spain, Taiwan, and Connecticut, Illinois, New York, Pennsylvania, and Texas. The artists participating in The Center’s Artist Residency Program, Inga Maren Otto Fellowship, and the newly announced Nina von Maltzahn Fellowship, are provided with the time and space to exercise creative freedom in the development of their practice.
“The year ahead is an exciting moment for The Watermill Center,” shared Managing Director Elise Herget. “2022 is the first time since February 2020 that we are back at full capacity, and we are using this opportunity to further expand our commitment to supporting our community of artists. With the launch of the Nina von Maltzahn Fellowship, our continuing partnerships, and our ongoing support of a growing alumni base, we are committed to providing artists with the time, space, and freedom they need to develop their work, at whatever stage of their career they happen to be.”
Artists-in-Residence include visual artist Ville Andersson, multidisciplinary artist Kader Attia, musician Eli Berman, sculptor Brian Block, architect Marie de Testa, artist collective For Freedoms, interdisciplinary performer Nile Harris, interdisciplinary artist Joyce Ho, author Amanda Johnston, performance collective KOR’SIA, composer Adam Lenz and dancer Miki Orihara, multidisciplinary artist Maria Louizou, pianist Nicoletta Favari and percussionist Christopher Salvito of Passepartout Duo, performance scholar Matthew Randle-Bent, writer Helen Betya Rubinstein, conceptual artist Hank Willis Thomas, multidisciplinary artist STUDIOTASSY, dancer and educator Ogemdi Ude, and choreographer Netta Yerushalmy.
In addition to the Artist Residency Program, The Center has two fellowships that further support the work and creative processes of its Artists-in-Residence. The Inga Maren Otto Fellowship, created with a gift from philanthropist Inga Maren Otto, has been awarded to Ville Andersson, Kader Attia, and For Freedoms & Hank Willis Thomas. The Fellowship provides support for outstanding visual artists who have demonstrated exceptional creative ability.
The inaugural Baroness Nina von Maltzahn Fellowship for the Performing Arts, founded by Nina Maria Arts & Culture Foundation, supports the work of emerging and established artists working in the fields of performance, music, and dance. The first recipients of this prestigious award are Nile Harris, Joyce Ho, and KOR’SIA.
The Watermill Center’s residency partners include The Parrish Art Museum, who will present the work of For Freedoms & Hank Willis Thomas for their summer Platform series, and YoungArts: The National Foundation for the Advancement of Artists, who support a residency at The Center each year for one YoungArts alumnus, this year awarded to Eli Berman, who will receive additional guidance and mentorship from Watermill’s network of international artists.
“Our partnerships are one way we help support the artists during their stay at The Center, and the life of their work once they leave,” said Herget. “Supporting our alumni is vital to our mission. Whether through offering them use of our non-profit status through our fiscal sponsorship program or by offering them week-long retreats for research and development, we’re constantly seeking new ways to support our growing family of artists.”
In 2022, The Center will see several alumni artists return for the Artist Residency Program, including former Artists-in-Residence Ville Andersson, Adam Lenz, and Netta Yerushalmy. Additionally, Marie de Testa, Nile Harris, Maria Louizou, and Studio Tassy are all artists who have participated in Watermill’s International Summer Program and will be in residence at The Center for the first time.
“The Watermill Center has become a creative home for me,” shared composer Adam Lenz. “I have been visiting the site for nearly a decade to collaborate with Bob and other artists, as well as to support the activities at The Center. Coming to The Watermill Center was the first time I felt like I was part of a community of artists. It is really meaningful to return this year to develop this project at a place that has been a major part of my creative development.”
Additional returning alumni will be taking advantage of The Center’s Alumni Mini-Retreat program, which offers alumni artists the chance to enjoy a week-long retreat at The Center. Participating artists include dramaturg and theatre-maker Naomi Boyce, conceptual artist Kyoko Hamaguchi, poet Zoe Hitzig, artist and activist Amy Khoshbin, multidisciplinary duo Ximena Garnica and Shige Moriya of LEIMAY, theatre-maker Carl Lawrence, architect Alejandra Mendez, choreographer Denisa Musilova, and performance artist Brian O’Mahoney.
A panel of celebrated professionals selects The Center’s Artists-in-Residence from an open call. Artists are selected for their creative ability and the artistic vision of their proposed project which will be developed during their residency. Both Fellowships have individual panels which select artists nominated by friends of The Center.
The inaugural Nina Von Maltzahn Fellowship panel included performance artist and vocalist Helga Davis, Dance and Culture Programs Manager at Van Cleef & Arpels, Serge Laurent, producer Elisabetta di Mambro, and curator Roya Sachs. The Inga Maren Otto Fellows are selected by Artistic Director Robert Wilson, curator Noah Khoshbin, and philanthropist Inga Maren Otto.
The Center’s 2022 Residency Program’s selection process was unique due to the ongoing impact of COVID-19. The Center had rescheduled its canceled 2020 residencies for 2021, placing applications for its 2021 Residency Program on hold. For 2022, instead of hosting its annual open call, The Center offered these applicants the opportunity to have their application be considered for a new year.
“We know how much time and energy artists pour into the application process,” shared Elka Rifkin, Director of The Watermill Center. “So we wanted to respect their work by providing them the option to have their application for the 2021 Program be considered for the 2022 Program. Artists were able to update their applications or opt out of consideration. We wanted to give these artists, who were waiting for answers for two years, the chance to be the only ones with their names in the ring, so we didn’t host our usual open call.”
Looking forward to 2023, The Center will return to its annual open call, where applications will be reviewed by a panel of twelve alumni artists, specializing in the fields of dance, theatre, music, visual arts, literature, and interdisciplinary practice. The 2023 Artist Residency Program application opened in December 2021.
The Watermill Center’s Artist Residency Program is process-based, providing artists with the time, space, and freedom to develop their work in a communal environment that encourages experimentation. Artists-in-Residence receives exclusive access to The Center’s expansive art collection, research library, theatrical archives, carefully curated facilities, and manicured grounds as tools in the creation of new and exciting work.
During each residency, artists present their work to the public as part of In Process @ The Watermill Center. In Process is an ongoing series of open rehearsals and studio visits that invites audiences of all ages and backgrounds to gain a unique insight into the creative process of artists, cultivating an understanding of how artists from across the globe develop new work.
For more information about The Watermill Center, its Artists-in-Residence, and its upcoming public programs, visit watermillcenter.org.