The Watermill Center will host a selection of artists as part of its 2021 Artists-in-Residence program.
Founded in 1992 by avant-garde visionary and theater director Robert Wilson, The Watermill Center is an interdisciplinary laboratory for the arts and humanities situated on ten acres of Shinnecock ancestral territory on the East End.
The artist residency program provides artists with the time, space, and freedom to develop work in a communal environment that encourages experimentation. Each artist receives access to Watermill’s expansive resources, including its library and art collection. They also have the opportunity to network and discuss work with each other, as well as receive support and guidance from The Watermill Center staff.
Artists from around the world taking part in the program include Benjamin Bennet and Michael Foster, Brian Block, Matthew Craven, Rachel Dickstein and Ripe Time, Robert Fieseler, Kyoko Hamaguchi, Candace Hill, Martha Hincapie Charry, Zoe Hitzig, Nene Humphrey, Gozde Ilkin, Nicole Pasulka, Paula Aros Gho and Projecto Cosmos, Yusha-Marie Sorzano, Matthew Thurber and Brian Belott, James Ulmer, and Lucie Vitkova.
Each artist will spend up to four weeks creating works that critically investigate, challenge, and extend the existing norms of artistic practice.
This February some of the artists will participate in a virtual residency, creating Watermill’s first hybrid artist residency program.
Hamaguchi and Pasulka will take part in the first digital artists-in-residence, while performance duo Belott and Thurber will be onsite. Artists whose residency is being hosted remotely will have a chance to live and work at Watermill at a future date.
Last year, due to COVID-19, Watermill had to reschedule many of its artists.
“It was difficult not to have The Center open to artists last year. Our mission is to provide artists with the time and space to actively explore their practice while engaging with our building and grounds; so for us to be closed from March to October last year was devastating. But we have since welcomed artists back onsite this past October and November, and are looking forward to a robust year ahead,” said Rifkin, the center’s director.
In addition to the artists-in-residence, artists Pawel Althamer, Ville Andersson, Tomashi Jackson, Naufus Ramírez-Figueroa, and Duke RIley have been awarded Watermill’s prestigious Inga Maren Otto Fellowship. Created with a gift from the philanthropist, the fellowship provides support for outstanding artists who have demonstrated exceptional creative ability in the arts. This year’s fellowship is curated by Micah Bozeman and Noah Khoshbin. Through a residency at The Watermill Center, each fellow is provided with time and space to exercise total creative freedom in the development of new work.
2021 also marks a year rich with partnerships for The Watermill Center, placing an emphasis on establishing both a global and local community.
“While none of the partnerships are new, it’s the first year we’ll have them all active at the same time,” said Residency and Public Programs Coordinator, Kelly Dennis. “Paula Aros Gho and Projecto Cosmos are being supported by Fundación Teatro a Mil from Chile, Lincoln Center Directors’ Lab is supporting Rachel Dickstein and Ripe Time, National YoungArts Foundation is supporting Yusha-Marie Sorzano who is an alumni of their program, and we are partnering again with The Parrish Art Museum to showcase the work of Tomashi Jackson later this summer as part of their Platform Series. It’s exciting to be able to fully realize these partnerships in service of the artists while expanding Watermill’s presence both locally and internationally.”
During each residency, artists present their work to the public as part of In Process @ The Watermill Center. The ongoing series includes open rehearsals, workshops, artist talks, and studio visits that invite the community to engage with the work and the artist.
For more info, visit www.watermillcenter.org.