Artist in residence
The Artist in Residence project is hosted at Bower Ashton Library, City Campus.
Apply for our 2025 project
Applications are open for our 2025 project.
Closing date for applications is Wednesday 15 January 2025.
How the residency works
What will I need to produce?
The research and final piece should be inspired by any aspect of the Library at Bower Ashton. The final work can take any form such as an item of printed matter, an object, artefact or installation. The only limitation is that it must be able to be displayed in one of the library vitrines or the Library Gallery.
During the residency the artist will be expected to produce progress update text and images for posting to UWE Bristol Library’s Instagram.
At the end of the project the artist will be expected to supply a reading list that links to their research and a brief report about their experience on the project.
When will the project run?
The residency will run over an agreed period of eight weeks between February and June 2025.
Before the residency begins we will meet with the chosen artist to establish a timeline and set out our expectations.
How long will I need to spend in the library?
You can spend as much time conducting your research for the project as you need.
Is there any financial support available?
Yes. UWE Bristol Library provides a £150 bursary in the form of credit that can be used at the Bower Ashton Art Shop. This can be used to purchase materials, pay for printing in the Digital Print Bureau and/or for services in the Fabrication department at Bower Ashton.
Will the Artist in Residence be able to keep their finished piece?
Of course, though it would be great if, at the end of the project, you would be willing to donate a copy of your final work to the Library. You’ll be under no obligation to do so, however.
How do I apply?
You can apply for the residency by completing the project proposal form.
You are welcome to get in touch before submitting your idea at any time before the deadline. Please contact The Bower Ashton Library Team at library.city@uwe.ac.uk.
Closing date for applications is Wednesday 15 January 2025.
Who will be involved in choosing the proposal?
Staff from Bower Ashton Library and the Centre for Print Research will examine each proposal and make a final decision.
Where can I get more information?
If you require further information please email the Bower Ashton Library Team at library.city@uwe.ac.uk.
When will I find out if my application was chosen?
We will inform applicants by Friday 24 January 2025.
Previous projects
2022: A Comforting Space
Clara von Eye’s residency focused on visually documenting the physical space of the library, while encouraging viewers to appreciate and reflect on its benefits to the university community. Clara began by creating numerous sketches of the library interiors and its visitors before inviting students and staff to become involved, collecting responses in a questionnaire about how they described the library space and what they enjoyed most about it. Collagraph prints were made based on the sketches, using materials that reflected a library environment: fabric similar to that of the furniture, different paper stocks and old softback covers. In a mixed media approach, the drawings, collagraph prints and textual information from the questionnaire were brought together into a series of six images in a concertina format.
2020: Anagapesis
Ben Jenner’s residency was inspired by the area of asemic writing, defined as being a body of calligraphy that contains no semantic content. Asemic writing looks like the handwritten word but isn’t: therefore the reader of the art work is left to interpret and deduce the text. Ben’s work led him to explore texts and words in the library that were foreign to him, away from the printmaking and book arts shelves that he usually focused on when visiting the library. His work aims to let the act of drawing the written word act as a tool for communicating an idea and leave space for the viewer to explore and speculate rather than understand and move on.
2019: Issue and Return
Zelda Velika and Angie Butler asked staff at Bower Ashton to collect all the scraps of paper left in returned library books. A variety of physical information was amassed that revealed how a book was used: lists of things people needed to remember; learning experiences; placeholders for important information; each scrap relayed the nature and character of library users. The artists then arranged these scraps together to make new narratives, collating a series of poems/statements into artists’ books as well as a series of eight digitally-printed cushions that can be found around the library today.
2018: Twenty Library Bookshelves
Our first Artist in Residence, Cathey Webb, randomly picked words from books on the library shelves, to create ‘found poems’. A series of 20 small pamphlet books, each representing one of the chosen library shelves, were produced containing a poem on each page. The set was presented in an exquisite wooden box.
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