Abbotsford Convent Studio Residency Program
Abbotsford Convent Studio Residency Program 2024-25
Come join us as a Studio Resident Artist in 2024 and 2025!
We are inviting applications from artists and creative industries leaders to engage with our unique precinct through two Residencies. The Abbotsford Convent Studio Residency Program invites you to consider ways your practice might interact with, and reshape, how audiences experience art and place. Successful applicants will be an active part of the Convent’s vibrant community and will spend time immersing themselves in everything the place has to offer.
Abbotsford Convent aims to transform people’s lives through diverse cultural experiences and our precinct’s striking landscape. In our quest to stimulate community engagement and cultural exchange, we launched the Residency Program in 2017 and are thrilled to be offering it again in 2024 and 2025.
In an exciting development, Abbotsford Convent is proud to announce the Maggie Maguire Residency. This Residency will run annually for ten years and was made possible by a generous gift from the The Patagorang Foundation, founded by Roger Allen and Maggie Gray in honour of Abbotsford Convent’s first CEO, Maggie Maguire OAM.
The Maggie Maquire Residency is for early career artists who have practiced as a professional artist continually for less than 5 years.
The 2024-25 Residency Program features two six-month residencies (July-December 2024, January-June 2025):
- One Residency for an artist with any practice and background
- One Residency for an early career artist
Read our guidelines to find out more about the Studio Residencies and application process
Apply via the online form by: Thursday 8 May 2024 5pm
About the program
The Abbotsford Convent Studio Residency Program focuses on supporting two artists to investigate site-specific and/or site-responsive practice.
Artistic investigations undertaken through the Program will be presented within our precinct to foster delight and dialogue, as well as encourage engagement between the site, our artistic community, urban landscapes and audiences.
The Residency Program offers a unique opportunity to have time, space and support to undertake site-specific or responsive research, investigation and consideration. It offers you an opportunity to invest in your own artistic practice and at the same time, build your professional network and share your work with diverse audiences.
The Convent, with its many buildings, generous landscapes, many and diverse people and its textured history, is fascinating and layered. The continual change experienced across the history of our precinct, combined with the spaces within and in-between our built environment, are delightfully porous and ripe for artistic investigation.
The Studio Residency Program callout invites artists to apply for one of the two periods:
- Residency one: six months free studio space (1 July – 17 December 2024)
- Residency two: six months free studio space (1 January – 26 June 2025)
Each Residency will provide a successful artist with:
- An honorarium of $7,000 to be invested in the studio residency project.
- Access to Convent staff for support and mentoring.
- 24/7 studio access.
- Marketing and communications package to promote your studio residency and activities.
The Studio is a 10m2 office carpeted space, located in the west wing on the second level of the Convent building. Facilities include free wifi, power points, access to a wash-up sink, heating, shared kitchenette, bathrooms, shower and discounted car parking and venue hire.
Previous residents
Luke George (2018)
Minna Gilligan (2018)
Leisa Shelton (2019)
Acacia Christensen (2019)
Hayley Tanzer (2020)
Jacob Boehme (2021)
Jo Lloyd (2022-23)
Lisa Anderson (2024)
Testimonials
“As an Artist in Residence with ACF, I have been offered the key elements of all artistic practice which have enabled and strengthened both my practice and my resilience as an artist. SPACE within which to house and hold my work, SUPPORT to continue to build the courage to continue to make work in these demanding times and CONFIDENCE in my current projects and my place as an artist here in Australia.”
– Leisa Shelton
“My residency at the Convent gave me unprecedented freedom in my creative practice. The program was incredibly encouraging and flexible in terms of my creative outcomes, and providing spaces with which I could create.
While COVID-19 restrictions meant I couldn’t complete my intended activity, I was able to develop and film several video works within the space that ensured my creative practice could continue during an incredibly challenging time.
The staff’s continued support surrounding the eventual delivery of my main project goes above and beyond what I could ever have expected.I cherish my relationship with the Convent and it definitely made me feel a sense of support and community at a time I needed it most.”
– Tanzer
“Having the opportunity to be the artist-in-residence at the Abbotsford Convent has allowed me to widely expand what my arts practice looks like.
This unique chance to have a large and dedicated, hands-on support network within the Convent itself while being able to keep my time there self-directed is something that I haven’t had access to with other programs in the past.
Going forward, this residency has given me some new skill sets and a different approach to how I produce and curate large-scale work and continue to adapt my art to fit different spaces than the norm. I’m looking forward to continuing to make art with the Convent.”
– Acacia Christensen
How to apply
All applicants must submit:
- The online form responding to the selection criteria
- CV / biography – including any exhibitions, grants, awards, reviews, etc.
- Between 3 to 12 images that clearly represent your work
- If your proposal is dependent on involving Wurundjeri Land Council or Convent-based tenants as participants in your work, you must supply a letter of agreement with your application
Apply via the online form by Thursday 8 May 2024, 5pm
Enquiries
If you have any questions about the Studio Residency Program, please contact the Abbotsford Convent Programming Team.