Residency Planning
Hello,
To revisit my earlier post, I had briefly talked about the artists residency I would be attending in Japan in April.
When I was looking into applying for residencies and researching the ones I selected, I was desperately trying to find blog posts or any information really, about how artists (especially freelance, with limited income) can plan their finances and trips to a foreign country. For me, this would be my first solo trip out of India and that too on a limited budget/for work/not for leisure. It was mind numbing and scary as hell to be the person single handedly deciding EVERYTHING - what residency makes sense to me? What about flights? How do I find that perfect flight timing? What about stay? Food and any additional travel? How will I manage alone? What if I need emergency money? How am I going to pay for all this?
What I decided to do was write about my experience planning for this residency, document what I’m doing there and how I, as an artist, view Japan. I hope this blog will be a documentation of this big step and I am willing to share all my planning tips and advice, if you ever decide to do something like this yourself.
Why is a Residency important?
I want to talk about this because I came across the idea of artists residencies fairly late in life and I wish I had known this earlier. If you are the kind of person who hasn’t travelled or who loves travelling AND you are an artist, this is perfect for you. I think its important (any age), for a person to explore art through a different country. It exposes you to so many kinds of people, so many techniques, art forms and toughens you up.
I started travelling out of India only after I got married. Before that I didn’t consider travel to be important. I’d spend my savings on materials and infrastructure for my studio. After getting married, I did my first trip abroad with my husband and his parents- we went to Laos. His parents are toughened travellers and can really rough it out. I loved the trip and got to explore so much of the traditional arts, crafts and food of Laos and Thailand. Now the places I have visited are Laos, Thailand, Singapore, Ethiopia and Japan, and I have explored the art scene in everyone of them and I wish I had explored the idea of a short art residency earlier. Its the perfect experience to make you more self sufficient, understand your art better and be able to become a global person.
Basics: What Residency to pick?
The first question to ask yourself is what do you want out of it? Do you want a place to sit quietly and produce a body of work? Do you want a residency that offers short courses/classes/workshops? What country are you interested in? It should be a place where you are comfortable knowing (or not knowing the language) a place where you are open to the food on offer and a place you can manage travelling around by yourself. A lot of things have to be accepted when staying in a country for a long period- food and local transport being the biggest factors. There is a website called ResiArtis which is an international directory of all residencies and you can search by location, facilities etc. Some residencies offer grants, which brings me to my next topic.
Funding:
Most residencies offer grants that can be applied to, some residencies are invite only and cover most of your expenses, but there are ones like the one I am attending where you have to pay a fee since there is teaching and tools involved. For this reason it makes sense to plan WAY ahead so you have time to get your finances in place. My residency required me to pay an advance before hand to book my slot so make sure you have at least some money on hand and read the residency websites carefully.
To fund my residency I’m doing a bunch of things side by side:
- Working on whatever incoming commercial projects are there (2 children’s books at the moment)
- I started working 3 days a week at a design office for a fixed fee (salary) every month. Its very hectic since I don’t have many days left in the week to dedicate to other projects, so that means I don’t get much time off
- I’m also working on small paintings and personal projects on the side that I can sell to help fund my trip.
- Patreon is another route I am considering exploring in the coming months. Its a monthly subscription type platform where my work can be funded by those who enjoy it, for small fee every month and I send you rewards/stuff in return. I want to explore this to get some nice products and originals out to all of you.
I will update here again about Patreon. I can put in some Japan specific art/rewards if you enjoy that kind of thing.
Trip Planning:
It is important to start looking into your flights and stay details before hand. Its also recommended to search the internet for interesting things to see/do during your time there. Airbnb is a great place for local experiences/workshops and of course to find cheap stay options. I’m using Airbnb to find a place to stay in Kyoto and Tokyo. Just a simple room. I will be doing some work related stuff- picking up pigments etc and meeting some artists and I will be needing a place to crash for around 15 days after my residency.
Another helpful gem is Skyscanner. They help you in finding the cheapest flights. Always keep an eye on the timings and keep in mind that you shouldn’t reach too early/too late and be stranded out of your place of stay. If all your flights are the same airlines, check their local office in your city- they might have cheaper tickets.
Do all your research on local transportation, what you will be doing in your free time, how are you going to get around, what the local cuisine is, how safe the area is, how friendly the people are. If you can, I would recommend taking a few extra days after the residency to go check out the local museums, art supply stores, book stores and smaller galleries. Its worth that extra few days to get a taste of the art scene of a new country.
TIPS:
To help with organising info, I noted down everything in a spreadsheet. I used Google Sheets so I could edit it on any system. I made different tabs for: expenses on hand (how much money you have at the mo), how much more to save, residency itinerary, additional travel plans, any other important notes. For example, my residency requires a health certificate so I remember to get that done too
Make sure you have some basics in place like a 6 month (minimum) valid passport. For a Japanese visa I needed 3 years income tax returns and a good bank statement with sufficient money. It also helps to have a fixed amount coming into the account (like a salary for example) so you are more financially stable. Check the visa requirements before hand so you have enough time to prepare. Even if you are not a salaried employee, make sure you have good balance of credit/debit transactions in your account, this helps when applying for a visa.
Check the rules and attitudes of the country you are visiting. Make sure you follow the culturally acceptable dress code and behaviour.
Account for expenses such as buying important art supplies and materials. Most residencies expect you to buy your own or buy it locally. So if your residency is in a village in the middle of nowhere, make sure you take a day to go to the nearest city and buy supplies or take it beforehand. Also stock up on any personal items which are not available at the residency. Since its a solo trip, you should be prepared with all medicines, food and personal items.
Always ask your residency hosts all the questions. Some will guide you before-hand about the food, local transport and schedules of your time there. Mine was strict in informing us that we have o be housed at their residence and classes are compulsory from morning to evening. They informed us that weekends are free, so I know I can plan for a short trip around the area. They informed us that a local lunch box delivery is available and that there is a kitchen in place for us to cook. These things are important to note. I found that in Japan restaurant and 7-11 food is inexpensive but buying veggies from the farmers market is expensive. It also helps to ask if they have a cycle/bike/car rental system in that area so you can explore on your own.
Always keep minimum 1/3rd amount of your day to day expenses as “extra” money in case of an emergency. Example: if your daily food, commute etc for the whole trip is coming upto 1,50,000, then keep an extra 50,000 as backup. Its always useful incase you have some unexpected expense, such as an emergency train ticket, additional day’s room rent or any medical emergency.
Always keep a family or friend informed about EVERYTHING, especially if you are going solo. Let someone be aware of your flights, stay details, itinerary and let them have access to send you money if you are in an emergency. Karnataka Bank has a travel debit card that can be recharged from here by anyone with access. So if you run short, someone can put money in the card from here so you can withdraw from there.
Hope this little write up helped you if you ever plan to go abroad solo or attend a residency.