Q: Why are residencies appealing when they perpetuate a white-cube approach to site and context? A: The residence itself! In NYC, more than half of my income goes to housing and commuter transportation (I make $1,350 a month. I spend $675 on housing and $80 on a subway pass or bike fixes and occasional taxi rides). Many residencies provide little equipment and fly in artists from urban areas for “focused” attention. This model is familiar and therefore, more easily funded. I propose: a residency in anyone’s urban home, office, or studio! Take the money used to buy land/build studios/house artists, and use existing structures (offices, apts) in NY so you can spend the money on a project or artist’s fees. Use it as a tax write off! Find a way for individuals to affiliate with the artists-in-my-residence project or the artists-not-in-residence (a.k.a. keep-the-artist-in-my-city) support project.

Or to simply deal with the housing issue… Stop the boring and traditional industrial gentrification (artists exploited for cultural capital) and find alternative lifestyles in re-imagined urban life. House in a parking lot! House in a graveyard! House on a roof! House in a fire escape. Why can’t we have long term artistic communities in urban environments? How will I ever get to know or trust or age with my neighbors? Will my neighborhood even be distinguishable from the next? Is NY becoming the suburb we fled from? Why won’t the city and the housing department approach artists systems with the same flexibility as the netherlands or germany? And why not allow art projects as “temporary” as the temporary structures of municipal construction?

Q: Why pay for an MFA at grad school? A: Don’t! Simply formalize the conceptual art vocation enough to guarantee standards of quality and legitimacy. For example, classical musicians are certified by a single mentor’s trust to enter the profession and architect’s apprenticeships have a currency towards licensing and public trust. In new programs like the MFA program at Vermont College, students select mentors for an accredited system, allowing “students to incorporate life experience and previous education into self-designed studies.”

Natalie says: read Sexton