Good News: I have been accepted into the Roswell Artist-in-Residence Program (RAIR) in Roswell, NM. It is a year long program that has hosted some of my favorite artists such as Luis Jimenez and Robert and Shana ParkeHarrison.
Logistics: My residency will begin in September 2012 and last until September 2013. I am taking one year of “developmental leave” from my job as the Richland College Gallery Coordinator. RAIR provides each artist with a private residence and a studio with a decent monthly stipend as part of the program. My wife, Sue Anne, will remain in Texas teaching and taking care of our animals.
History: I was born and raised in Roswell until I was 15, at which time my family moved to Lubbock, TX. I first applied for this residency in 2008.
No pressure: You have 1 year… don’t waste it. While thrilled, I am slightly nervous.
This is a dramatic lifestyle change. To move into an area devoid of the multitude of opportunities presented in Dallas means I will need to reconsider my… well, “ambition” or “ego” are good words. In the last 3 years I have run galleries, curated shows, participated in 3 collectives, written art reviews for multiple publications, participated and planned conferences and panel discussions, and had several shows of my own. Several of these activities are the necessary by-products accompanying a successful art career: an attempt to make one’s self valuable and recognizable with the result of a densely padded CV. Striving for the carrot of a full time job and/or gallery representation, the art world has become inundated with people like me. (I am thinking of mutli-faceted professionals, not necessarily pompous white bloggers.) If I am not mistaken, this new generation of artists will do as I have done: collaborate with everybody, never say ‘no’ to anything, become art world savvy, and control the galleries they want to show in. In short, their “art” will be the practice of being an artist/gallerist/curator/writer/fundraiser/community supporter, no longer judged on objects alone but considered fully as autuers and directors related to visual art.
That being said, I am interested in how I can maintain this role from Roswell. I know you may say, “Ryder, goodness-gracious-to-mergatroid, just make art and be happy.” I will. I will also do more than that, because that’s what I do.
Bonus: I have set up a seperate blog for my Roswell experience if you care to follow my progress: ryderroswell.com
Comments
4 responses to “Upcoming: Roswell Artist-in-Residence Program”
Congratulations Ryder! My first reaction when I saw the pic above was “OMG, look at those WWII era living structures amid that austere and arid landscape. Creepy! Also, “OMG, aren’t there supernatural forces at work in Roswell?” My second reaction was, “With all this in mind, Ryder will go mad in November of 2012.” After reading further (one should always read further), I see you have already lived there and you are already cognizant of the creepiness and environmental pressures that come with this awesome opportunity. I saw goodness to mergatriod just do what you do and don’t change for those alien-lovers. In closing, thank you again for your writings, which are filled with candor and foresight. You continue to write articles and blog posts that I can share with fledgling, but exuberant first and second-year art students who have no idea what they are getting into and no idea what being an artist/gallerist/curator/writer/fundraiser/community supporter will entail.
“I say” not “I saw”…
Carter, thanks for the concern/praise. I think my powers of good will be enhanced while in the Land of Enchantement as long as I can make it through the Theives Forest and slay the Rodents of Unusual Size. I certainly hope those students don’t follow my treacherous path and focus on a specialization, maybe as promoters for my work. that would be nice.
Ok the last post confirms there is no reason to fear that you will go insane at the Roswell Internment Camp. You will arrive there insane in the membrane.