When an artist stops making work and attending shows, is there any chance the art world will remember them? No. For many, this just means one less artist to compete against for a grant application or open call.
Enter Residency For Artists on Hiatus (RFAOH), an organization dedicated to supporting artists who have put their practice on hold. During the course of the online residency, which lasts six months to a year, artists must produce a non-art project. Artists are then expected to maintain a blog on the residency’s website to not only reflect on and document the process, but examine what it means to suspend their art careers. (I wrote about the virtual residency program a few months ago.) Earlier this year, the residency was on hiatus itself: the project has largely been self-funded by co-directors Shinobu Akimoto and Matthew Evans, and they were awaiting news of institutional support. Last week, RFAOH announced their third open call for applications to its 2016/2017 programme, thanks to funding from the Canada Council for the Arts.
