A New Creative Residency Program Enriches the Arts on the Hilltop

Two miniature gable-roofed houses—one pink-striped, the other green—hang at precarious angles from a miniature tree. Below, a broken paper ladder reaches tentatively from the ground to the porch of a third house, nestled comfortably in a tree fork where the trunk splits. Like some kind of magical tree-top hamlet, the three houses appear as playfully enchanting as they are perplexingly surreal.

All three mini structures are, in fact, elements in a fascinating sculpture jointly created by two ninth grade artists in Hackley’s sculpture studio. It is one of dozens of such sculptures developed and completed this fall with the guidance of Hackley’s Creative Artist in Residence for the visual arts, Thomas Doyle, during Ms. Coble’s Upper School 3D Design and Middle School Art Major courses.

With thriving programs in the visual, performing, and technology arts—all of which have experienced a renaissance in recent decades—Hackley initiated its first artist in residency program in 2019, just prior to the onset of the pandemic. Conceived to provide support and enrichment opportunities for the three creative departments—performing arts, visual arts, and computer science—the program was designed to grow within an upcoming state-of-the-art facility, the Center for the Creative Arts and Technology.

The new Center, consistent with the vision outlined in the School’s strategic plan—Redefining Excellence: Learning Beyond Boundaries —will bring together the faculty and students of the three creative departments, providing unlimited interdisciplinary opportunities and innovative resources and spaces that will enhance the School’s current arts programs.

Having already fashioned and honed the Upper School visual arts program along the lines of strong college and graduate school models, the Visual Arts department took the early lead in researching and designing Hackley’s Creative Residency Program. And having themselves come from MFA programs with vibrant artist residencies, members of the Visual Arts department understood and appreciated the transformative impact that artist in residency programs, or “AIRs,” can have on an institution and its students. Every member of the department can recall a formative moment in their art education when a visiting or resident artist impacted their artistic development and their work.

By inviting talented artists to “reside” and work collaboratively within a community for an extended period of time, AIR programs deeply enrich the educational experience of the host institution and provide