Mottisfont – Pilot Artist in Residence Scheme
Background http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/main/w-mottisfont
Mottisfont near Romsey in Hampshire is a tranquil rural estate, set in glorious grounds alongside the fast-flowing River Test. The River Test is one of the finest chalk streams in the UK, and the walled gardens house the National Collection of old-fashioned roses. There are many layers of history, including Gothic remains of the original 13th-century Augustinian priory. In the mid-20th century the final private owner, society hostess and patron of the arts Maud Russell, used the Abbey as a base for her racy and intriguing life. Gilbert Russell died in 1942 and in 1957 Mrs Russell gave the Abbey and Estate to the National Trust. The house is best known for its tromp-l’oeil drawing room designed and decorated by Rex Whistler. The house is also the location of a number of paintings by Whistler, as well as a collection of early 20th century art put together by the English portrait and landscape painter, Derek Hill. The early 20th-century was a time of extraordinary creativity energy for the arts in Britain. Arts patron and society hostess Maud Russell embraced this and turned her home into a vibrant hub of artistic activity.
Maud was well known as a socialite, a hostess, collector and patron of the arts and Mottisfont hosted numerous parties. Maud had a number of artist friends and her parties brought together the social elite of the arts world. Water is a key metaphor for Mottisfont as a place of refreshment, an oasis. The spring within the grounds continually refreshes Mottisfont physically as Maud Russell refreshed the place creatively through the artists she invited there to rest, relax, talk, to enjoy the house and gardens and create new work. By 2020, our ambition is for Mottisfont and its estate to be known in the central south coast region as the destination for a lively, interesting and approachable take on the contemporary visual arts and crafts in the context of an important heritage site. In the historic Abbey, we have refurbished five domestic-scale spaces into high quality gallery space to show temporary exhibitions of contemporary art and craft. In our grounds and wider estate, we will be offering the opportunity for artist residencies to respond to a myriad of stimuli, to explore, reinterpret the aesthetic appeal of our formal gardens and the natural beauty of the wider surroundings. Resident artists will be offered access to a dedicated studio space and accommodation on site where possible. We will also have an extensive programme of creative activities and workshops for a range of community groups and audiences. The stable block will be the focus for this, but art activity and community art exhibitions will also emerge from time to time into the grounds and wider estate. Mottisfont will work in partnership with other arts organisations in the region and beyond to engage the community of professional artists, to encourage networking, support and opportunities for professional and creative development. Developing the arts at Mottisfont will increase local impact and community engagement, including existing arts groups, schools and local community organizations, enhancing the 'arts offer' for the Southern Area of Test Valley. The programme will build on the 20th-century history of Mottisfont and its established theme of Modernist and decorative arts (with the Derek Hill collection of 95 paintings, which includes early works by leading landscape artists of the 20th century), to develop vibrant contemporary arts activity, which will bring life to the arts at Mottisfont again in the 21st Century. The aim is to develop a new audience for contemporary art at Mottisfont while encouraging and developing the existing audience to engage with contemporary art
The Brief Artists and makers are invited to submit proposals to undertake one of three pilot residencies at Mottisfont between October 2011 and March 2012. The total fee for each residency is £1,400 to cover:
A minimum commitment of 8 working days
Delivery of at least one participatory workshop/seminar during the residency period
Contribution to concluding event/presentation at conclusion of all three residencies (date TBC)
There is a separate budget for materials and expenses of up to £350 per residency, which can be claimed on production of receipts. It is envisaged that the residency will take place over a one-month period between October 2011 and March 2012. However, the total number of days and the period over which the days are worked can be negotiated with each artist.
The residency offers the artist an opportunity to spend time in the unique surroundings of Mottisfont to:
Explore the house, grounds and estate, its history and current context as a site of education, recreation and conservation.
Understand the potential audience in our community of staff, volunteers and visitors.
Develop a site responsive art intervention which in whole or in part will address and engage this audience.
A recently refurbished workshop/studio space is available just outside the main site, which can offer, 24-hour access if required.
The space is approximately 7 metres x 5 metres, equipped with plenty of power sockets, hot and cold water, toilet facilities (on the first floor) and heating. Artists should note however that there is no telephone line in the studio and mobile reception at Mottisfont can be sporadic. Land lines and broadband are however available in the Mottisfont estate offices which are relatively close by. (The residency is open to artists or makers working in any medium, visual arts, crafts, performing arts, film, video or digital media but the studio space may not be suitable for all of these activities.) Overnight accommodation on site could be made available by agreement. The residencies will be facilitated by Phil Smith, Arts programme Advisor at Mottisfont and Louise Govier, Visitor Experience and Communities Manager at Mottisfont. The residencies are being developed in partnership with ArtSway who will also be offering artist support during the residency period. We envisage that there could be crossover between the three resident artists depending on timing. Any works proposed for installation in the house, gardens or estate will need to take into account the conservation requirements of Mottisfont. Staff at Mottisfont will be able to advise on this.
Expected Outcomes Mottisfont receives over 200,000 visitors per year and the developing arts programme at Mottisfont is aimed at increasing both the scale and range of interests of that group. It is important to Mottisfont that the contemporary arts programme relates strongly to its unique sense of place. We are looking for artists with a clear direction in their personal practice, who can engage with one or more elements of our audience/community i.e. staff, volunteers, visitors and local residents. A major element of this pilot residency programme is to build confidence and interest in our audience/community to engage with contemporary art and artists. This is why it is important that the artists’ work should be firmly based in a response to place with a tangible outcome that can be presented to an audience. We would like to explore a range of different forms of practice during these residencies and we are aware that the outcomes will be affected by the nature of the artist’ work. The outcome could therefore be any of the following:
Completed art work(s) or object(s) for display indoors or out
Comprehensive documentation of a process-based work
A fully developed and costed proposal for a work to be delivered at a later date, dependent on additional funding being secured. (This would need to result in some form of presentation that can be delivered to an audience.)
Process and Timeline The deadline for receipt of proposals is Friday September 16th 2011 Proposals should include: 1. Your curriculum vitae / artist’s statement 2. Up to 10 images of previous work. It is preferable for works to be submitted on CD. Please do not submit ORIGINAL artworks. 3. An explanation (max 2 sides A4) of why you would like to undertake this residency, how you would use your time at Mottisfont and how you would approach working with the audience/community at Mottisfont. Ideally, the selected artists will be CRB checked and have Public Liability insurance. Shortlisted artists will be contacted by Friday September 23rd 2011 Interviews will take place on Friday September 30th 2011 The 3 successful artists/makers will be informed by Monday October 3rd 2011
If you would like any visual materials or disks to be returned, please enclose a stamped addressed envelope covering the cost of return postage. Please send your proposals to: Louise Govier Visitor Experience and Communities Manager Mottisfont Nr. Romsey Hampshire SO51 0LP Proposals to arrive no later than 5:00pm on Friday September 16th 2011.