Evaluation Report on
Fire Station Artists’ Studios
Author: Fire Station Artists’ Studios
Joan O’Connor, B.Comm, LLB, MSc. in Applied Social Research
Independent Researcher
Date: 26th July, 2011
INTRODUCTION
The aim of this report is to summarise the principal findings of an exploration of the perceptions of former artists who were residents at Fire Station since its foundation in the early 1990s. The findings are to be used to contribute to future planning and strategy development by Fire Station.
The aim of this evaluation was to explore the impact on artists of taking up residencies provided by Fire Station Artists’ Studios and to develop an understanding of the personal, social, cultural, economic and political outcomes at local, national and international levels following their participation.
Specific objectives of the evaluation were:
§ To explore the views of artists who had been in residence in the Fire Station Artists’ Studios since the programme began in the mid-1990s
§ To explore artists’ perceptions of the impact their residencies had on their art practice at local, national, and international levels
§ To explore artists’ career pathways following their residencies; in particular to look at how being a resident had contributed to their personal and professional development
§ To explore their perceptions of the key benefits and challenges they experienced during their time with Fire Station
There were a number of reasons for carrying out the evaluation of Fire Station Artists’ Studios at this time. These involved:
· Gathering information from former residents to provide evidence to inform policy development and strategic planning
· Clarifying the nature and aim of the artists’ studios in 2011 according to Fire Station’s former resident artists, as well as staff and board members
· Providing on-going evidence that can feed into Fire Station’s process of reviewing its mission, actions and goals
BACKGROUND AND APPROACH TO THE EVALUATION
Over the past 18 years Fire Station Artists’ Studios has successfully provided subsidised residential studios that are self-contained, and provide secure living and working spaces for professional visual artists. While over 70 artists have taken up residence in Fire Station over these years, their views and perceptions of their experiences have not yet been gathered in a formal way.
This research sought the perspectives of former artists in residence at the Fire Station since the studios were established. The general approach to the evaluation involved using qualitative research methods, appropriate to exploring artists’ needs and experiences, and focusing on the impact of participation on their personal and professional lives as well as their perceptions of their pathways following completion of the residencies. We sought to gain an understanding of the programme’s impact through the artists’ in-depth accounts, providing context rich data, which explored their interpretations and the meanings they attached to their experiences. As the approach was un-structured the themes which emerged were the ones that the artists themselves prioritised for emphasis and exploration.
The evaluation consisted of the following elements:
· Qualitative focus group interviews with former residents - two in-depth focus group interviews (10 participants in total) were carried out with former residents. Participants were purposefully selected to represent the breadth of background and experience of former artists in residence at the Fire Station
· Informal interviews with staff members of Fire Station - informal interviews were held with Fire Station’s staff, and board members to identify the perceived strengths of the programme as well as the challenges experienced in its provision
The goals and actions of Fire Station’s Artists’ Studios as articulated in Fire Station’s Strategic Plan 2009-2012, relevant to this evaluation are:
» Promote policies for living and working spaces for artists
» Consult with artists about the changing needs of artists and their practice
» Continue to invest in the professional development needs of artists and extend the programme of creative digital media training
» Support artists’ practice through training, professional development, and commissioning
» Continually review and augment facilities management aligning this with development plans for the rest of the facility
ARTISTS’ PERSPECTIVES
Through the personal stories of ten artists who had formerly been on residencies at the Fire Station, this section presents perspectives on a range of themes related to the personal and professional impact their experiences had on them encompassing themes related to:
» Supports provided during residency
» Social and economic factors arising from participation
» Practical supports
» Perceptions of Fire Station
» Relationship between the artist and Fire Station
Exploring the pathways taken by artists to the Fire Station and their pathways beyond focuses on the choices, opportunities, experiences, behaviours, and constraints they experienced and the impact these have had on their personal and professional lives. This approach provides us with insights that will inform future changes (if any) required to the current provision.
PATHWAYS TO FIRE STATION ARTISTS’ STUDIOS
The accounts given by the participants in the focus group discussions of their pathways to the Fire Station are characterised by transitions, transition from place, as well as transition to new artistic directions.
Participants when asked about their impressions of the Fire Station prior to being selected for a residency, all spoke in most favourable terms about its reputation, the history of artists who had lived and worked there, and the fact that artists who had been resident in the Fire Station all were successful in their professional pathways afterwards. There was a sense of having reached a certain standard by being selected for a residency. In terms of its national and international reputation, participants thought that it was very positive, it also has a grittier/more urban feel than other cultural institutions.
Being selected for a residency in Fire Station not only provided a gateway to the world of visual art here in Ireland, but also represented a lifeline for others, which offset the sometimes insecure life that an artist can lead, in which social, economic and personal circumstances can coincide to leave a person in a precarious and vulnerable situation.
Being selected therefore for a residency was perceived as being a ‘break’, which came at the most opportune time in his life stage:
I think an artist’s life is like that. ‘in your career you’ll have 30 big breaks’ I don’t know how true that is, maybe you’ll have 30 big disasters, that’s the nature of the thing, I think my career has been through pieces of luck it seems, and people being good to you, kindnesses, it is a major kindness
For another participant in the research, securing a residency came at the right time, and it provided direction and the practical supports needed to make this new transition in her career pathway:
But it was the best thing that ever happened to me, it was because I was just in the middle of a debate about whether to give up teaching, and because this place was so cheap and so in town, and you know it was so… made it easy for me to give that up
Another participant spoke of her familiarity with the area through being involved with the community art activities that were being organised through the Fire Station at that time and which drew her to the organisation. Yet another participant found herself at a transition point in her life, and this combined with her previous residence not being suitable for her art practice, as it did not allow for the noise and dust that goes hand in hand with making sculptures, prompted her to seek an alternative space to live and work in.
Maybe where I was at the end of my tether, actually I was in danger of being homeless, I was at the end of a relationship, there was a problem with resources, you need somewhere to work and all of that, so my God, I couldn’t believe my fortune
Again this artist was familiar with Fire Station and had had a connection through having previously used its facilities. For another participant, her move back to Dublin, and movement into a new career coincided with getting a residency in Fire Station, and facilitated that move into another area of art practice for her.
It has been the Fire Station’s policy over the past nine years only to select practising artists for studio residencies. While the majority of artists who participated in the research were practising artists prior to starting a residency, two artists reported that they were not and consequently, saw this as an opportunity to establish and develop their art practice.
For a number of participants in the evaluation being accepted to Fire Station Artists’ Studios was seen as a gateway back into the professional world of visual art.
I came back and I was 6 months in Dublin, I didn’t know where to go or what to do, most of my friend base had scattered, it was a real difficulty to try and find a way in....and it just opened up the world to me, it opened up the Dublin, and Irish world of art to me, which otherwise would have been fairly exclusive and difficult to penetrate
These accounts illustrate that the pathways participants followed to Fire Station varied for each artist but that being selected provided a springboard to the development of a new art practice, or development of their existing art practice, and a gateway into the professional visual art world.
Re-location
A recent survey carried out in 2008 on the living and working conditions of artists in the Republic of Ireland and in Northern Ireland[1] demonstrated the high mobility of artists on the island of Ireland with 78 per cent of Northern Irish artists who had travelled from there listing the Republic of Ireland as their destination, and with 30 per cent of artists from the Republic of Ireland who had travelled to Northern Ireland (McAndrew and McKimm, 2010)[2]. There was also high mobility to Britain with mobility to other EU member states higher for artists from the Republic of Ireland than for Northern Ireland artists.
In this research the perception among artists existed that the Fire Station facilitated those who were living in other locations, from other parts of the island, from Northern Ireland, as well as from international locations to re-locate to Dublin and practise their art here.
There was a lot of a sense of people being given a chance because they were moving, they were re-locating and you felt that that was a bit of the ethos at the time. I thought it was amazing, the people here, and I always felt that I got in here because I had moved, a little bit, and that I was really lucky to have gotten in
STAGE OF CAREER
One of Fire Station’s criteria for selection is the stage of the artists’ career, the aim being to select artists who are at the upper end of emerging. Participating artists agreed with this policy and reported that in their experience the residency came at a most opportune time in their professional development, and at a time when they were emerging as artists.
And it’s interesting too the point in your life, in your career, that you enter the residency, if your career is too advanced I don’t think it’s suitable, I think it was really suitable for me who was just on the cusp of giving up the teaching, and taking on a profession full-time
I was at the early stage of my career, it was definitely on my horizon at that time, I was full of energy, moving forward, doing residencies, doing some shows, doing little bits all over the place, and I moved to Dublin, and really placed myself here for a while, got it at the time when it just felt right, it was a perfect kind of position for me, where I was in my head, I hadn’t really done anything major, but here we are, wow, the world come, let’s go
ANTI-AGEIST POLICY
Another criterion for selection for a residency is that artists of all ages will be considered. Artists thought that this policy of focusing on stage of career development rather than age was the appropriate one, i.e. to select both younger artists and mid-career artists for residencies. There were views amongst some of the artists that the visual art arena can at times be ageist, with too much focus on youth and novelty, where older artists are compelled to vie for recognition. The residency provided validation for artists of all ages, be they younger or older, and provided artists with the security to risk something new and innovative in their practice:
I don’t think I was ever as prolific as I was when I was here, so we’re all saying the same thing, it gives you that lift, the security to even risk something, to make something bigger than you’ve ever made it
Ranges of age, and I think that’s very important to keep, because people have transitions in their work, and your career is not related to your age either, it doesn’t just run in parallel so I think, to be aware of how it can work, or to create a shift in somebody’s work, it’s not really related to their career or age, it’s just a shift
SUPPORTED ART-MAKING
A common theme running through the artist’s discussions was that the residency allowed them to explore new art forms through the development of new skills, as well as through having the space and time in a non-pressurised environment to work in these new ways.