Like never before, artists travel far and wide—from urban cultural centers to remote natural ecosystems—but with the pressures of rapidly expanding cultural tourism and markets, they have less time to develop their work and engage in the cultures and communities in the places they visit. The Creative Time Global Residency Program simply addresses these challenges by giving artists time to get off the race track, travel, and prioritize the issues that fuel their work. Thanks to a grant from the Rockefeller Foundation's Cultural Innovation Fund, six New York-based artists over the course of two years will travel the globe to investigate a burning question central to their practice while immersing themselves in new communities to learn.

In 2009 and early-2010, Maya Lin traveled to sites of marked environmental change (including Ecuador, Egypt, and China) to research mass extinctions caused by the degradation of natural habitats; while Walid Raad traveled to Beirut to explore the burgeoning infrastructure for the visual arts in the Arab world. In 2010, Swoon will travel to Haiti and work with communities in Port au Prince and Bigones to rebuild housing and community structures after last January's devastating earthquake. Sanford Biggers will travel to Brazil and use the medium of video to explore the cultural hybridization of the region; K8 Hardy will visit Chile, Mexico, Brazil, and Argentina to investigate fringe queer culture, particularly feminist and lesbian communities that are actively producing cultural forms; and Emily Jacir will take the pulse of activism in urban areas of Italy with a particular focus on various immigrant communities. In January 2011, all six of the artists will bring their experiences back home to the people of New York City, sharing their stories, findings, and revelations in the form of a talk presented by Creative Time.

For the past 35 years, Creative Time has helped artists convert the power of their ideas into works that inspire social change and stimulate public dialogue on timely issues. The Creative Time Global Residency program furthers Creative Time's belief in the importance of art in society, artists who make work outside New York City, and the transformative power of the combination of art and social action.

Lead project support
provided by: