SPECIAL RESIDENCY PROGRAMS FOR ALUMNI
1. ARQUETOPIA HONORS ALUMNI RESIDENCY PROGRAM
The Arquetopia Honors Alumni Residency Program is a special academic program for the most outstanding Arquetopia artist-in-residence alumni. Designed as an invitation-only, long-term residency, it offers a 18-month program combining an on-site residency with a flexible duration of 4 to 8 weeks, and up to a 17-month long-distance advisory process.
The program is aimed to expand on the difference between artistic intention and artistic agency by focusing on each artistic practice individually. Offering support in the process of conceptualizing and formalizing projects, the program considers the potential questions arising at the intersection of technique, form, concept and context, alongside a research component to help consolidate artistic ideas.
During the long-distance advisory process mentored by Arquetopia founding director and curator Francisco Guevara, each artist will set individual professional goals and develop a project. The process includes an on-site residency at Arquetopia Puebla, where each artist will fully dedicate a minimum of 4 weeks to consolidate their ideas and project(s). With the goal of building and expanding our transnational community, as part of the online sessions, every other session will be held as virtual group/collective session with all of the honors alumni to exchange ideas, expand on questions, and share the development of each individual project. The program includes a research component, access to Arquetopia’s online classroom platform, critical readings, advisory sessions, and general professional guidance for the entire duration of the program.
Candidates are nominated based on exceptional aspects of their artistic practice, reflecting a high level of commitment to social change, and specifically to Arquetopia’s mission, taking into consideration their level of engagement during their residency, goals achieved, and unexpected outstanding outcomes of their previous residency. This program is offered biennially and by invitation only, taking into consideration alumni from the immediate past five years of residencies. Selected artists have the flexibility to start their residency within the next 18 months, and fully complete the program within a period of 24 months in total.
This program is offered only at Arquetopia Puebla.
WHAT THE ARQUETOPIA HONORS ALUMNI RESIDENCY PROGRAM INCLUDES
Staff Support:
- Each resident artist meets weekly with our directorial and curatorial staff for personalized mentoring, research assistance/resources, project guidance, and critique
- Access to individualized readings and materials through our online classroom platform
- Monthly critical readings and online meetings for the long-distance phase of the program
Accommodation and Meals (Puebla):
- Furnished, private bedroom
- Meals and 24-hour access to stocked kitchen and large dining room
- Wireless Internet
- Use of Arquetopia’s residency spaces including 4th-floor lounge and outdoor terraces
- Shared bathrooms with modern fixtures and showers
- Housekeeping
Studio Workspace (Puebla):
- 24-hour access to large and bright, shared art studio with generous natural light
- Personal workspace with large table and wall space
- Some tools provided
- Separate top-floor studio with bright natural light and sliding ventilation doors provided for oil painting
- Darkroom provided for photographers; some supplies provided
- Artists bring their own materials and supplies or obtain them locally
2. ARQUETOPIA INTERNATIONAL MENTORSHIP PROGRAM
In Memoriam Dolores Olmedo Patiño
As Arquetopia has become a prominent international foundation, we face new challenges, our role in the development of the arts and the residency field keeps growing, and our mission continues to expand. Through our multiple residency programs, Arquetopia has had the privilege of hosting, guiding, and advising more than 600 artists, designers, writers, art historians, and other professionals in the arts, from 90 countries around the world. With a wide range of backgrounds, methodologies, scopes, critical perspectives, and an extended network, we are proud to have created an international community invested in social change, that continues to expand the dialogue on ethics in the arts into diverse communities around the globe.
Three-time Artist-in-Residence, Residency Scholarship Award Recipient, and International Mentorship Program participant Samar Hejazi (Palestine/Canada)
Arquetopia honors the memory of one of the most important patrons and collectors of Mexican art, Dolores Olmedo Patiño, who with great vision, generous vocation, and determined participation, played a crucial role in the development of the arts, influencing the political and cultural life of Mexico. Known for establishing a very important museum and donating her vast art collections to the people of Mexico, Dolores Olmedo especially challenged notions of taste and power by questioning national narratives, expanding women’s civic engagement in the public sphere, and creating an important legacy. Following Dolores Olmedo’s example, Arquetopia Foundation is prepared to nurture a new generation of artists committed to social change and to offer them long-term guidance and support.
Two-time Artist-in-Residence, Residency Scholarship Award Recipient, and International Mentorship Program participant Caroline Ongpin (Philippines/USA)
Two-time Artist-in-Residence, Residency Scholarship Award Recipient, and International Mentorship Program participant Lance Smith (USA) Artist-in-Residence, Residency Scholarship Award Recipient, and International Mentorship Program participant Louise Fago-Ruskin (United Kingdom)
Two-time Artist-in-Residence, Residency Scholarship Award Recipient, and International Mentorship Program participant Priscilla Dobler (Mexico/USA)
