EAC’s artwork-in-residence program curated by Jessica Cochran and featuring 6 artists in rotating residencies will commence with multidisciplinary artist Pedro Vélez from June 2 – June 30, 2016. Vélez’s work merges his interests in journalism and art criticism into visual essays that take the form of large sculptural paintings, photographic collages, and limited edition posters. Taken together Vélez’s approach creates a vibrant stream of consciousness commentary on a variety of issues, encompassing race, politics and other aesthetic concerns.

During his residency, Vélez will use EAC’s space to develop his most recent body of work, which explores personas, places, events, and other sources of inspiration that constitute an artist’s muse. Velez will set aside a wall in the gallery space for community members and visitors to the Art Center to submit subjects, places, names, and photographs. Velez will crowd source these submissions into artwork in progress as well as new work created during the residency. By inviting community members and visitors to collaborate with the development of his work, Vélez seeks to find what type of active role viewers can play by helping him assemble the narratives of his work.

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Program Overview

What if an artist’s body of work could exist and develop somewhere in between the studio and the exhibition space? In order to provide artists a semi-public, hybrid work and exhibition space, the Evanston Art Center will launch an inaugural “artwork-in-residence” program. The Evanston Art Center is inviting artists to “move in” to the second floor project space for 4 weeks. There, artists can work on projects-in-progress, experiment with the display of their artwork, host studio visits and engage the community of the Evanston Art Center and the broader art community in the development of their work ways that they see fit. For each artist, this studio/exhibition space is a blank slate, fresh semi-public environment and a temporary platform — designed for making, showing, thinking, writing, experimenting and talking within a dynamic and thriving creative community.

In addition, artists are invited to utilize the studios and class offerings at the Evanston Art Center for the duration of their residency.

Why this program? Many artists, long for a context beyond the confines of the isolation of their studio—or even a studio in the first place—to “test the waters” when developing bodies of work. This program gives artists the chance to use a semi-public hybrid work/gallery space in a way that they see fit—for the production, display and development of their work. There are no “strings attached” in terms of a final product or outcome.

2016-17 Theme: Society!

How do artists consider, create and critique social fabric? We are looking for artists whose work can be considered under the broad idea of society. Taking this opportunity to create a space for the political, the personal, the imaginary, the speculative and the unregulated, residency artists’ will have work that engages, reflects or models society today in myriad ways.
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SOCIETY! is curated by Jessica Cochran.

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Tags: Evanston, Evanston Art Center, Pedro Vélez