artist in residence

We are looking for our next Artist in Residence to join us for 6 months between November 2022 and April 2023.

We are inviting artists to engage with and respond to our 6-month intervention in the Historic Galleries, an exhibition of photographic portraits by Simon Frederick, shown next to G F Watts’ ‘Hall of Fame’ society portraits from the Victorian era, ‘Faces of Fame: G F Watts X Simon Frederick’ (27 September 2022 - 26 March 2023).

Twelve portraits of exceptional Black British figures from politics, business, sport, science and more, on loan to WGAV from the National Portrait Gallery, will sit next to G F Watts portraits of predominantly white men of the Victorian era. Bringing up questions of representation and the shift in societal norms, who is represented on gallery walls and who gets to choose; we are seeking an artist who is engaged with similar concerns.

Simon Frederick asks applicants to consider, “What does representation look like in the future? If we have been able to choose our creative practice, what gives us the right to choose?”

The successful artist will have exclusive use of a studio on site at WGAV for 6 months. The purpose of the residency is a period of research and development; whilst we ask for some level of public engagement throughout, there is no requirement for a final outcome. An Open Studio weekend will be promoted by WGAV to celebrate the end of the residency and for the artist to show the results of their research to-date.