The VA program is on temporary hiatus for Fall 2024 while Temple Rome relocates to its new campus at Piazza di Spagna.  For information about Spring 2025 please email d.kovach@temple.edu.

 

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The Temple University Rome Visiting Artist (VA) Residency program creates a robust research residency for visual artists to embed themselves and their practice in the TUR printmaking area. The goal is to enrich and enhance the wider studio community at Temple University Rome through interaction and exchange between students and leaders in the field of contemporary art. 

About the Residency

The visiting artist (VA) program provides a wonderful opportunity for emerging and mid-career artists who demonstrate a significant exhibition record/record of creative research. The residency has its home base in the Temple Rome printmaking area, and is particularly suited for artists whose works will benefit from access to printmaking processes and equipment, including artists exploring new directions and innovative approaches to making prints and/or considering the role of printed images in contemporary art and culture.

The selected visiting artist actively develops their proposed project in the printmaking lab at TUR. It is expected that most of their work will take place in the studio and make use of its equipment and spaces. Part of the advantage of hosting a visiting artist is that students can share space with a practicing visual artist. Such an arrangement provides students with a rare opportunity to see how an artist develops significant/complex creative research. The advantage for the artist is that they will have access to the printmaking lab equipment, the vibrant learning community at Temple Rome, and of course the rich cultural setting of Rome in which to develop their work. 

Visiting artists contribute to building a thriving creative atmosphere within the Temple Rome art community in the following ways:

• a public lecture for the TUR art community.

• a technical demonstration of a process vital to their creative research.

• studio visits for GRADUATE and advanced UNDERGRADUATE students.

The public lecture is a platform for introducing the VA to the wider Temple Rome art community.  It is a key opportunity for opening up interdisciplinary dialogue between art students studying at TU Rome. A technical demonstration (workshop or tutorial) allows the VA to share their working process with interested students and faculty. Studio visits are a platform for direct conversation in which students benefit from the VA’s experience and point of view. Such efforts contribute to the diversity of conversation in the studio art atmosphere; on a practical level they expand institutional knowledge and strengthen technical studio capabilities. The printmaking faculty, graduate studio assistant, and any dedicated work-study candidates can provide support, within reason, to the visiting artist during their tenure.

Temple University Rome is committed to the continuous improvement of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion on its campus and encourages applications from people of diverse backgrounds. 

Duration of the Residency

The visiting artist residency is a one-month experience. Temple Rome will host one VA  per academic semester. The VA residency will begin during the second week of Temple Rome’s academic calendar. The Fall VA will run from the first week of October through the first week of November; the Spring VA from the first week of February through the first week of March. Short-term, project-based residencies will also be considered based on the relevance and feasibility of the proposed project (not to exceed one per semester in addition to the VA).

Expenses and Funding

The 2023/24 VA program received generous funding from artist and Temple Rome alumni Robert Flynt to cover two awards for the selected candidates.  Each award consists of a $1,600 travel stipend to offset the cost of travel and/or lodging during the residency period; and a $500 materials award to offset the cost of supplies during the residency (see appendix for details), the purchase of which to be coordinated with TUR printmaking faculty in anticipation of the residency start date.  During the residency period, the selected VA will have full access to the Temple Rome printmaking facilities with the support of our printmaking faculty member, Devin Kovach.  

Studio Use and Materials

All artists working in the Temple Rome Printmaking lab will need to complete a short safety orientation with Prof. Kovach at the outset of their residency period.  Artists are expected to uphold the studio best practices throughout the duration of their tenure.  

The $500 materials award is used to cover the cost of matrix materials (zinc/copper etching plates, photointaglio/photolitho plates, silkscreen frames, RISOgraph printing, wood or linoleum blocks), printmaking inks, proof and editioning papers, and all necessary chemicals and solvents. 

Selected artists will be asked to submit a materials request form after confirmation of their acceptance of the VA residency. 

At that time, they should indicate how they would like to utilize their materials budget (purchases will be coordinated with TUR printmaking faculty Devin Kovach). 

Additional materials expenses, beyond the $500 budget, must be incurred by the selected artists.

Criteria for Selection

Artists should be able to make a compelling case for why Rome, and specifically Temple Rome, would be the ideal setting in which to develop their new work. Successful proposals establish a meaningful connection to the context of Rome as a place where the contemporary and the ancient are mingled. Of critical importance will be the way that the VA proposes to reveal new ways of interpreting this Roman narrative through their proposed project.

How to Apply

The VA residency is on temporary hiatus.  The 2025 application cycle will open in late Autumn 2024.

Application materials should be uploaded to the web link provided*.  Applications must include an artist’s statement (max. 1000 words), a project abstract (max. 1000 words), and a portfolio of digital images (not to exceed 20 images), organized into a single pdf document.  

Please include a cover letter with your full name, address, preferred email address, and telephone number.  A committee composed of between 3 and 5 people will include Temple Rome art faculty, the Director of Tyler in Rome, the TUR chief academic officer, and 1-2 additional voices as needed. The selection committee receives applications once a year, in early July, for both Fall and Spring residencies. Candidates are invited to indicate their preferred residency period (whether Fall or Spring). These preferences will be taken into account during the selection process.

Past Visiting Artist Residencies

Find out about our past Visiting Artist Residencies here!