From 2012-2015, Ormston House piloted and tested different types of residencies including Project Residencies (2012), Writing Residencies (2013), Collective/Collaborative Residencies with Basic Space (2014), and Research & Production Residencies in partnership with the Irish Museum of Modern Art (2015).

In response to feedback from participants and considering our core question – how can we support artists better? – we introduced the evolving R&R Programme (Research & Residency) in 2016 with a focus on orientation, networking and thinking. To date, national and international artists and curators have been invited to spend time in Limerick to gain insights into the local context and to develop ideas for future or potential projects in the city.

Additionally, we introduced a long-term Artist-in-Residence opportunity for artists based in the Limerick region, in particular artists whose practices are not dependent on gallery display and embrace community-focused or socially-engaged methodologies. In 2018, we will continue to grow the scope of the R&R Programme and to introduce new formats and supports under this umbrella through our revised Membership Scheme.

From 2-8 December, we are delighted to welcome Basque curator and critic, Haizea Barcenilla, for her fifth visit to Limerick as part of the R&R Programme. Haizea curated Essays for the House of Memory, a Members’ Exhibition in 2014, and joined our International Advisory Group in 2016. On this visit, she will continue her research through interviews with artists, participants and stakeholders as part of The Sustainability Plan: tool-kits supported by the Arts Council of Ireland Visual Arts Project Award.

Image: still from Andrekale by Señora Polaroiska, commissioned by the New Patrons of Hernani and curated by Haizea Barcenilla in collaboration with Tabakalera – International Centre for Contemporary Culture.