Watermill Residency Unveils Artist Roster For 2018

[caption id="attachment_75229" align="alignnone" width="1000"] The Watermill Center[/caption]

The reason that The Watermill Center is called a laboratory for the arts and humanities is because it is exactly that — a think-tank, and idea breeding ground, for up-and-coming interdisciplinary visionaries from around the world.

The first duo of next year’s Residency Program, kicking off January 8, is no exception.

Iva Radivojevic — a Serbian-born video artist, now living in Brooklyn — will use her time to develop Aleph, a video journey through a labyrinth of 10 different countries and characters using magical realism to steer the viewer through collected stories. American artist Boris Willis plans to merge performance and technology, crafting interactive multimedia works that draw from his theater and dance background.

They are two of 20 eventual artists who will spend up to six weeks each on the Water Mill grounds, creating works that “critically investigate, challenge and extend the existing norms of artistic practice,” according to a press release.

“We are excited that the 2018 Artist Residency Program has expanded to include more writers, researchers and visual artists than ever before,” Watermill Center Director Elka Rifkin said in a press release. “This dynamic mix allows artists working across disciplines to develop their individual practice and share ideas with an eclectic community while gathered in a common space.

“We have also expanded our Educational Programming to provide more interactions between our Artists-in-Residence and the local community, including more workshops for children and professional development opportunities for East End teachers and educators,” she added.

This winter marks the first year that artists in residence have access to Watermill’s new onsite digital research tool, The Library of Inspiration, which launched in November. The library allows artists and researchers to explore Watermill’s collection of art and artifacts; documentation of new works created on site; the archives of its founder and artistic cirector Robert Wilson; and the supporting collection of books.

“The gift of a residency at The Watermill Center is an invaluable treasure,” said returning artist in residence Alvaro Restrepo of El Colegio del Cuerpo. “Inhabiting Bob Wilson's physical, mental and spiritual environment is a lesson in the quest for artistic and human excellence.”

Additional artists in residence will include: ANTIMÉTODO, Ville Andersson, Jarrod Beck, Tania Bruguera, Anne Carson, Jayoung Chung, Lauren DiGiulio, Saskia Friedrich, groupe Karol Karol, Molly Joyce, Masako Miki, Hugh Ryan, Bastienne Schmidt, John Stintzi, Tercer Abstracto, Barthélémy Toguo and Joe Zorrilla.

For more information about The Watermill Center, please visit watermillcenter.org.