Host an Artist

Host an Artist is an online exchange platform for property owners to share their spaces (summer houses, bungalows, apartments,warehouses, empty offices) with artists as temporary artistic residencies.

Host an Artist
France, November 2015

Host an Artist

Host an Artist is an online exchange platform for property owners and artists. Owners of summer houses, bungalows, apartments,warehouses, empty offices can share their spaces with artists as temporary artistic residencies.

In exchange for this hosting, artists will offer a work of art, an original work, singing or painting lessons, a private concert or any other art form to create a unique link between themselves and their hosts.

David Guez and Anne Roquigny met in Le web bar, a mythical Parisian place of the 2000s which witnessed the emergence of the first net artistic projects. Anne set up David’s first exhibition and since then, they have continued working in the digital art sphere by developing creative curatorial and artistic projects.

Assuming that the web must be above all an area of exchange and communication, able to create new models of production, distribution and mediation of art, David and Anne are tackling today a simple yet necessary concept: artist residences.

Their research has lead to a rather surprising conclusion: there are very few residencies available for artists (300 in France) and the exchange between artists and art lovers are mostly restricted to vernissages.

In August 2014, the project was presented to one of the Ministry of Culture officials, who assessed the project as ‘relevant’ and ‘necessary’ in the current cultural landscape. Thus, an initial financial aid was allocated to gather a team and build the first version of the website.

HOST AN ARTIST proposes a new form of mediation between artists and their audiences. The prevailing features are:

  • The website is multilingual, thus artistic residencies can be organized at an international level
  • There are no financial transactions between the hosts and the artists
  • The exchange takes places at a different level: the artist commits him/herself to delivering an artwork, a text, a performance,a workshop or an element which allows the host to engage with the artist’s work.
  • The offer of residence may encompass the totality or only a part of the venue.
  • The structure managing the website is associative. It provides a legal framework in order to secure the exchange between the two parties and to ensure that the transaction is simple and based on mutual trust.
  • The organization provides a customized contract for the host and the artist.

Paysages Humains sponsors this initiave by an annual contribution.
We were there for the opening party in the Claude Samuel Gallery in Paris on november 2015.

Link:
www.hostanartist.com