Artist in Residence is a collection of 50 contributions from artists from around the world who were asked to answer a simple question: what would be a piece of art or performance that we could all do in our homes during lockdown? Contributions range from crafts to cooking to conversations to meditations, giving us a glimpse into some of the forms creative thinking can take during quarantine. This project was conceived in March 2020 during one of the first periods of lockdown and social distancing implemented in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. Proceeds from the sale of this book were donated in full to the Foundation for Contemporary Arts.

Artists included Janine Antoni, Benae Beamon, Cara Benedetto, Black Quantum Futurism, The Black School, Center for Tactical Magic, Minerva Cuevas, Karin Davie, Chto Delat, Hope Ginsburg, Jen Wink Hays, Corin Hewitt, Khaled Jarrar, Leroy Johnson, Rashid Johnson, Kate Just and Tal Fitzpatrick, Charlotte Lagarde, Josh MacPhee, Leonidas Martín, Sarah McEneaney, Mores McWreath, Carlos Medellín, Moor Mother, Carlos Motta, My Barbarian, NAPPY, Noor Nuyten, Yoshua Okón, Amalia Pica, James Prosek, Naufus Ramírez-Figueroa, Pedro Reyes, Quilian Riano, Theresa Rose, Curtis Talwst Santiago, Jon-Phillip Sheridan, Jean Shin, Aliza Shvarts, Deb Sokolow, Jonas Staal, Emma Sulkowicz, SUPERFLEX, Julianne Swartz, Pascale Marthine Tayou, Hank Willis Thomas, Betty Tompkins, Stephen Vitiello, Carrie Mae Weems, Levester Williams, Anicka Yi.

How did this project come about?

Artist in Residence was conceived as part of the Commonwealth collaborative project. Commonwealth was organized and curated by Beta-Local co-directors Pablo Guardiola, Michael Linares, and nibia pastrana santiago and former co-director Sofía Gallisá Muriente; ICA at VCU Chief Curator Stephanie Smith; Noah Simblist, Chair of Painting + Printmaking at VCUarts; and Kerry Bickford Director of Programs, Nicole Pollard, Program Coordinator and Nato Thompson, Sueyun and Gene Locks Artistic Director at Philadelphia Contemporary.

The project was supported in part by the William Penn Foundation and Virginia Commonwealth University.