How I Got an Artists Residency in Japan (And How You Can Get One Too)

How I Got an Artists Residency in Japan (And How You Can Get One Too)

For a long time, I always assumed certain things only happened to other artists:

For example, winning a major photography award with a huge cash prize attached; having their work published in an art book; being invited to give a TED Talk about their art, etc.

And here’s another one: getting an artists residency.

For some reason, artist residencies seemed equally unattainable as the above accolades.

They appeared to be reserved for extremely accomplished artists creating in remote cabins in Scandinavia or beautiful studios in Bali, where they would spend three months making incredible art.

It didn’t really occur to me that I could simply… apply for one.

And yet, somehow, here I am in Japan, about to start an artists residency myself.

Even more surprisingly, the whole thing turned out to be much more accessible than I had thought.

Now, of course, that doesn’t mean getting accepted is easy or guaranteed.

But as I now know, artist residencies aren’t necessarily reserved for famous artists with enormous exhibition histories.

In fact, there are thousands of programmes around the world, ranging from prestigious fully funded residencies to small independent programmes, and they’re looking for very different kinds of artists.

So if you’ve ever looked at artists residencies and thought I’d love to do that one day, but I’m probably not at that level yet, this post is for you.

Here’s how I got an artists residency in Japan – and how you can start working towards one too.

How I Got My Artists Residency in Japan

In my case, I knew I wanted to spend a few months in Japan (because I am in love with the country and have also been learning Japanese for a few years), so I started specifically looking for artist residencies that would work for me as a photographer.

I eventually found a small residency in Japan that immediately appealed to me.

It accepted international artists and photographers, the length of the programme worked with my plans, and I could actually see my work fitting in there.

For my application, I submitted a portfolio of my photography, my artist CV and a proposal for the project I wanted to create during the residency.

I won’t share the specific residency here, simply because I’d like to keep the exact location of where I’m living and working private while I’m there.

But there wasn’t any secret to it: I found the opportunity online and applied through the normal application process.

I hadn’t been personally invited. I didn’t have a gallery representing me or somebody making an introduction on my behalf.

Instead, I just found an opportunity online that seemed like a good fit, spent a good week on my application, and got accepted.

I was thrilled, and more importantly, it made me realise that artist residencies might be quite a bit more accessible than I’d previously thought.

Quick Aside: What Actually Is an Artist Residency?

An artists residency is essentially a period of time in which an artist temporarily lives and/or works somewhere in order to focus on their creative practice.

That might mean spending two weeks in a studio in your own country, three months in Japan, six months working alongside other artists somewhere completely new, etc.

Every residency is different: Some provide accommodation, studio space and some pocket money.

Some are completely funded, whereas others require artists to pay a programme fee or cover their own accommodation and travel. 

Some residencies expect you to produce a finished body of work or take part in an exhibition, while others are much more focused on experimentation and research.

There are residencies for painters, writers, photographers, filmmakers, sculptors, multimedia artists and pretty much every other kind of creative practice you can imagine.

Which brings me to the first thing I wish I’d realised earlier:

You don’t have to wait for somebody to decide that you’re a sufficiently serious artist – you can simply go looking for these opportunities yourself.

So, if you’d like to give it a go, here’s how I’d approach it:

1. Build a Strong Body of Work

Before tackling residency research, applications and CVs, I would start with creating a body of work that you’re truly happy with, and that shows off your identity as an artist.

If you don’t feel your work is quite there yet, this is also a good opportunity to spend some time refining your style before applying.

You could take an online course, start a personal project, experiment with new techniques or simply give yourself a few months to make more work.

Ideally, it’s great if you already have one or two cohesive series of work to show.

This can make it much easier for whoever is looking at your portfolio to understand what you do as an artist and what kind of ideas or themes you’re interested in.

However, don’t let this put you off applying if you don’t have a finished series. I didn’t either – my own portfolio consists of individual images rather than a single cohesive project.

What matters most is that, when someone looks through your portfolio, they have a fairly clear idea of what your art is about.

By the way…if you’re a photographer and would like some ideas for making new work, check out my free ebook below:

…but now, back to the blog post!

2. Start Getting Your Work Out There

This next step is something I did gradually over several years without any particular master plan behind it.

I started entering photography competitions, submitting work to exhibitions and looking for publication opportunities.

Some (actually, many!) things went nowhere; some things resulted in a small online or print exhibition or even a publication. Over time, those individual things started accumulating into an artist CV.

If your CV currently looks rather empty, don’t panic!! You don’t need to jump immediately from “I’ve never exhibited anything” to trying to get into the National Portrait Gallery.

Look for smaller opportunities: Submit to photography and art magazines; enter competitions that suit your work; look for open calls for group exhibitions; apply to online exhibitions; or submit work to independent galleries and photography festivals.

Sites such as ArtConnect, CuratorSpace, or Picter can be useful places to discover open calls, exhibitions and photography competitions.

If you’re a photographer like me, it’s also a good idea to keep an eye on competitions and opportunities run by photography organisations, galleries and magazines.

Important: Don’t dismiss smaller achievements because they don’t sound glamorous enough.

An online exhibition is still an exhibition, a small independent photography magazine is still a publication, etc!

Equally, you don’t always have to win the main prize; being shortlisted is still worth putting on your CV.

The point isn’t to collect accolades purely so you can look impressive – it’s to slowly create a track record showing that you’re actively making work and participating in the art world.

This process might take a couple of years, or it might happen surprisingly quickly.

And don’t forget, you can also create your own opportunities:

If nobody has invited you to exhibit yet, you could organise a small exhibition yourself, collaborate with another artist, or create a self-published photo/art book. These are all valid ways to fill up your artist CV.

3. Find Artists Residency Opportunities That Suit You

Once I started seriously looking at artist residencies, I realised that there are A LOT of them, and it’s easy to feel a bit overwhelmed.

However, you most likely won’t be a perfect fit for every opportunity you find. Instead, try to make a narrow selection by working backwards from what you actually want.

Ask yourself:

• Where would you like to go?
• How long can you realistically be away?
• Do you need a fully funded residency, or could you contribute towards the cost?
• Do you need accommodation to be included?
• Do you need access to specialist equipment or a studio?
• Is there an exhibition or presentation at the end?
• What language is the programme run in?
• What kind of artists have they accepted previously?
• Does the general atmosphere and philosophy of the residency suit your work?

There are large databases of artists residency opportunities online, including Res Artis, TransArtists and On the Move. 

For me personally, I have found my residency using ChatGPT, so definitely make use of AI!

Just make sure to be specific in your query: Rather than just saying, for example, “find me artist residencies in Japan”, say something like:

Find artist residencies in Japan that accept fine-art photographers, run in English, last between one and three months, include accommodation and accept international applicants.

Applying these kinds of parameters to your search means you’re not sorting through hundreds of irrelevant programmes.

That’s essentially how I approached it:

Once I’d narrowed my search down to photography and added a few other criteria that mattered to me, I ended up with four potential residency programmes. I applied to all four – and got accepted by one.

4. Treat Your Artists Residency Application Like a Job Application

Once you’ve found a residency you really want, make sure you take lots of time and care to put your application together.

An artist residency application isn’t something I’d throw together on a Sunday evening because the deadline is at midnight.

It goes without saying, but read the submission guidelines carefully and make sure to follow them! 

Next, really spend time writing your proposal, which for many artist residencies is probably the most important part.

Now, I know I recommend using AI for finding residency opportunities. However, writing your proposal is one area where I would NOT use ChatGPT or similar tools.

If you’re staring at a blank page, absolutely use it to help you understand what makes a strong artist residency proposal. 

You can also ask it to create an outline or to research what information selection panels generally look for. 

You could even describe your proposal idea and ask AI which parts it thinks aren’t clear yet.

But then definitely write the actual proposal yourself!

Why?

Well, your art is personal; your reasons for making it are personal, and a residency application is one of those occasions where I think the writing has to be authentically yours – otherwise, it will just sound like anyone else’s who has used AI to write theirs.

Another tip for your proposal: Make it specific to the residency you’re applying to, rather than sending the exact same proposal everywhere.

If you’re applying for a residency in Japan, for example, there should ideally be a reason the work needs to be made in Japan, or would particularly benefit from being made there.

5. Don’t Give Up!

Amazing! You sent your application…but what if you don’t hear back?

First of all, remember that artist residencies can be competitive, and rejection doesn’t necessarily mean that your work isn’t good enough.

There could be so many reasons why you weren’t the right fit: Maybe another proposal suited the residency better that year; maybe your project wasn’t quite right for their facilities; maybe 300 people applied for six places, etc.

The healthiest way I’ve found to approach creative opportunities in general is not to make any single application responsible for proving whether or not I’m a “real” artist.

I simply apply and then move on, knowing that there will always be other opportunities. And if something doesn’t work out this year, I can make more art, improve my portfolio and try again later.

One Final Thought: You Might Be Closer Than You Think

I think this is the main thing I want you to take from this post.

For years, the phrase artist residency sounded incredibly official to me – like something you were invited to do once you’d reached a seemingly unattainable level of artistic importance.

It turns out that, in many cases, you can simply apply!

Of course, you need good work and a great proposal/application. But you don’t necessarily need to be famous, represented by a gallery or making your entire living from your art.

You just need to put some work into finding a suitable opportunity – and then be brave enough to send the application.

Because remember: I’m writing this just before starting my own residency in JAPAN! – something I’d never have thought possible a couple of years ago.

So if nothing else, I’m real-life proof that artist residencies aren’t just for some elusive group of “proper” artists – they are open to anyone, including me and you.