artist

residencies

Funded residencies available at incredible sites, For visual artists who live and work in Calderdale

In partnership with Calderdale Year of Culture and with local venues across Calderdale, we are launching an Artist in Residence Programme taking place throughout 2024 and 2025. The programme will bring local visual artists to venues across the borough throughout the Year of Culture, in which the public will be able to see and interact with their creative practice. Immersed in a new environment, the residencies will celebrate the culture and creativity of Calderdale by allowing each artist to explore new ideas while engaging with the local community. People will have the chance to work with the artist in a series of fully accessible workshops and engagement activities, providing space for the exchange of ideas between artists and their communities.

We’ll be sharing more about each residency and the artists taking part as they are programmed. If you would like to apply for a residency you can find details of any open calls here.

Ogden Water

nature reserve

Sally Barker is Ogden Water Nature Reserve’s Artist in Residence as part of Calderdale’s Year of Culture.

Sally works mainly with sculpture and installation but also with video, printing, painting and the occasional performance. She explores ideas around power, control and fault both in relation to feminism and the natural environment. She often uses casting and ceramic techniques, as casting brings an element of reality and presence.

She explores our often destructive relationship with the natural world, by combining elements of the body with natural objects, whether through cast techniques or by manipulating and leaving her mark on the clay.

Learn more about sally's residency here

To find out more about Sally, please visit her website or follow her on Instagram: @sallyjbarker

The Smith

Art Gallery

Rachael Elwell is The Smith Art Gallery’s Artist in Residence as part of Calderdale’s Year of Culture.

During her residency at the Smith Art Gallery, Rachael will spend the first 1-2 weeks immersed in the surrounding outdoor environment, gathering visual research through photography, on-site drawings, painted sketches, and written notes. This diary of initial thoughts and observations will inform her creative process. Back in the studio, she will transform this research into large-scale expressive drawings and paintings. Throughout the residency, Rachael will refine her current methods while experimenting with new painting techniques and working on a scale larger than she has previously explored, pushing the boundaries of her artistic practice.

To find out more about Rachael Elwell, please visit her website or follow her on Instagram: @Rachaelelwellartist

king cross

library

Nikta Mohammadi is our artist in residence at King Cross Library in Halifax.

Nikta is an Iranian artist, filmmaker and producer, working across moving image, sound, performance and text. Her practice is rooted in her dreams. It examines the relationship between personal and political, outside and inside, private and public, documentary and fiction.

Nikta is using her time at the library to research local stories and folklore relating to the wind, with a focus on Top Withen. She is inviting the public to share their stories and is engaging with local community groups including St Augustine’s Centre, Halifax to find out more about how the wind is depicted in other cultures.

Image taken on set of Memory Stone (2024), Nikta Mohammadi, 20 minutes. Photographer: Jhenelle White

To find out more about Nikta, please visit her website or follow her on Instagram: @nik_la_flaneuse

The folklore centre

todmorden

The Folklore Centre has welcomed David Chatton Barker, a multi-disciplinary artist working in visual art, experimental music and performance to be their Artist in Residence.

David’s work drawing inspiration from British folklore and its deep-rooted connection to the landscape. Through publications, posters, bespoke vinyl records and tape releases, he create immersive, tactile experiences that invite listeners into a world where visual art, sound and storytelling meet.

During his residency, he will explore the rich seam of lore and legends in and around Todmorden, visually re-interpreting it for residents and visitors to Calderdale Valley.