ACRE (Artists’ Cooperative Residency and Exhibitions) provides emerging artists with support from a creative community that aids in the development of their art practices. Founded in 2010, ACRE is a volunteer-run non-profit organization that is based in Chicago, with summer residencies held in Steuben, Wisconsin. The organization offers the opportunity for established and emerging artists, curators, and gallerists to network together.
Acre Artist Residency, 2014
Residents participate in one of three 12-day sessions in the summer in rural Wisconsin on over 1000 acres of land. Facilities provided allow artists to have access to a screen-printing studio, woodshop, art and tech facility, and recording equipment, as well as communal workspaces. Because of the nature of the ACRE program, residents are not only able to work upon their individual art practices, but are also given the opportunity to experience a more collaborative manner of art making as a community.
Acre Artist Residency, 2014
Workshops, lectures, and group critiques are offered during the sessions, as well as the option to participate in studio visits with other established artists and curators. These programs offer further group support and input, while also allowing residents to expand on their own art practices.
Over the course of the next year, residents are given the opportunity to exhibit work in a professional gallery space. In addition to ACRE’s own gallery space, partner galleries are able to invite residents to show with them. These openings occur every three weeks at ACRE’s Chicago location. Residents are also given access to a digital flatfile through the ACRE website, to be used as a reference for possible participation in various art events. This subsequently allows for the residency community to merge with the Chicago arts community.
Additional information can be found at acreresidency.org.
Acre Artist Residency, 2014
Review by Emily Johnson, ACRE INTERN, 2014-2015
