Art X Residency - Institute for Creativity, Arts, and Technology at Virgina Tech

This two-week residency programme involves an artist exchange between Galway and the US, and invites the participating artists to explore new ways of engaging with digital technology in their creative practice.

Beginning in September 2024, the Digital Artist in Residence Exchange involves a two-week residency in Galway for a US-based artist and a two-week residency in Virginia Tech for an Irish-based artist. We are particularly interested in working with artists who have not previously engaged with digital technology in their practice, as well as those who wish to engage with new modes of technology. Participants are expected to engage with local communities and bring their practice into dialogue with knowledge or research questions from the sciences or social sciences during their residency, including, but not limited to, climate science, data analytics, EDI, urban planning etc. 

This project is produced by the Centre for Creative Technologies at University of Galway in partnership with the Institute for Creativity, Arts and Technology at Virginia Tech, TULCA, and SolasNua. Funding is provided by Galway Culture Company, Centre for Creative Technologies at University of Galway and Institute for Creativity, Arts and Technology at Virginia Tech.

Programme Structure 

The participating artists will spend two weeks in the partner institution; at the Centre for Creative Technologies in the University of Galway and the Institute for Creativity, Arts and Technology at Virginia Tech. There they will have access to a range of creative technologies, including VR and AR headsets, motion capture technology, spatial audio and virtual production technology.

The aim of the programme is threefold:  

• to increase the capacity of Galway based artists to engage with creative technologies through knowledge exchange 
• to develop Galway as a centre of excellence and innovation in the utilization of creative technologies across research domains 
• to engage Galway communities with the potentials of creative technologies for creative practice as well as for responding to social challenges 

During the residency, the artists in residence will participate in a programme developed with project partners TULCA Visual Arts Festival and Solas Nua Irish Arts Festival. This will include relevant masterclasses given by creative technologists, practitioners and researchers, selected to complement and develop the visiting artist's areas of expertise and practice. These masterclasses will be open to the public and addressed to a non-expert audience. The residency will conclude with a masterclass by the visiting artist in which they present their work-in-progress. This will be programmed into the TULCA festival programme in Galway and the New Music and Technology festival at Virginia Tech. The artists will be invited to develop the finished work for exhibition in the 2025 festivals. In addition, the outgoing Galway artist will be asked to present their work at a public masterclass on their return. 

Engagement with local communities will be built around the identified theme and focus of the visiting artist (climate change, urban planning etc). This will build on and extend existing community partnerships developed by the Centre for Creative Technologies through projects such as the Creative Ireland funded "The Air We Share," which works with community groups in Westside, and the SFI funded "Immersive Empathy," co-creating immersive media with people who have experienced homelessness. We are particularly keen to work with artists who engage with issues of diversity, access and inclusion as they apply to creative technologies. 

Project Partners

Centre for Creative Technologies, University of Galway

The Centre for Creative Technologies, University of Galway, supports research and teaching activities that explore, analyse, and develop new links between creative practice and technology, including in such areas as Extended Reality, Artificial Intelligence, Augmented Creativity and Virtual Production. The Centre hosted its first Digital Artist in Residence, James Riordan of Brú Theatre, in September 2023 and developed the residency structure that will be utilised in this programme. In November 2023, the Centre launched Lost & Found, a co-created, virtual reality film produced in collaboration with clients from the Galway Simon Community. Co-created by clients of Galway Simon, leading virtual reality filmmakers and researchers from the University of Galway as part of the IRC and SFI-funded Immersive Empathy project, this 360 degree film captures and conveys the experience of homelessness from the perspective of those who have lived it. The Centre is a partner on multiple comunity engaged projects, including “The Air We Share” funded by Creative Ireland’s Creative Climate Action Fund and “Cathair Samhlú: Platform Urbanism,” funded by Science Foundation Ireland’s National Challenge Fund. 

 
TULCA 

TULCA is a multi-venue, artist-centered festival of contemporary art that works with Irish curators to present innovative exhibitions that provoke and energise audiences into the world of the Visual Arts. TULCA Festival champions Galway city and county as central to the contemporary visual arts community and as a hub for artists, audiences and culture. It promotes the development and exhibition of the contemporary visual arts culture through a national and international network of artists, audiences, curators and art critics. 

Solas Nua

Solas Nua is a leading multi-disciplinary arts organization that is dedicated exclusively to contemporary Irish arts. Based in Washington, D.C., their mission is to bring the best of contemporary Irish arts to the U.S. By offering new opportunities for artists based in both Ireland and the U.S., Solas Nua provides access and inclusion for artists and audiences to connect and participate on both sides of the Atlantic. The festival presents, produces, and commissions thought-provoking and ground-breaking work across the arts, and is recognized for making a substantive, unique contribution to the artistic and cultural richness of the city of Washington, D.C. and beyond. 

Institute for Creativity, Arts, and Technology at Virginia Tech (ICAT)

The Institute for Creativity, Arts, and Technology at Virginia Tech (ICAT) brings together scientists, engineers, artists, and designers to tackle some of the world’s most complex problems. Powered by advanced technology and networks of talented and creative people, ICAT brings together and supports teams of faculty and students from across academic disciplines to address particular needs, ranging from large societal problems to industry-specific challenges. 

Galway Culture Company

Galway Culture Company was established to create opportunities to engage with EU and International partners and local place-based programming which honours the relationships and builds on the learnings, outcomes and legacies of Galway’s many European and Global designations including Galway’s designation as European Capital of Culture, UNESCO City of Film, European Green Leaf, European Region of Gastronomy.