Inertia, Duration and the Significance of Oblivion

In this essay, I will reflect on the cultural phenomenon of artist residencies from two perspectives that intersect in occasionally surprising ways. First as a potential form of cultural diplomacy, and second as an open platform for the honing of skills, primarily those specific to artistic professions. I regard artist residencies as offering potential for combining an experience of slowness, long-term engagement in cultural groundwork, and non-visibility, which is not the same thing as invisibility. By ‘non-visibility’ I mean temporary oblivion away from the spotlight. My discussion will focus specifically on Finland, and the following case examples mainly describe Finnish practices. I believe that artist residencies have the potential to remind people of the true meaning of cultural sustainability. Artist residencies are rhizomes that transform invisible connections into tangible, interlinked semiotic chains. This is why, for artists, a residency is both a creative sanctuary and a one-stop skill-fuelling shop.