Dates and Times

Tuesday 27 January, 6-7:30pm BOOK

Friday 27 February, 1-2:30pm BOOK

Take control of your creative journey and design the residency experience you deserve.

DIY Residencies is an interactive online session combining a concise presentation with a reflective workshop, created for artists who want to reclaim agency over their time, focus, and working conditions. Instead of waiting for competitive or inaccessible opportunities, this session offers inspiration and practical tools to help you design and plan your own self-organised residency.

What to expect

• A clear introduction to DIY / artist-initiated residencies

• Real examples and case studies drawn from professional practice

• Practical tips and tools to organise your own residency

• Guided reflection time to start planning your own idea

• Peer feedback in small breakout groups

• Access to slides, worksheets, and other resources.

Format & details

• Format: Online presentation + reflective workshop

• Duration: 90 minutes

• Participants: Maximum 15

• Fee: £15 per participant

• Platform: Zoom  

Participants will leave with practical resources and a clearer sense of how to create protected time, dedicated focus, and space for experimentation within their own circumstances.

Session leader

Cristiana Bottigella is an art producer with over 25 years’ experience supporting artists to develop their practice, access resources, and create meaningful cultural impact. Her work focuses on socially engaged art, artist-led infrastructures, and sustainability.

She is the founder and director of hARTslane Gallery (South East London) and a director at the London School of Muralism. From 2000–2009, she ran the residency programme at the Pistoletto Foundation in Italy. In 2024, she authored the DIY Residencies guide for the Arquest website and currently co-runs Making a Buck Without Selling Out, a six-week course on artist practice development.