Birch Creek Residency exists under the umbrella of Birch Creek Service Ranch, Inc., which owns an 80-acre ranch in central Utah and operates a summer camp for kids (www.birchcreekranch.org) that has operated for nearly seven years. The residency, consequently, will operate in the fall, winter, and spring seasons and the camp will operate in the summer. The residency began operations in August 2008. Our residents so far have included Alex Gross of Berlin, Germany, Sandy Smith of Glasgow, Scotland, Inga Huld Tryggvadottir of Reykjavik, Iceland, Micol Hebron, of Los Angeles, California, and Chris Nielsen, of Salt Lake City, UT.
As the program grows, we will host 6-8 artists at a time on our 80-acre ranch. These artists will be provided living and studio space and time to make their art. Our facilities include a straw-bale main building with kitchen, laundry, and bathroom facilities, and live/work spaces made out of used shipping containers. As part of the one-month residency, they will be asked to give two lectures or workshops around Utah about their art or a related topic. We have existing relationships with the Central Utah Art Center, the Spring City Arts Organization, Snow College, BYU, University of Utah, Weber State, and the Salt Lake Art Center where the artists will lecture. Artists have performed such lectures in the past, and we have experienced success with the program.
These lectures provide the artists with exposure and with career development opportunities. They also provide a valuable educational resource in Utah. During the course of a season, we will be offering 128 lectures, reaching about 4,500 people. The collaboration between Birch Creek and other organizations increases our audience and allows those organizations to increase their programming and have a larger variety of artists from a broader geographical area than would otherwise be possible.
We also have an arrangement with the Central Utah Art Center to set aside five to six exhibitions per year for Birch Creek resident artists. Those exhibitions would be solo exhibitions or group shows curated by CUAC staff.
As the program grows, we will host 6-8 artists at a time on our 80-acre ranch. These artists will be provided living and studio space and time to make their art. Our facilities include a straw-bale main building with kitchen, laundry, and bathroom facilities, and live/work spaces made out of used shipping containers. As part of the one-month residency, they will be asked to give two lectures or workshops around Utah about their art or a related topic. We have existing relationships with the Central Utah Art Center, the Spring City Arts Organization, Snow College, BYU, University of Utah, Weber State, and the Salt Lake Art Center where the artists will lecture. Artists have performed such lectures in the past, and we have experienced success with the program.
These lectures provide the artists with exposure and with career development opportunities. They also provide a valuable educational resource in Utah. During the course of a season, we will be offering 128 lectures, reaching about 4,500 people. The collaboration between Birch Creek and other organizations increases our audience and allows those organizations to increase their programming and have a larger variety of artists from a broader geographical area than would otherwise be possible.
We also have an arrangement with the Central Utah Art Center to set aside five to six exhibitions per year for Birch Creek resident artists. Those exhibitions would be solo exhibitions or group shows curated by CUAC staff.