A residency at Cromer Artspace was a fantastic way to kick off the New Year. The opportunity gave both of us something that can feel surprisingly rare as freelancers: time. Time to make, time to play, and time to think. We constantly carry multiple projects around in our heads, so it was fantastic to put those aside for a week and devote our attention to our own practice.
We set ourselves a loose theme to provide some focus, then worked in many different ways throughout the week — independently, together, in discussion and alone. It became a space to follow ideas without the pressure of needing to resolve them.
The space itself is amazing. Outside, the January coastal weather might have been rattling the windows, but inside we were warm, dry and snug, with a dramatic changing outlook of the North Sea Coast.
It felt like such a privilege to inhabit Cromer Artspace for the week — to spread ourselves out and use the walls and tables to splurge our creative ideas across the space. The versatility of the studio allowed us to shut the shutters and create darkness for projection, or pin up huge sheets of paper for massive drawings.
Between us, we drew, painted, printed, cast, photographed, projected, etched and wrote. We experimented with materials and processes, followed tangents and allowed ideas to develop through making.
By the end of the week, our focus had become a little more solidified. We hadn’t necessarily refined the work, but we had delved much deeper into our ideas and supported each other through conversation, questioning and reflection.
It was a week of starts, experiments and possibilities — and one that has given us both plenty of momentum to carry forward into the rest of the year.
Hannelore Smith & Rosy Prue