Montepulciano, Toscana May 6, 2021 (Issuewire.com) - The Banditto Residency Program is a 10-day, all expenses paid creative oasis for emerging artists who like to push the envelope with their subject matter and/or technique. It is open to all disciplines and hosted in the picturesque town of Montefollonico in Tuscany, Italy.
Artists’ residencies have been around for more than a century and like the Banditto Art residency, they are more than often born from benefactors’ passion for art and their vision and willingness to invest in it.
The Banditto Residency Program takes the form of a competition. Potential residents enter their work and after a specialised panel reviews, every entry, the winner and two runners-up are announced. As is the case with many residencies, a small admin fee is charged upon entering the competition. This fee is refundable if the artist decides to cancel their entry within 30 days. The application fee is a worthwhile investment, as absolutely everything is paid for from thereon for the winner – flights, accommodation, transport, and living expenses. The artists placed second and third walk away with cash prizes.
With more than 20 residencies already completed, Banditto Art is well on its way to realising its dream of moving beyond art’s traditional horizons and putting up-and-coming artists on the map.
The celebrated young Danish artist, Johannes Holt Iversen (www.holt-iversen.com), 2019 Banditto residency winner, finds the competition entry system a necessity to ensure that only artists whose work fits the criteria, enter. He sees the value of the residency as ongoing and that ‘Banditto
will become something unique in the decades to come - they’re doing a tremendous job of deconstructing old-fashioned structures within the art world’.
Alec Cumming (http://aleccummingart.com/ ), a globally exhibited UK artist and 2020 Banditto Residency winner, describes it as an enriching and wholesome experience. He believes that the quality of entries is maintained through the selection process and calls it a ‘real residency – where one is able to explore new surroundings without any pressure to produce any quantity of work. Banditto provides an openness and freedom to enjoy, explore and create’.
The advantages of winning a Banditto residency continue well after the residency is completed, as each artist is given the opportunity to share their work with the world through a group exhibition. Their work will also be featured in an international collectors’ publication and promoted on various online platforms. Banditto Art’s access to wide audiences in the international art world catapults the artists’ work to a new level of recognition.
Art is global and artists have developed their own methods of promoting their work. The traditional role of galleries is therefore rapidly changing. For Banditto Art the gallery is there to support and guide artists, as well as assist them in financing events and exhibitions. Art as an investment is becoming more mainstream because of its stability in an unpredictable financial world.
Art is a universal language and it is becoming increasingly evident that it forms an integral part of humanity’s belief systems. Just as artists express themselves through their work, collectors should choose art that speaks to them on a personal level, something they fall in love with. Banditto Art believes artists should live their own creativity, not that of other artists, and in the process, their own unique story is created and matched by the gallery with collectors with whom their work resonates.
Media Contact
Banditto Art info@bandittoart.com http://www.bandittoresidency.com
