It is difficult to determine precisely when and how this system formally emerged. Throughout history, artists, especially visual artists, have been drawn to landscapes and towns, and living away from home has long been a familiar experience. In its modern sense, an artist residency is usually a programme specifically designed to provide creative practitioners with a sustained period of time, a workspace and living arrangements, while enabling them to engage with new local environments, systems of knowledge and social relationships. Today, residencies are found in art museums, universities, foundations, independent arts organisations and communities. Their functions have expanded from supporting individual artistic practice to encompass research, education, public engagement and cross-cultural collaboration.

Accounts of the institutional origins of artist residencies often begin with the system of artistic study in Rome established by France in the seventeenth century. It offers an early example that has endured to the present day. In 1666, King Louis XIV founded the French Academy in Rome (Académie de France à Rome),¹⁰ enabling young French artists to live in Rome and study classical art and works of the Renaissance. Those who went to Rome were winners of the Prix de Rome, a prize established in 1663 under the direction of the finance minister Colbert to select outstanding young French artists. The French Academy in Rome thus became a precursor of artist residency programmes, providing institutional support for artists to undertake intensive study away from home. After several relocations, the Academy moved in 1803 to the Villa Medici, formerly owned by Cardinal Ferdinando de’ Medici (1549–1609), which became its permanent home.

From the 1960s onwards, the French Academy in Rome underwent a series of reforms, becoming a place of residence primarily for visual artists, musicians, writers and scholars from French-speaking regions around the world.¹¹

In the early twentieth century, another model of residency gradually emerged: artists temporarily withdrew from everyday responsibilities to concentrate on their work in a relatively quiet setting. MacDowell and Yaddo in the United States were early examples of this model. In 1907, the American composer Edward MacDowell and the pianist Marian MacDowell jointly founded the MacDowell Colony on their farm in New Hampshire. It began welcoming creative practitioners from different disciplines, encouraging exchange across art forms.¹² Yaddo (Corporation of Yaddo) was established in 1900 in Saratoga Springs, New York. Its founders sought to offer artists a quiet retreat as a counterweight to the increasingly evident social problems of the period. Yaddo welcomed its first residents in 1926, and nearly 7,000 artists have since spent time there.¹³

No history of artist residencies can overlook the Cité internationale des arts in Paris, which describes itself on its website as the world’s largest artist residency. First conceived in 1937 and officially opened in 1965, it provides artists with accommodation and workspaces at several locations in Paris.¹⁴ In 1984, at Wu Zuoren’s suggestion, Lü Xiaguang financed the purchase of the “Studio of Mr and Mrs Lü Xiaguang” at the Cité and donated it to the China Artists Association, enabling Chinese artists to undertake further study in Paris. Several art academies in China subsequently purchased studios at the Cité, providing an important route through which contemporary Chinese artists could undertake regular residencies abroad.¹⁵ Given the particular composition of the resident groups at these studios established by Chinese institutions, this project has not included them in its research scope at this stage.

Taken together, residency programmes of this kind, from the seventeenth century to the mid-twentieth century, brought together individual studios, communal living and uninterrupted time for creative work, laying important foundations for modern artist residencies. Yaddo’s original aim—to provide artists with uninterrupted time and space for creative work—remains central to many residency programmes today.

Since the second half of the twentieth century, the continued growth of international travel, cultural funding and networks of arts institutions has further diversified the functions of residencies. Artists undertake field research away from home and build connections with local creative practitioners, craftspeople and communities. Residencies have thus become platforms where artistic production, knowledge exchange and professional mobility intersect. In the twenty-first century, some programmes have increasingly addressed ecological concerns, regional experience, social engagement and interdisciplinary collaboration. Research in this field treats residencies as an important form of infrastructure supporting artistic experimentation, critical thinking, cross-cultural collaboration and locally grounded research, while also drawing attention to the funding, geopolitical and environmental conditions that shape artistic mobility.¹⁶

Since the 1990s, China’s connections with international residency networks have gradually deepened. Organisations such as Asialink have enabled Australian artists to live and work in China for extended periods. Institutions and programmes such as the Chinese European Art Center (CEAC) in Xiamen and Red Gate Residency subsequently established ongoing arrangements for hosting artists and facilitating exchange. Founded in 2013, China Residencies has made information about residencies in China more visible through its database, maps and annual reports.¹⁷ These initiatives have made residencies a form of infrastructure for exchange across regions in Chinese contemporary art. They have also provided concrete ways for artists to understand unfamiliar social experiences, material traditions and artistic networks.

Digital technologies have further expanded the spatial forms of residencies. When international travel has been restricted, online residencies have sustained artistic exchange through video conferences, shared archives, remote studio visits and online exhibitions. They have reduced some travel and venue costs and opened up opportunities for artists in different regions or with limited mobility. At the same time, time-zone differences, constraints on equipment and internet access, and a diminished sense of physical presence have prompted renewed reflection on what it means to “live together” and “engage with a place” during a residency. Hybrid models combining online exchange with in-person encounters have become an extension of residency practice.¹⁸

From academy-based study several centuries ago to the diverse programmes now situated in cities, rural areas, factories, universities and digital spaces, artist residencies have consistently revolved around time, space and movement. Their history also suggests that the value of a residency lies both in the works completed during it and in the knowledge, relationships and long-term collaborations that emerge from shared experience.

Zhang Guozhong and Hu Chao · October 2026

AI used for translation.

事实上，很难确定这一制度何时以及如何正式形成。自古以来，艺术家，特别是视觉艺术家，往往流连于山川市镇，在异地居住的经历并不少见。现代意义上的艺术家驻留，通常是一类经过专门设计和安排的项目，为创作者提供一段相对集中的时间、工作空间和生活条件，并使他们能够进入新的地方环境、知识体系与社会关系。今天，驻留项目广泛存在于美术馆、大学、基金会、独立艺术机构和社区之中，其功能也从个人创作支持扩展至研究、教育、公共参与和跨文化合作。

追溯制度渊源时，通常会提到 17 世纪法国建立的罗马研修制度。这一制度提供了一个延续至今的早期范例。1666 年，路易十四国王在罗马建立了罗马法国学院（Académie de France à Rome；英文名为 French Academy in Rome），¹让法国青年艺术家到罗马居住，学习古典艺术和文艺复兴作品。赴罗马研修的艺术家是罗马大奖（Prix de Rome）的获奖者。该奖项由财政大臣柯尔贝尔（Colbert）于 1663 年主持设立，用于选拔优秀的法国青年艺术家。罗马法国学院由此成为艺术家驻留计划的先驱，让艺术家能够在制度支持下赴异地开展深入研修。多次搬迁后，1803 年，学院迁入曾属于红衣主教费迪南多·德·美第奇（Cardinal Ferdinando de’ Medici，1549—1609）的美第奇别墅（Villa Medici），并将其作为永久院址。

自 20 世纪 60 年代起，罗马法国学院进行了一系列变革，成为主要面向世界法语地区的视觉艺术家、音乐家、作家和各类学者的驻留地。²

20 世纪初，驻留逐渐形成另一种模式：艺术家暂时离开日常事务，在相对安静的环境中集中创作。美国的麦克道威尔与雅多是这一模式的早期代表。1907 年，美国作曲家爱德华·麦克道威尔（Edward MacDowell）与钢琴家玛丽安·麦克道威尔（Marian MacDowell）在新罕布什州的自家农场共同创办了麦克道威尔艺术村（MacDowell Colony），开始接待不同艺术门类的创作者前来驻留，以推动艺术家之间的跨门类交流。³ 1900 年，雅多（Corporation of Yaddo）在纽约州萨拉托加斯普林斯（Saratoga Springs）成立。创始人创办雅多的初衷就是为艺术家提供一个清净之地，以对抗当时日益显现的社会问题。雅多于 1926 年迎来首批驻留者，至今已有近 7000 名艺术家在这里留下了身影。⁴

研究驻留计划的历史，也无法忽视巴黎艺术城（Cité internationale des arts）。它在官网上自称“世界上最大的艺术家驻留计划”。这项计划最早于 1937 年提出构想，1965年正式启用，在巴黎有多个地点，为艺术家提供居住和创作场所。⁵ 1984 年，在吴作人的倡议下，吕霞光出资在巴黎艺术城购置了“吕霞光夫妇工作室”，并捐赠给中国美术家协会，供中国美术家赴巴黎研修使用。随后，国内多所美术学院也购买了巴黎艺术城的工作室，为当代中国艺术家在海外定期驻留提供了重要途径。⁶考虑到这些由中国机构设立的工作室在驻留人员来源上的特点，本项目暂未将其纳入研究范围。

概括而言，17 世纪至 20 世纪中期的这类驻留项目，把独立工作室、共同生活和不受干扰的创作时间结合起来，构成了现代艺术家驻留的重要基础。雅多最初提出的目标——为艺术家提供不受干扰的创作时间与空间——至今仍是许多驻留项目的核心。

20 世纪后半叶以来，国际旅行、文化基金与艺术机构网络不断发展，驻留的功能也更加多样。艺术家在异地开展现场研究，与当地创作者、工匠和社区建立联系，驻留因而成为作品生产、知识交换与职业流动相互交汇的平台。进入 21 世纪后，部分项目进一步关注生态环境、地区经验、社会参与与跨学科合作。相关研究将驻留视为支持艺术实验、批判性思考、跨文化协作和在地研究的重要基础设施，同时也提醒人们关注艺术流动背后的资金、地缘政治与环境条件。⁷

自 20 世纪 90 年代以来，中国与国际驻留网络的联系逐渐加深。Asialink 等机构推动澳大利亚艺术家进入中国开展较长期的工作与生活；随后，厦门中国欧洲艺术中心（Chinese European Art Center，CEAC）、红门国际艺术家驻地项目（Red Gate Residency）等机构及项目建立了持续性的接待和交流机制。2013 年成立的 China Residencies 通过数据库地图和年度报告，提高了中国驻留信息的可见度。⁸这些实践使驻留成为中国当代艺术跨地域交流的一项基础设施，也为艺术家理解陌生的社会经验、材料传统和艺术网络提供了具体路径。

数字技术进一步扩展了驻留的空间形式。在国际旅行受到限制的时期，线上驻留通过视频会议、共享档案、远程工作室访问和网络展览维持艺术交流。它降低了部分旅行与场地成本，也为身处不同地区或行动不便的艺术家提供了参与机会。与此同时，时差问题、设备与网络条件的限制，以及身体在场感的减弱，也促使人们重新思考驻留中“共同生活”与“进入地方”的意义。线上交流与线下相遇相结合的混合模式，已经成为驻留实践的一种延伸。⁹

从数百年前的学院研修，到今天分布于城市、乡村、工厂、大学和数字空间的多元项目，艺术家驻留始终围绕时间、空间与移动展开。它的历史也提示我们：驻留的价值既体现在驻留期间完成的作品中，也存在于共同经验所形成的知识、关系与长期合作之中。

张国钟、胡超 · 2026年10月