Managing the Art Room: A Hybrid Artist-in-Residency Program

The pandemic has changed the way we navigate the field of art education. It has carved a pathway for creative problem-solving centered on the implementation of digital tools aimed at revisiting and redesigning an artist-in-residency program in a secondary art setting.

Embracing Digital Methods
When the pandemic and teaching started to coexist, new vocabulary entered our profession. Terms such as viewing room, interactive experience, and digital platform became part of our everyday language. The way we communicate with students became more diversified yet complex.

Teaching with a hybrid mindset these past two school years has allowed me the opportunity to re-examine how I present art curriculum to high-school students and communicate it with administration, staff, parents, and the wider community. Through daily use of digital tools, researching and engaging in online experiences have become motivating and meaningful by widening the possibility to include artists virtually in the classroom, curriculum, artist talks, and our artist-in-residency program.

Assessing the Present
The Sheboygan North High Artist-in-Residency Program has been an integral part of our arts programming since 2014. Past artists have collaborated with staff and students by integrating their art and creative process into various content areas, expanding the student experience in the field of the arts, fostering creativity, and presenting to staff new ideas and art-driven strategies. All of this has been in-person until now.

This led me to the question, “Where do I begin redesigning an artist-in-residency program to meet the demands of today’s educational needs?” Before I address this question, it’s important to think about the impact the pandemic has had on our profession and what technological implementations or solutions were designed to address this shift into the hybrid world. What did we learn? In what ways did we adapt? What worked? What needs to be improved? Are we still using digital tools, or did we find ourselves returning to old habits?

Starting this process begins with an honest assessment of how things transpired. This reflection provides me with a pathway to reevaluate the effectiveness of our artist-in-residency program and how it can overcome programming challenges. Would I pause this programming until we return back to “normal,” or use this as an opportunity to experiment?

Virtual Talks
I was already using Google Meet to communicate with colleagues, administration, and students. This platform seemed to be the most logical way to pivot our in-person artist-in-residency to include a virtual component. This provided us the opportunity to invite artists from various disciplines into our classrooms. With the flexibility of using both in-person and virtual formats, students continued to interact, learn, and connect with more artists than ever before. In addition, using an online program called Artsteps offered the opportunity to continue showcasing the artists’ work created during their residency.

Shifting to a Hybrid Residency
What types of artists would you invite to a hybrid residency? Would they be local, regional, and/or national? How long would a hybrid residency run? What would be the expectations of the artists? Would the arts programming include virtual studio visits, demonstrations, and lectures? What about funding? Part of the solution is to troubleshoot and document progress. This is an area I excel in. Revisiting the history and documentation collected can bring to light areas that worked and areas that can be improved. The rest is about the vision of what the artist-in-residency program can look like and how curiosity can guide the process.

Moving Forward
Where does one begin to design a hybrid artist-in-residency program to meet the ever-growing needs of students and staff? It begins with a closer look into how a traditional art program can adapt to what is happening in the art education and art world landscapes. Brick-and-mortar arts programming transitioned into virtual opportunities for engagement, education, and connection. Why can’t a high-school artist-in-residency program do the same? With digital tools readily available, the sky is the limit.