Get in, get out: Jurying on the 50th Anniversary of an Art Center

Sign on the studio wall of one of the resident artists.

The celebration of the 50th Anniversary of the founding of the Torpedo Factory Art Center is a good time to reflect on the process that got me into this amazing space- the highly competitive, and three-phase grueling jury process that got me in here. The process of getting resident artists for the center has changed so much, and these last 3 years seem to have opened the path for more artists to join in, to create a more diversified community. The aim is still very wide from the mark, but I am interested in seeing the new entrants who will start moving into their studios in October.

I am grateful for the process of jurying that opened Jurying has helped reoccupy newly vacated artists’ studios in cases where the resident artist has either left for other locations for family reasons, or due to health issues and sometimes death of these artists. This is inevitable for a place that has been an active workspace for 50 years.

The jurying process has served the management as an opportunity to keep resident artists on their toes, The idea of jurying again to retain one’s studio puts undue pressure on the artists. I support the jurying process as the quality of artists who get in keeps adding to the diversity and reflects the creative environment of contemporary art which the center is a part of.

The original intention for the formation of the Center was to create permanent studios for artists in the community. Jurying ensures they meet the prescribed standards. Re-jurying is counter to the primary goal of setting up the space.  I do not support the idea of throwing out resident artists every 3 years because of some reason or the other. For one, the city brings in new jurors in cycles who judge based on their perceptions in response to whatever mandate the city management has given them for the type of new entrants they are expecting to come in/stay in. There definitely must be an overbearing expectation when these calls for artists are made.

Put it this way- it is like working without job security. The boss changes the rules and terms of doing business on a whim and has the right to fire anyone who doesn’t go by those rules. Whoever created that model must start to see it as it is- a hostile workplace. Let’s get this straight- a resident artist lives and works in one location while an artist-in-residence goes to a location to work for a stipulated period. The resident artist is presented as an integral part of the Alexandria community while the artist-in-residence has a more temporary relationship with the community.

Newly accepted resident artists are expected to create a professional, business model for their artistic practice while striving to survive, pay their living expenses, and meet the requirements for keeping the required studio hours. It is easy to spot the new residents- they are usually the happiest people in the building, till they start feeling the pressure that will come on when they have to re-jury again in 3 years.

Resident artists are mandated to run their spaces as a small business. Having been here for 2 years, I think the 3 years to re-jury are too short. Really, how long does it take for a small business to become successful?! It is too much pressure. In real-life work environments, staff of companies continue working there till they retire, or some life event happens. To ensure growth, continuity, and efficiency, the company offers its staff training opportunities and workshops that have the salutary effect of improving the business, essentially. As professional artists, are we not also working for a living at the Torpedo Factory Art Center? Why should anyone demand that it be different for the artists when the galleries in the DMV, at the Smithsonian, etc. all use a different model for sustaining their brand and improving the quality of service to the community?

If there is reason for already juried artists to be re-juried, it should be in the context of curatorial evaluation that supports their progress as professional artists. This could happen 5 years after the first jurying and maybe recur every 3 years. 

I don’t see why any person should lose their studio space because a new set of jurors may have a differing point of view of what they see as important work. The changing of jurors is troubling as one just can’t tell what the new mandate (from the city managers, and management of the center) is for retaining one’s studio space. I have seen many very highly active resident artists who lost their space for unfathomable reasons! They have felt devastated, crushed emotionally. Their failure is seen as an unworthiness on their part that haunts them moving forward.

Sign on a wall at the Torpedo Factory Art Center

No one should be made to go through this, to bear this burden for the rest of their life/work life.

Here is my suggestion: the resident artists should receive more support, promotion, and curatorial support for their work in their first 5 years at the Torpedo Factory Art Center. Their work should get a curatorial review/evaluation every 3 years going forward, and they will be awarded points. The resident artist would have been there for 8 years. The next jurying should be in 3 years, and the marks from the first curatorial evaluation should be added to get a mean score. If the resident artist hasn’t improved in the past 11 years, he/she should then be asked to re-jury with every other artist trying to get into the studio.

In all fairness, this period has become a time to access one’s professional work, and the artist would have been given ample time to grow.

The Torpedo Factory Art Center would be seen in the eyes of the community as a permanent space with an identifiable brand face, not merely as a space for cycling creatives. The idea of throwing out people in short bursts is brutal and inconsistent with the idea of staying as a model for society at large as a sustainable, friendly workspace.

Of course, resident artists will leave Alexandria due to life events, giving room for resident artists. The Torpedo Factory Art Center will have more organic growth. The resident artists will be assured of a support system to enable them to connect better with the community at large. Hopefully, there will be less cause for heartbreak for losing one’s business within 3 short years for not changing a working model, for not meeting new criteria for belonging in the space. I hope the City Manager sees this. I am disheartened when I see these people that have recently lost their studio spaces. I hope the affected artists stay close while the management is figuring out the way forward. I am not opposed to the jurying process to become a resident artist. I am opposed to the re-jurying of resident artists. If they got in the first time, they have earned that space. They should be supported to continue there and to grow professionally.

My studio at the Torpedo Factory Art Center. On the lower right is a sad note from one of the artists who lost her studio.