The Artist Residency That Never Was
Abstract Mag invited dozens of artists to participate in a summer residency in Georgia. Then its social media pages went dark.
Like hundreds of other visual artists around the world, 25-year-old airbrush painter Syd Sauer Wilson opened their email inbox on Friday, June 5, to what appeared to be the opportunity of a lifetime: an invitation to participate in an artist residency program hosted by Abstract Mag — a popular art-focused social media platform that had over 1 million followers — taking place overseas this summer.
The residency promised an all-expenses-paid retreat in the mountainous regions of southern Georgia, where for two weeks in August, 40 visual artists would live in a “historic chateau” and pursue their practices while also exploring the country’s culture and traditions through a series of expeditions and activities. For the emerging artist hungry for any opportunity to create works in a historic environment without having to pay for travel, materials, or accommodations, a residency like this would be a dream come true.
This was the case for Wilson, an early-career artist in Los Angeles. They had applied to last year’s residency, hosted in the 18th-century Château De Forbin in Marseille, for a $40 fee after seeing the open call for artists on Abstract Mag’s social media pages. Though Wilson didn’t apply to this year’s residency in Georgia, they received an email in June from a member of the program’s artist selection committee informing them that, after being shortlisted last year, they were personally invited to participate this August.
“We look forward to welcoming you to Georgia this summer,” the end of the email obtained by Hyperallergic reads, with a link that directs the artist to submit more information about their availability, travel information, and any materials they will require during the residency.
“ I was super, super excited,” Wilson told Hyperallergic. “I dropped down to the ground on my knees, and I was just like, ‘Oh my God.’ Throughout the day, I just kept looking up at the sky and saying, ‘Thank you, thank you, thank you.’ I called my parents, I shared the news with them, I shared the news with my friends.”
But the dream began to crumble after Wilson opened social media to find hundreds of artists coming forward online with reports that they had received similar emails also inviting them to Abstract Mag’s Georgia summer residency this year, raising speculation within the art community about the program’s legitimacy.
In July, Abstract Mag announced in since-deleted Instagram posts that 40 artists had been accepted. But artists say they were ghosted after the summer residency’s social media pages all went dark.
