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Alchemy Artist Residency
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Table Settings is an installation comprised of an assortment of dinnerware found at yard sales and thrift stores. Some were also gifted to the artist from friends, family, and colleagues. Di Risio’s wall assemblage includes the first names of the seasonal workers who were part of the Table Settings suppers provided by Alchemy Artists Residency in Hillier from 2020 to 2022. Applying her interest in collection and collage, the wall assemblage reflects and honours members of the local community who tend to and care for the food grown in Prince Edward County.
About Alchemy Artist Residency
About Alchemy: A Residency for Inquiry and Community
Alchemy is an international artist-led residency exploring the common themes between artistic practice and the cooking and sharing of food in community settings. Since 2017, this residency has occurred in Prince Edward County, Ontario, Canada, during the Harvest Season.
We engage and encourage artists to continue work in progress or undertake new work inspired by the people and terroir of this dynamic rural agricultural setting. Participating artists committed to this project work during the Harvest Season to create site-specific art and engage in community events and activities. Digital and in-person programming brings artists and the community together to explore, learn, make, and share lines of inquiry. Through community engagement and a commitment to a collaborative process, we collect, tell, and document multiple stories showcasing what compels people to continue to create, grow, farm, and live here.
Our 2025 programming builds on the success of previous initiatives. Alchemy organizes and curates site-specific projects by participating artists.
Alchemy Prince Edward County 2025 has a winter and summer component.
WINTER 2025
Seven visiting artists will spend the week of February 10th in Prince Edward County to escape, create, and engage.
After a week together, the artists will gather for a one-day OPEN STUDIO on Saturday, February 15th, for an afternoon of sharing and open dialogue about the work, the process, and the inspiration they encountered while in PEC.
This Winterlude residency, located along Closson Road, is an eight-day artist-led pilot initiative for visual, botanical, land, fibre, and textile artists. Facilitated by Alchemy and sponsored by SHED—Chetwyn Farms, this pilot project follows on Alchemy’s community engagement-driven work in the County since 2017.
Designed for artists to focus on their practice in a collaborative studio environment, participating artists are encouraged to continue work in progress and experiment with process and materiality techniques, either independently or in collaboration with others – all in the splendour of winter along Closson Road.
SUMMER 2025
Our Summer Programming plans will be announced shortly. Invited local and visiting artists will be in the County in August to:
- create work for a virtual and on site exhibition to be accessed through a self-directed public art tour towards the end of the Fall Harvest Season
- be paired with a site (farm/vineyard) with access to land for site-specific work
- offer free community drop-in workshops in a local public space in collaboration with the Wellington Community Market.
Alchemy is facilitated by:
Claire M Tallarico is a visual artist and chef whose social practice explores how the everyday activities of art-making and food-sharing contribute to the well-being of a community and its members.
Tonia Di Risio, a visual artist whose work has developed through ongoing investigations of the growing, making, preserving, celebrating, and sharing of food.
Visit us on Instagram at Alchemy_ Artists_ Residency to learn more.
See The WorkAlchemy Artists Residency
www.alchemyartistsresidency.com
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