Art + Water didnโt emerge in isolation. Itโs part of a much larger local and international conversation about what artists need in order to stay, work, and meaningfully shape civic life.
As weโve built the residency, weโve looked closely at institutions around the world that treat artists not as temporary additions to a city, but as essential cultural infrastructure.
One of the spaces we return to often is POUSH (
@poush ), a massive artist residency in a converted industrial complex outside Paris that now supports more than 250 artists. What inspires us about POUSH is not just its scale, but its philosophy: affordable space, long-term support, public engagement, and the belief that artists working alongside one another create a kind of cultural cross-pollination that strengthens an entire city.
Closer to home, Root Division (
@rootdivision ) has also been an important influence. Since 2002, Root Division has built a model where subsidized studios, arts education, and community engagement all support one another, proving that artist support and public service can meaningfully exist hand in hand.
These places remind us that residency programs can be more than temporary retreats. They can become ecosystems. Places where artists teach, learn, exhibit, experiment, and build lasting relationships with the communities around them.
Thatโs the spirit weโre carrying into Art + Water at Pier 29. A residency grounded not just in studio practice, but in public life.
Applications for our inaugural cohort are open through June 1.
