Artists who come to Studio H are often inspired by the residency setting and what it offers, and some express an interest in running a residency themselves one day. They also ask me about the creation story of Studio H. Beyond the nuts and bolts of building a functional studio, much of what I have created has to do with how I draw on my own experience and skills as an artist to support visiting artists. So I thought I would use this space to share some of the thinking and inspiration behind it.
I founded the residency from my own experience as an artist and from a belief in the value of giving artists time, space and a supportive environment in which to explore their practice. Offering Studio H as an artist-run centre is important to me. I always felt privileged to have this space and felt it should be shared with like-minded artists.
I am an interdisciplinary visual artist because the content of my work has required me to work across many media, including textiles, mixed media, digital and new media, installation, research and collaborative work. My early studio practice was grounded in the visual arts — drawing, painting, sculpture and printmaking. My early artistic experience also included dance and performance, from ballet to modern dance. My ongoing artistic and research interests have often crossed disciplinary boundaries, and those interests and experiences inform the way I work with artists at Studio H.
My role during a residency is not to direct an artist’s work. Artists arrive with their own knowledge, questions, intentions and ways of working. I am here as a fellow practitioner: available for conversation, feedback, mentorship, technical problem-solving and practical support when it is useful.
That support can look very different from one residency to another. It might mean talking through an idea over coffee, helping an artist think through a material or technical problem, sharing tools or processes, making a useful introduction, helping shape an opportunity for community engagement, curating a pop-up exhibition, or simply giving someone the uninterrupted space to work something out for themselves.
I am particularly interested in what can happen when artists have room to experiment without having to know the outcome in advance. Research, uncertainty, changing direction, trying something unfamiliar, making intensively, walking, talking, reflecting and resting can all be part of a residency. Mentorship is available rather than imposed. There is a distinct difference between a residency and a vacation, although artists may experience many of the benefits of being on vacation simply by claiming space for themselves here. I work to protect that space and encourage artists to claim it when they need it.
Studio H is also our home and a place Michael and I care for deeply. Hosting artists here means creating and protecting the conditions that allow each artist to make the time their own while living and working in relationship with other people and with this place.
Once an artist arrives, it becomes their residency. My role is to help make the conditions for that successful.
About Heidi
Heidi Bergstrom is a Red River Métis citizen with Icelandic and Swedish settler ancestry. She was born in Winnipeg, Treaty 1 territory and now lives and works in Metchosin, on the unceded territories of the SC’IANEW Nation, T’Sou-ke Nation and Nuu-chah-nulth Pacheedaht Nation.
Heidi is an interdisciplinary artist, residency founder and arts-sector leader. She founded Studio H Canada International Artist Residency and hosts artists from Canada and internationally in an artist-run, artist-centred environment for research, creation, experimentation and collaboration.
Her interdisciplinary background spans drawing, painting, printmaking, photography, textiles, book arts, video, digital and new media, installation, research and collaborative practice. She holds a BFA Honours from York University, a Diploma in New Media, and an MA in Political Science from the University of Victoria.
Heidi brings substantial professional and cultural leadership experience to Studio H. Her work has included leadership, curatorial and organizational roles in artist-run organizations, galleries, arts initiatives, the public sector and consulting, with extensive experience in facilitation, engagement, collaboration and helping people navigate complex work. Her cultural leadership includes the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity’s Cultural Leadership: Reflecting Forward with Wise Practices program and current work supporting permanent cultural space for artists through the Islands Arts and Culture Land Trust of BC Society.
She also understands residencies from the artist’s side. Heidi has participated in both in-person and virtual artist residencies in Canada and internationally, including the Icelandic Textile Centre in Iceland, Ras de Terra in Spain, ACE Proyecto in Buenos Aires, and a mentorship residency at the Metchosin International Summer School of the Arts. She has also undertaken self-directed residency research, including an on-site residency planning and proof-of-concept project at Dinosaur Provincial Park in Alberta.
Experiencing different residency models as an artist — structured international programs, mentorship, virtual and self-directed residency research — has informed how Heidi thinks about artist agency, mentorship, place, community and the conditions that support creative work. She brings that learning back to Studio H as the residency continues to evolve.
Find out more about Heidi at:
Her personal website: https://www.heidibergstrom.ca
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hjbergstrom/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hjbergstrom/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/studio-h-canada-international-artist-residency