The Lifecycle of an Artist in Residence at the Fabric Workshop and Museum
Semester: Spring 2025
Praxis Course: HART 420 Museum Studies Fieldwork
Faculty Advisor: Monique Scott and Sylvia Houghteling
Field Site: Fabric Workshop and Museum
Field Supervisor: Judson Browning
Praxis Poster:
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Further Context:
This past semester I was lucky enough to intern at the Fabric Workshop and Museum (FWM) with the Exhibitions Manager, Judson Browning. FWM is a contemporary art institution founded in 1977 with the express purpose of collaborating with Artists-in-Residence, as well as their high school and adult apprentices, to “reveal new possibilities.” This is done through encouraging experimentation with unfamiliar materials and modes of production. The workshop specializes in screen printing fabric and producing yardage. Additionally, FWM is free to the public and hosts Artist-in-Residence as well as high school and adult apprentices.
During my time at the workshop, I undertook several projects, with my main focus being creating an AIR (Artist-In-Residence) & Exhibition Standard Operating Procedure. This living document exists with the express purpose of streamlining hosting an Artist-In-Residence, outlining all the possible outcomes that emerge from this collaboration while avoiding language that feels limiting or expectant about what the end goal might be. This involved breaking down residencies into potential “phases,” and further delineating each possibility into sub-phases, i.e. renaming Phase 3 (previously “exhibition”) to “completion” which contains 3a: “exhibition,” but does not necessitate it. Additionally, new phases emerged within this framework which include Phase 4: “performance,” in the case of an AIR who is interested in pursuing a post-exhibition project, and Phase 0: “orientation” which encourages an AIR to have face time with each department within FWM at the onset of the residency.
To consider every perspective in creating the SOP, I interviewed various department heads within the workshop/museum. I worked to place everyone’s needs and deadlines within an exhibition timeline, which will hopefully prompt further cross-departmental communication.
Before I began working on the AIR & Exhibition SOP, I spent the first few months of my internship getting acquainted with the unique institution. I was working within and building relationships that would further serve me in the interview process and throughout my time at FWM. While running around with my supervisors addressing projects on a need-by-need basis, such as doing upkeep and maintenance on the current exhibition, Softcover, or researching forthcoming AIRs (like Cherry Moki and Lisa Alvarado), I also worked on two other written documents, namely, the Exhibition Checklist for Softcover and an AIR Welcome Packet. An exhibition checklist is a list of everything that is in a show and the materials and dimensions of each piece. The checklist I created for Softcover will be used when traveling the show. The AIR Welcome Packet is a document that contains everything you might want a friend visiting Philly to know. In addition to introducing the institution, it includes a list of grocery stores, my restaurant recommendations, a guide to Reading Terminal Market, museums, and a SEPTA guide.
I am so so glad for this experience and all the people who worked so hard to make it as enjoyable and educational as it was! I have gathered so many new skills and built so many incredible relationships during my time at FWM. I’m leaving my internship feeling excited for the next time I can come and visit my friends in the offices upstairs.