"Have you kissed him or her?"
Did you feel welcome at your residency?
Was it all that you expected?
Did you mind that?
Have you felt insecure about your performance?
Have you felt insecure about yourself?
Did you receive money and did you feel guilty about that?
Did you feel pressured by the organization of your residency?
Did you feel pressure from home?
Did you pressure yourself?
Did you feel confident?
Did you feel you were able to do the things you wanted?
Did you try to stop a habit during your residency?
Did you plan this before going there?
Have you started this habit again once you came home?
Have you made friends during your residency?
How many of them do you think were real friends?
Do you think of them sometimes?
How did you feel about your position in your scene at home?
Did you like that?
Did you adjust your view on your everyday life at home?
Have you changed things since then because of that?
Are those significant things?
Have you felt alienated during your stay?
Have you tried changing this?
Did you succeed in seeing the studio of the residency as your own?
Have you been happy there?
Have you felt alone?
Have you felt you were being different then when you are at home?
Have you felt that you were posing?
Did you tell lies?
Did you feel understood?
Do you think you were able to express yourself sufficiently?
Did you fall in love with someone during your residency?
Have you kissed him or her?
Was there someone waiting for you back home?
Did you miss this person?
All residencies are different in many ways. And as a visiting artists you're totally on your own, you're totally on your own, as was the case during my stay at Meduse in Québec. You have to manage your stay by yourself and get into contact. This 'warp' makes each residency unforgettable.
Tessa Joosse
One Minute Classics Tessa Joosse
