Residencies

The Project Space – August-October 2014  

My residency with the Project Space at the Ainslie and Gorman Arts Centres developed my second poetry manuscript for publication. The then working title was for all the veronicas (The Dog Who Staid). Focus of the residency was editing poems developed during a June 2014 residency at the International Artist Residency Can Serrat, Catalonia, and subsequent stays in France and Italy. Forming these poems into a manuscript alongside poems published from 2008 onward in Australia and internationally also formed a large portion of the residency.

United Kingdom publisher Knives Forks and Spoons Press had committed to publishing the book but after a competitive submission process during 2015, Brisbane-based publisher Bareknuckle Books accepted the manuscript for publication in 2016.

for all the veronicas (The Dog Who Staid)
cover by Anthony Lister

In addition to supporting the writing and editing of new poems based on my interaction with the art, architecture and people of Catalonia, France and Italy, the residency facilitated refinement of the manuscript prior to a mentoring and editing process with Brisbane poet David Stavanger during early 2015. The residency provided a number of other opportunities, most notably it facilitated the creation of Canberra festival Noted. The founders of the festival all took part in the Project Space during 2015 and we developed the initial concept of the festival during our time in the Project Space.  


Can Serrat International Art Centre – June 2014

I undertook a partially supported residency in June 2014 at the Can Serrat International Art Centre in El Bruc, Catalonia, Spain. 

I had two primary goals for the residency: 1) to structure and edit my new poetry manuscript and 2) develop performances based on that manuscript and my first published book of poetry, That Place of Infested Roads (life during wartime). I additionally tasked myself with writing regular updates for this website.

Montserrat over El Bruc, from Postcards from El Bruc
by Amanda Coghlan

I met my objectives during the residency. I now have a structured manuscript currently titled, for all the veronicas (The Dog Who Staid). I re-edited a large number of the poems. Wrote new pieces to be included in the manuscript; two of which, Art, industry, architecture & pets and Barcelona to Bar Beach for a meal, were published by Today, the voice you speak with may not be your own, one on its website and the other in issue three of its zine. Another poem will be published in The Grapple Annual. 

I have developed three performances based on the published and unpublished books. Two of 15 minutes duration and another of four minutes. I’ll be performing them at the Queensland Poetry Festival 2014. They were formed under the collective title, “Do you know my poetry?”

Performing during the Open Studio
Photograph by Manolo

I also wrote four posts for my website, they focus on objective setting, accruing notes and concepts to write to, and some of the experiences I gained during the residency, including visiting various institutions in Madrid and Barcelona, and gaining an understanding of Catalonia.

The short posts are:

Canberra to El Bruc;
The Timbaler of El Bruc;
Into the autonomous community of Madrid; and
Visiting the Joan Miró Foundation.

Graffiti in El Bruc, from Postcards from El Bruc
by Amanda Coghlan

Playing Field Studio – Sept-Oct 2013 

From late-September through early October I undertook a residency at Playing Field Studio with fellow Tragic Troubadours Bela Farkas, Ryan Schipper and Aaron Kirby. The residency included a funding grant.

The residency strengthened and expanded the performance skills of The Tragic Troubadours through training to develop individual and group performance skills, including such aspects as, the development of character, awareness and utilising space, and understanding, controlling and projecting energy levels. Training was provided by experienced Canberra performers Alison McGregor and Joel Barcham.

Additionally, the Playing Field Studio residency provided the space to record and experiment with poetry and performance. This resulted in the recording of a range of poems by members of the Troubadours as well as other Canberra community poets, and the creation of a number of theatre concepts which The Tragic Troubadours will be able to further develop.

You Are Here – Feb-Mar 2013

You Are Here is a curated festival which exists to showcase the best of Canberra’s diverse independent and experimental arts and culture, for the 2013 festival I was the writer-in-residence.

Photo by Adam Thomas for You Are Here

In this role I interviewed several artists and organisers and produced six articles, including:

Nick Delatovic’s Festival Breakfast

A Cursed Earth

Talon Salon

Andrew Grill’s El Lukio Part 1 and Part 2 and;

Andrew Gets to Know the Canberra Zine Emporium

This was in addition to performing bus interchange poetry with The Tragic Troubadours and facilitating their public workshop, curating a Page versus Stage panel, and running a You Are Here Edition of BAD!SLAM!NO!BISCUIT!.