Residencies through the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts can be requested through the Philadelphia Arts in Education Partnership. The Partnership provides matching funds for schools and community centers in the Philadelphia Area.

Residencies may also be planned through direct contact with me or in partnership with an arts / educational institution.

MY PROCESS AND GENERAL POLICY

As an artist / educator, I work with others to conceptualize an art idea, and explore how each contributing participant might incorporate his or her unique vision into that idea. A studio or classroom becomes a stage where collaborating young artists create unique multiples, which are then merged together into a collective vision. The process of clustering and/or framing a fractured group of unique individual parts is the underlying thread passing though my work. Collective forms are arranged, stacked, and drawn together, then architecturally combined to mutually reinforce each artist's contribution, which is both expressed by and combined into the completed work.

Equipped with the most appropriate visual tools, quality art supplies, state of the art technology, education and artistic direction, students are taught to interact with each other to form collaborative artwork. Young people are encouraged and equipped to participate in a mutually supportive and creative environment, where they may feel safe to express individual ideas. All media created during the course of our projects (the Artwork) comprises the result of an ambitious effort to explore culture and history with complex imagery and ideas.

With each project the physical portion of the Artwork media (e.g. paintings, sculpture, hard copy etc.) created during a residency belongs to the sponsoring institution and to its participants. Reproductions derived from the Artwork may be generated by the sponsoring institution and participants only for educational, promotional and personal use. Copyright to images of the Artwork, including all commercial rights and privileges, remains the property of Ben Volta.

If you have any questions regarding a residency request please email me at: ben@benvolta.com