There are places — 100s of them, in fact — where artists of all disciplines can go to work on their art: painters and playwrights, filmmakers and fiction writers, composers, choreographers, printmakers, and poets, sculptors, scholars, and songwriters, etc. They are research-and-development labs for the arts, providing artists with time, space, and support for the creation of new work and the exploration of new ideas.

Q1: What does “Artist in Residence” mean?


“Artist in Residence (AIR)” is a program to support the creative activities of artists in Peru and overseas by providing opportunities for them to stay and work outside their countries or regions for a certain period of time. With growing interest in AIR in Peru in recent years, Machaqmara Center for the Arts has been working on AIR program.


Q2: How did the Artist in Residence programs come about?


It is said that the origin of AIR dates back to 1666, when the French Academy granted the prestigious Rome Prize to excellent artists and sent them to Rome to hone their artistic abilities and skills.


Q3: What kinds of fields are covered by AIR?


Artist in Residence (AIR) provides residency programs to creators in various fields including music, drama, art, architecture, literature and design. In other countries there are AIR programs not only for artists but also for researchers. Programs in MACHAQMARA are classified into music, painting, craft, photography/images, textile, sculpture, performance, etc.


Q4: Do I have to meet any conditions or qualifications to participate in an AIR program?


To participate in an AIR program, you are required to submit an application form. For qualifications, in Machaqmara Center for the Arts AIR Program applicants no matter amateur, graduated, emerging or consolidated artists are welcome, career improvement and activities while on sabbatical leave to meet the diverse needs of various artists. 

MQA program require artists to open their studios to the public during the period of residency.


Q5: How long can a participant stay in a residence?


The length of residency is two weeks.


Q6: How can I apply to the program? How can I know the application schedule?


Machaqmara program require you to attach to the standard application form a portfolio, a document showing your achievements, Resume, etc. For further information download and read the application form: 

MQA call for applications from home and abroad on our website and Facebook Page. You should prepare an application form and submit it in accordance with the procedures specified on application form.

You need to check the application period before applying to a program.


Q7: Do I need to bear the costs of transportation and accommodation myself?


There are cases where you will have to bear all expenses yourself and others where you can receive support from the organizer. Machaqmara Center for the Arts does not grant any support for expenses for the moment, you have to pay a residence fee for your stay and creative activities.


Q8: What kind of advantages or effects can I enjoy by participating in Machaqmara AIR Program?


You can establish a network with other artists or researchers who are participating in the same residence at the same time and with our institution. Through this network, you may have the opportunity to expand your activity (displaying your works in exhibitions or participating in other projects). In addition to acquiring such career-enhancing opportunities, artists can have the opportunity to look back at the path they have taken so far and attempt to devise other, more novel ways of expression. You may thus gain both tangible and intangible results through the program.


Q9: What language level is needed to participate in an overseas AIR program?


You might need to be able to speak the local language, at the daily conversation level at a minimum if not you will need to speak English at a sufficient level to function in daily life.


Q10: Who will hold the ownership or copyrights of the works that are created in the residency program?


For outdoor works and other permanent works (and equivalent works), the copyright may belong to the creator of the work, and ownership and the right to use may belong to the organizer. The outcome in the MQA AIR Program is to keep one artwork developed by the artist during the Residence Program as part of its art collection with  the purpose of making the Project sustainable and for the benefit of local native communities.