Eric Schnell
6 we have used an open call application. This means any artist, anywhere in the world, can apply. We have a selection panel of art professionals review the applications with us. We like for the panel to include at least one person from outside the region. For the first two years we used a nomination process. We would ask up to 5 art professionals (artists, curators, writers, professors) to nominate up to 5 artists each. Then we would have a selection panel choose the final three artists, plus three alternates from this pool. This process was not nearly as exhausting as the open call, but I knew that when things settled a bit, the inclusiveness of the open call would probably win out. The only artist that I would say was “invitation only” was Colin Hunt. He came to Galveston with his wife Heather in June 2011. He was GAR’s first artist in residence. Though the studios were not finished yet, he lived in one apartment and used the other for a studio. I wanted to learn about his experience in Galveston. I wondered what Colin would think of this city since he had never been to Texas and had spent much of his life in New York. Could he be productive here? I knew he would be brutally honest about his experience. He started a new series of paintings while at GAR that fueled many years of work, and he and Heather really developed an affection for Galveston, even though they were here during the hottest June on record. Heather told me a few things we needed to improve, and it started the place out in the right way. MF: In your essay in the exhibition catalogue, you mention that the mission of the residency was to afford the artist time to slow down, be self-reflexive, and to create work without the