Founded in 1992 by avant-garde visionary Robert Wilson, The Watermill Center (TWC) is an interdisciplinary laboratory for the arts and humanities situated on ten acres of Shinnecock ancestral territory on Long Island’s East End. With an emphasis on creativity and collaboration, TWC offers year-round artist residencies and education programs, providing a global community with the time, space, and freedom to create and inspire.

The Watermill Center’s rural campus combines multifunctional studios with ten acres of manicured grounds and gardens, housing a carefully curated art collection, expansive research library, and archives illustrating the life and work of Artistic Director, Robert Wilson. TWC’s facilities enable Artists-in-Residence to integrate resources from the humanities and research from the sciences into contemporary artistic practice. Through year-round public programs, The Watermill Center demystifies the artistic process by facilitating unique insight into the creative process of a rotating roster of national and international artists.

The Watermill Center’s Artist Residency Program began in 2006 when TWC officially opened as a year-round facility. Each year collectives and individuals take up residence at TWC to develop works that critically investigate, challenge, and extend the existing norms of artistic practice.

The Artist Residency Program is process-based, without the expectation or promise of a final exhibition of the work. TWC provides artists with time and space to focus on developing their practice in a communal environment that encourages experimentation. Artists-in-Residence share their creative process with the community through open rehearsals, workshops, and artist talks.

Artists-in-Residence receive access to an extensive collection of resources central to The Watermill Center experience: 20,000 square feet of rehearsal/design spaces and outdoor stages; a theater production archive; The Watermill Center Study Library; The Watermill Collection; and The Center’s ten-acre landscaped grounds and gardens.

Applications are reviewed by a distinguished international committee composed of artists, academics, and cultural leaders across disciplines. To date, TWC has hosted over 250 residencies featuring over 900 artists from more than 85 nations. TWC provides a professional environment and welcomes artists from various fields to apply for residencies. It is dedicated to becoming a place that offers a professional setting for artists to freely create and develop their works.

Sourced from: The Watermill Center Official Website
Edited by: Brix