Lea O'Loughlin appointed President of Res Artis
25 September 2018
Head of Residencies and Awards at Acme, Lea O’Loughlin, has been appointed President of the Board of Res Artis. Res Artis is the largest worldwide network of arts residencies with over 650 members in more than 80 countries, and facilitates more than 10,000 arts residency exchanges per year across the world.
Acme’s Residencies and Awards programme, which aims to intervene at critical moments in the careers of both UK-based and international artists, works with a range of partners and donors to support professional development through studio residencies, bursaries, mentoring and exhibiting opportunities. Adding to its core provision of affordable studio and living space for artists in Greater London, Acme’s Residencies and Awards programme has benefitted over 700 artists since 1987.
Speaking about her new role at Res Artis, Lea states: “Every artist residency centre should have the opportunity to connect with colleagues and to support their organisational sustainability regardless of their size, or challenges of their cultural or geographical context. I will continue to work with organisations in the artists’ studios and residencies sectors, and with international membership bodies to empower artists and amplify the benefit of their contribution to society.”
Res Artis is based in Amsterdam with two satellite offices in Melbourne and Tehran and the appointment of Lea O’Loughlin as a UK-based President indicates Res Artis’ core value of achieving greater visibility and relevance with a renewed dialogue about the UK’s status as a significant global contributor.
Lea continues: “Bringing the Presidency of this international professional cultural network to the UK at this particular moment in time, is incredibly important. I look forward to working with UK, European and international colleagues to develop meaningful dialogue and increase cultural connectivity through artistic mobility and exchange.”