Inspiration on the banks of the Volga: life inside an art residency

Two students of our program – Evgenia Zina and Ekaterina Ignatova took part in the residency “Between Water and Sky”, held at the picturesque Konakovo River Club.

From 9 to 13 September, artists from across Russia each made three works in the uniquely inspiring setting of the Volga riverbank.

We asked them how it went, and we’re delighted to share their impressions.

Evgenia Zina:

What makes the Konakovo residency special is that every participant had to leave three large canvases behind as a gift. The organisers provided all the materials, accommodation and meals, and we spent 80% of our time making art. For me it was a challenge — I had never worked that intensively before, and painting isn’t my main medium.

On the very first day I mapped out the series and made the sketches. I worked together with a neural network — I asked it what summer made it think of, and combined the Konakovo landscapes I’d fallen for with the text the AI gave me. These neural-network landscapes are a symbiosis of the artist’s vision, AI text and the atmosphere of a September that still felt entirely like summer. I’m very happy with the result, and honestly it was hard to part with my works — but it’s a lovely thought that they’ll join the collection and one day hang in a museum.

Besides making work, we went to lectures, learned how to present ourselves, met the founder of the River Club and the Museum of Naive Art, and relaxed by the Volga. The residency brought together established artists and beginners like me, of all ages and from all over the country — a huge plus, and a chance to talk to talented artists from every corner of Russia.

Ekaterina Ignatova:

This was my first residency as an artist. When I saw the open call, several things appealed to me:

• • the chance to try a residency at all; a location close to Moscow; and a short stay (one week) — I have a small child, so I can’t go far or for long;
  • the chance to try my hand at naive art (I have some experience, but I wanted to develop that direction);
  • making large-format works (I’d never painted at that scale and wanted to try).

The work ahead was intense. The residency required three works measuring 100 x 80 cm in four days. On top of that I chose to add embroidery, since it’s part of my signature style. But I think everyone did brilliantly. I’m happy with the result.

The events were fun too: artist presentations, an art therapy workshop, morning yoga. Talking to people is an important part of the creative process as well.

I also want to mention the place itself — Konakovo River Club. The owner of the complex is a fan and collector of naive art. There are paintings and sculptures by all sorts of artists all over the grounds. The hotel itself is a “museum of naive art”, meant to broaden its guests’ cultural horizons. The residency exists so that artists can create pieces for that museum. All the works stay on site, and in future a separate museum of naive art is planned in the town of Konakovo, where the collection will move.