---
title: "Artist-in-residence"
description: "A program that embeds an artist in a community, institution, or city department for a set period, supporting new work made in and about that place."
glossary: "https://www.civiccollection.com/glossary"
source: "https://www.civiccollection.com/glossary/artist-in-residence"
---

# Artist-in-residence

> A program that embeds an artist in a community, institution, or city department for a set period, supporting new work made in and about that place.

Glossary: https://www.civiccollection.com/glossary  
Source: https://www.civiccollection.com/glossary/artist-in-residence

A residency differs from a commission in what it buys: a commission purchases
an artwork, a residency purchases a relationship. The artist gets time,
access, and pay; the host gets work shaped by genuine familiarity with the
place, and often a changed view of its own systems, which is why some cities
now embed artists in water departments, transit agencies, and archives rather
than only in galleries.

Related terms: [Commission](https://www.civiccollection.com/glossary/commission), [Community engagement](https://www.civiccollection.com/glossary/community-engagement)