SHARING OUR STORIES
Emily Pike
I had the privilege of joining the May 2024 Alchemy residency at the Gibraltar Point Centre for the Arts on the Toronto Island. I had previously done two self-directed residencies at Gibraltar Point — a place that has been a formative and special one in my artistic journey. I was excited to try a group residency with the intention of exploring the connection of my artistic practice with the preparing and sharing of food with other artists. I grew as a painter with my daily studio sessions, while connecting with other wonderful artists and humans that also became new friends. The atmosphere was creative and collaborative. As an introvert, and an artist that often works solo in her studio, the group setting was a way to challenge myself to share my art with others more openly and also be inspired by their creative practices. There was also time to explore the island, paint plein air, be in nature, prepare and eat wonderful food, and be further immersed in the unique creativity of the place. I am now inspired to take the many pieces and studies that I began at the residency, and develop them further into a body of work.
Alchemy Artist in Residence Spring, 2024
Katie Huckson
I had the privilege of joining the May 2024 Alchemy residency at the Gibraltar Point Centre for the Arts on the Toronto Island. I had previously done two self-directed residencies at Gibraltar Point — a place that has been a formative and special one in my artistic journey. I was excited to try a group residency with the intention of exploring the connection of my artistic practice with the preparing and sharing of food with other artists. I grew as a painter with my daily studio sessions, while connecting with other wonderful artists and humans that also became new friends. The atmosphere was creative and collaborative. As an introvert, and an artist that often works solo in her studio, the group setting was a way to challenge myself to share my art with others more openly and also be inspired by their creative practices. There was also time to explore the island, paint plein air, be in nature, prepare and eat wonderful food, and be further immersed in the unique creativity of the place. I am now inspired to take the many pieces and studies that I began at the residency, and develop them further into a body of work.
Alchemy Artist in Residence Spring, 2024
Alessandra Pozzouli
My time at Alchemy was wonderful. When I first arrived in Hillier, I wasn't sure where my project would take me. I spent most of my time there conducting research. Thanks to the generosity and openness of the staff at Rosehall Run Vineyard, local town archives and museum staff, Claire and the other alchemists, I was able to learn about the agricultural history and current reality of the County from multiple perspectives. My project went in a surprising direction, focusing on the invasive/non-native plant species found growing in the hedgerow at Rosehall Run, beginning with the European wine grape itself. Along with a series of linocut prints, I created my first zine, something I have been wanting to do for some time. The support and encouragement I received from Claire and the other alchemists gave me the confidence to pursue my ideas and see them through. Since completing the residency, a renewed interest in printmaking has been sparked in my practice. I hope to continue printing and make more zines in the future!
Alchemy Artist in Residence, 2022
Deborah Margo
In August, 2017 I set out to Hillier hoping to have a focused period of time to pursue research on collected plants and the making of plant dyes, in order to advance several installation projects I had been working on. The residency exceeded all of my expectations.
First of all, I was given outdoor and indoor studio spaces that met all of my needs for the cooking of multiple dyes, drying textile samples and researching further dye recipes. My 10 days allowed me to advance my research greatly and to determine the process I needed to continue once back in my regular studio.
I also wanted to be a part of a diverse community of passionate makers. The residency programming and the thoughtfulness of its facilitators, Claire Tallarico and Tonia Di Risio, met and surpassed what I was looking for, permitting the participants to get to know each other quickly and learn about our very different practices. It was a wonderfully generous group of people whom I remain in touch with despite our being geographically distant.
At a time of general global distress, the opportunity to live in a rich and caring community was particularly nurturing and hopeful to me. This led me to ask the facilitators how I could be of help in being a part of Alchemy’s future. In the fall of 2017, I was invited to be part of an advisory retreat where we were able to meaningfully discuss the vision for the residency and future goals in its programming.
In 2018 I returned to Hillier as an invited visiting artist for Alchemy 2018. During my three days I met all of the new residents, presented an artist’s talk on my current work, gave a workshop for the residents, and showed collaborative pieces with Claire Tallarico as part of Alchemy’s first Open House event at Hillier Hall. My participation with Claire in the Open House, was supported by a timely Ontario Arts Council exhibition grant.
Artist, Alchemy 2017, Guest Artist 2018 & 2019, Kitchen Artist 2020
Mary MacDonald
What I like about Alchemy is it takes the production of art and places it into a different context.
Hillier is a tiny hamlet in the farming community in Prince Edward County. There is an arts community here, with hobbyist and serious practitioners making their studios available for special events. But it is the fact that Alchemy is set in the historic town hall, a community gathering place. They use the space for art production but most importantly they use the kitchen for their food centred art practice. Food is a foundational means as gathering us together, and they use food as a catalyst for joining our stories, our cultural practices. Whereas art making is a means of converting the personal internal landscape into something external and palpable, there is a degree of removal from those who aren’t producers. Creating circumstances for regular folks to appreciate the artfulness of daily living and linking the divide between art and regular life is an important activity in a small community like mine, where conservative perspectives about art and artists is usually an impediment to mutual understanding.
I love having “ the Alchemists ” setting up camp here in Hillier and the more opportunity, the better!
Artist and Vineyard owner, Stanners Vineyard, Hillier Ontario, Alchemy Artist in Residence 2021
Jamie Kennedy
Alchemy Artists Residency has found a welcome home in Hillier. Since their arrival in our small hamlet in 2017, the visible presence of artists from Ontario and beyond has been a positive experience for our local community of farmers, bakers, wine makers and year round residents. Setting up shop in Hillier’s Community Hall has introduced long time residents to art created and meals shared with artists influenced by their surroundings — site specific painting, photography, print making, collage and sculpture.
JK Farm/Jamie Kennedy Kitchens and Victoria Taylor, Landscape Architect, Hillier
Daniel Sharp
Coming to the Alchemy Artists Residency I was eager to explore and just see what would happen, without a plan or program. I was excited at the prospect of living for a time with other artists in Prince Edward County at the residency that emphasized the importance and links between art, food, farming and community.
The other artists were passionate and energetic makers, cooks and creators. I learned how to make pasta, improved my kitchen skills and gained a greater appreciation for communal meal-making and sharing.
Partnered with Broken Stone Winery, I was intrigued to learn that the geologic profile for their farm is Hillier Clay Loam, which covers a large portion of Hillier township. A geologic survey of the county that included a diagram and description of the Hiller Clay Loam landscape profile became the basis of a painting I made showing the limestone bedrock, the broken stones, clay, and on top of it all the winery’s grapevines. As part of this investigation into the landscape, I also made some paint from the mud of the winery and sketched landscape scenes with the land’s own soil. Another activity was to ‘mend’ some broken stones by wrapping the limestone fragments with thread or twine, and some ‘broken’ stones were glued back together with blue paint and then wrapped.
Artist in Residence 2023, Visitor 2021
Fatima Garzan
In June 2022, I completed my two weeks of Alchemy International Artist Residency organized and guided by founder and Co-founder multidisciplinary artists Claire Tallarico and Tonia Di Risio in beautiful Prince Edward County. The Residency was about exploration, collaboration, and sharing knowledge on visual art and food economics, as well as bringing the community together by helping prepare food in the kitchen, mainly for the migrant workers in the vineries and local farms who bring food to our tables.
I had a studio at the Wellington Heritage Museum in Wellington, which was showing "The People of PEC". It was a great exhibition, and part of that exhibition was about the history of Indigenous living in the area, how they prepared their food and the vessels they used. In the meantime, each participating artist was paired with local vineries and farms to share their inspiration and create work in response to their observations of immediate natural landscape and surroundings. Being inspired by the natural landscapes of Prince Edward County and engaging with various materials, Alchemy Artist Residency helped me push my ideas forward and evolve my visual vocabulary to include patterns found in nature and modify them towards abstraction and sculptural mode in dialogue with dramatic change of the colour of the sky, lakes, waterways, and fields, and also to re-evaluate my relationship with my art.
As a multidisciplinary experiential artist, the Alchemy Artist Residency format ideally suited me. Part of each artist's Residency overlapped with another participant artist, and this was an excellent opportunity for learning, networking and beginning a new friendship. The Residency connected me to another perfect dimension by guiding me to collaborate and share with the community while allowing me to pursue my art in a relaxed setting.
Artist in Residence, Alchemy 2022
Jill Price
By being paired up with local farmers in Prince Edward County who are going to great lengths to ensure the well-being of the Land through more environmentally friendly methods, the Alchemy Artist Residency helped to disrupt the negative outlook I had about Canada's agricultural industry due to all of the bad news we hear about deforestation, pesticides, genetically modified seeds, industrial fertilizers etc...Surrounded by positive examples of farming I selected to shift my practice from a critical one that carries forward negative narratives towards creative outputs that honour the positive collaboration I was seeing between humans, as well as between humans and the more than humans while working directly with materials available onsite.This uplifting experience was also enhanced by meeting so many incredible local artists doing important ecological work in the region, preparing and sharing great food, and sipping on some outstanding wines from the area. I hope I will get the opportunity to return in the near future.
Artist in Residence, Alchemy 2022
Warren Sulatycky
If artist residencies are intended to foster artistic creativity through the interaction between artists who may not normally find themselves engaged together, my Alchemy experience is a perfect examplar of this intersection. Alchemy, I believe, is a unique and valuable project not just for the artists involved but also for the communities it works within. In addition to my participation in Alchemy 2016 on Toronto Island, I visited the 2017 Alchemy residency in Hillier, Prince Edward County, Ontario. I could see immediately the impact of the group of artists on the surrounding community. And vice versa, There was a dialogue with other local artists, with vintners vintners,and with local food growers.
The connection between art and food, art and the growing of food, and art and agriculture was vibrant, and exciting. Alchemy is a vital experience for any artist engaged with it and has an important place in the cultural climate of art and socio/political culinary binaries. I can think of no other experience like it.
Artist/Filmmaker, Alchemy 2016, Guest Artist 2017-2020,
Adriana Daniela Ciocci
My experience at Alchemy was wonderful.
Throughout the residency, I was struck by the feeling of comfort and safety I had with this group of strangers. It felt like a family reunion without the tension and stress. Though our time together was fairly short I had many sincere conversations about topics that aren't usually spoken about so openly, including fears and struggles in our studio practices and the difficulty of making work during personal and professional ups and downs.
As one of the youngest artists in the group, still struggling to find my own path, these conversations were extremely helpful. I hope to continue the conversations we started at Alchemy for a long time to come.
Artist, Alchemy 2018, Alchemy 2023
Patti Randazzo Beckett
I truly appreciate the time I spent as a member of Alchemy Artists Residency.
I was so blessed to spend ten days with women artists that I learned from, cooked with and grew to respect. I have never felt more myself and connected then I did at this Residency.
Artist, Alchemy 2018, 2019, 2021-2024.
Vanessa Rotondo
The Alchemy program offers artists in residence the unique opportunity to explore their artistic practice and specifically, how it intersects with food, whether it is growing it, cooking it, sharing it, or all of the above. I know just how powerful this residency is, as I have experienced its transformative capacity first hand.
As an Alchemy alumni resident (2015) and returning performance guest (2016), I have been witness to how this residency has brought artists together to collaborate in studio, garden and kitchen.
Artist, Alchemy 2015, Guest Artist 2016, 2019, Kitchen Artist 2020
Moira Clark
I applied to Alchemy because I wanted to be in a quiet country location during the summer where I could do my work as a painter and, most uniquely, experience and share cooking with other artists. Making art and cooking are my two favourite occupations and they have evolved congruently in my life since I was very young. I also wanted to talk to other artists about work and directions. I looked forward to seeing the countryside of Prince Edward County and to being able to swim at the local beaches. I was able to do all of these things and to also meet a fine new group of artists, many of whom I hope to keep in contact with in the future. During my time at Alchemy I created a moderate body of small exploratory paintings that are the beginning of a new phase of my work.
Ultimately, I think artist residencies are about the people one meets, what we learn from each other, and the encouragement and support that can arise from these connections. Alchemy was a lovely experience which met these expectations and my only wish is that it could have gone on a bit longer.
Artist, Alchemy 2019
Lynn Hubbs
From the very first time we sat down together to share a meal, the quality and the generosity of the food set the tone for the rest of the stay. At that meal we discovered that we were from all over the world in different disciplines and stages in our careers.
Caire Tallarico and Tonia Di Risio know that the connection between food and art is a natural one. That food is cultural and creative and that art is nutritive. They showed us the everyday production of food is a work of art, starting with Tonia’s daylong pasta making class and including the idyllic farm setting they found for us.
This residency provided instant community and great means of networking.
Artist, Alchemy 2017 & 2019, Guest Artist in Residence 2021
Piera Pugliese
Because of the environment created by Claire and Tonia I felt safe to explore and share. I had been working in my studio alone for the past 25 years and of late I started to feel uninspired.
The Alchemy experience was affirming, educating, renewing, joyful, re-assuring, inclusive and healing. It was important for me to be open to the different perspectives and new ideas and the residency made is safe to do so.
My work is changing, I am ready for risk. I also now have a group of artist friends from all over the world that support me.
Good food, like-minded friends and stimulating conversations are nourishment in every form! Alchemy is a treasure.
Artist, Alchemy 2017, Visiting Artist 2021
Stephanie Dudley
My first trip to AGP was to attend the Alchemy residency in 2015, which was for artists whose work is about food-related issues. While I was there, it felt like being in another world, quiet and magical yet more grounded than my regular life in Toronto. It’s an artists’ oasis, and the garden is central to the calm and clarity I experienced there. It is a place where when you sit and listen and look, you see the world a little more clearly.
The garden for me was a place to pull fresh ideas out of the ether, but also to pick some organic greens for my lunch. How spiritual, creative, and earth-bound is that? I spent my days on a picnic bench by the garden, or in a studio overlooking it, and the rest of my hours in the kitchen. The hard work, energy and love that goes into this garden’s upkeep is apparent, and I’m grateful for whatever time I can spend there.
Artist, Alchemy 2015