Gilded Cages: When Prestigious Residencies Do More Harm Than Good for Emerging Artists
Artist residencies promise time, space, and community—but for a growing number of emerging artists, the reality is something far more constraining. From institutional gatekeeping disguised as mentorship to unspoken productivity expectations that undermine creative risk-taking, some of the art world's most celebrated programs may be quietly stunting the very careers they claim to champion.