RUTLAND, Vt. (WCAX) – A Rutland salvage yard that offers a hands-on artist residency now has new accommodations for participants.
Artists in Mac Steel’s residency program can now live on-site thanks to small living spaces created by Rutland’s Mint Makerspace.
Each eight-by-12-foot unit was bought and then turned into a living space by students in multiple programs that are offered.
“It helps settle you in your space so that you can focus on the work. If you’re living in a tent or you’re, you know, traveling back and forth to a hotel, you’re not really immersed in the process,” said Mint’s Morgan Over.
“That’s what it’s all about, right? Artists helping artists. And if you don’t build up those youth artists, then there’s not a next generation of artists to move forward,” said Michael Hatzel with Salem Art Works, which organizes the residency program.
Officials say they plan to build at least four new spaces for artists.