Aout 2019/August 2019
August 2019: the artist in residence @lmStudio is Shari Pratt.
Usually, I try to be around Hyères to welcome the artist and help for the first days..But it is not always possible and sometimes even the artist does’nt wish it. This time, I had asked Shari if it was ok for her if I wasn’t around. Indeed, I had the opportunity to travel to Asia during several weeks this summer-
Really it was a wonderful opportunity to prospect for LM Studio: reach out old friends, visit new artists in Dubai, Singapore, Bengaluru, Melbourne, Sydney..More news about this Asian trip in a later post. This way, you won’t be surprised if later on, one of the next resident is related to that trip….
Meanwhile, Shari had told me it was fine if I wasn’t in Hyères. So I went,… but……I really wanted to meet Shari after her residency.
Finally, one of the possibilities was to meet her in Arles. She was going to visit Arles for a few days late August-I hadn’t been to any of the exhibit organized for “les rencontres d’Arles” (is an annual summer photography festival with an international impact. It was founded in 1970 by the photographer Lucien Clergue, the writer Michel Tournier and the historian Jean-Michel Roquette. you can read more here )
So this picture was taken while we had lunch ( and almost diner as we spoke for such a long time..) on one of the touristic main market squares in Arles. We had a very serious discussion, exchanging infos on all kind of subjects like hours of opening, sales, and a very good news: what she would do differently next time!..Yes ..Shari is planning to be back in 2021. This was a very good news for me as a proof of an artist not only enjoying his/her residency but also wanting to come back!..Now Shari has to take an important decision: which month is she going to choose to experience her time as the LM Studio artist in residency ?