HomeBase Build in Berlin - Short-term Residency Opportunity focused on 'home' and the role of residency in society (open immediately)

I just got back from a meeting in Utah called Creative Change, which was convened by the Opportunity Agenda. This was a retreat for the purpose of examining and strengthening ideas/initiatives at the intersection of arts, activism and social justice. These meetings at which you can meet artists, policymakers, intellectuals, etc are usually very fertile periods of thought for me.  For example, I met someone who is going to create an artist residency within six 'locals' of a large national union.  She asked me - off the top of my head - what is the most important thing to consider when making / programming a residency.  I had to think quick ... and here is what came to mind:

I don’t think there is a valid argument for robust artist mobility (w/ residency as the vehicle) unless it is in the context of social change.  If it is simply seen as a vocational entitlement, other vocations or people won’t understand or care.

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Since this isn't a question that can be answered quickly or with a single response, I would like to make some time and space for considering the question.  This comes at a good time!  HomeBase, a site-specific art project devoted to the exploration of home, just began its fifth season.  Whereas HomeBase doesn't always happen in the same place, this go-round the focus is on building a Lab (and, thus, permanent home for the project) in Berlin.  HomeBase has offered me a space (one of the residency units) to plan, invite artists for, curate from now through the first week in October.  I would like to use that space to both further the internal exploration that HomeBase (the organization) is undergoing, and also to broaden the question and ask, what is the role of an artist residency in society?

If your work is related to the idea of home, hosting, accommodating, inhabiting and/or how an artist can add value to a community through short-term residency ... and if having 1-2 weeks in Berlin as a part of the HomeBase initiative is useful / practical, please send me a message.  

Thanks for reading, 

Todd

PS, We don't have travel funds for this experiment; you would need to cover travel and incidental costs.  The accommodation/studio space will be offered without cost and in exchange for participating / engaging the 2 month HomeBase artist cohort on the idea of home.  These short residencies will 'interrupt' the longer process in a good way; see the attached guidelines for HomeBase Build.  I will blog about the process (and, in general) here.