Blackrock Artist Residency Programme 2016 grew through a partnership between Matt’s Gallery, London and Lydney Park Estate on the edge of the Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire. Blackrock showed work by artists throughout the estate, including the greenhouses, the grain barns, the woods and meadows and Bathurst pools.

Three artists were selected to complete the residency between May–July 2016: Patrick Goddard, Sally O’Reilly and Alison Turnbull. While in residence, the artists stayed in a farmhouse on the estate and shared in a community of interaction, conceptual development and production of work, including painting, film, performance, sculpture and installation.

Blackrock Residency provided alternative environments for artistic experimentation and production. It provided artists with opportunities to research and develop art projects in the Gloucestershire area and fosters collaboration, exchange and dialogue in the arts.

Named after a former working farm on the estate, the residency aimed to establish a legacy of artistic creativity in Lydney and a key development of Matt’s Gallery outside of London. Blackrock launched 36 years after the opening of Matt’s Gallery, Martello Street, which opened with David Troostwyk on Sunday 16 September 1979.

During this funded residency, artists were provided with accommodation and studio space within the estate, with access to forestry, woodland, the deer park, and barn buildings along with resources such as the Sawmill. The residency also had use of a number of additional buildings, including a spacious 5,000 square foot grain store, used by artists to both make and show work.

The open weekend included an exhibition by Willie Doherty in Cross Barn, Aylburton.

The Blackrock Artist Residency Programme was generously supported by Arts Council England and the Jerwood Charitable Foundation.

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