BRASS ATELIER
Brass Atelier is scheduled to run on 16 March 2026 at the Umwelt Creatives studio. The residency is structured over a 20-day working period. Applications for the current residency are accepted until 1 March 2026. Selected applicants are notified individually.
Brass Atelier is a program-based studio residency focused on working directly with brass through forming, joining, and finishing. The residency is structured around hands-on making, close engagement with material behaviour, and an understanding of process through sustained physical work.
This residency is not organised as a course or a skills class. Participants work within a functioning studio environment, take responsibility for their decisions at the bench, and engage with the realities of making rather than demonstrations or step-by-step instruction. Attention, patience, and care are essential to the way the residency operates.
Brass Atelier runs in a fixed format and is intentionally limited in scale. The small group size allows meaningful access to tools, close guidance, and a shared working rhythm within the studio.
Working Framework
The residency is structured around the making of a functional table lamp. The lamp serves as a framework through which material forming, joining, finishing, and assembly are explored.
The scope of the object is deliberately restrained. This allows sustained focus on:
– Accuracy of forming
– Quality of joins
– Surface preparation and finishing
– Sequencing of operations
– Functional and proportional decisions
While residents work within a shared framework, outcomes will vary based on material response, decision-making, and execution. The lamp is not treated as a product to be replicated, but as a means to understand how a functional object emerges through disciplined process. The emphasis remains on internal structure and coherence, rather than surface expression.
How the Residency Unfolds
Work during the residency is centred at the bench and progresses through a series of material-led stages. Residents spend time forming brass components, learning joining techniques appropriate to the material, refining surfaces, and assembling the final object.
Guidance is provided throughout, with emphasis on:
– Observing and responding to material behaviour
– Correcting technique through direct feedback
– Understanding cause and effect in making decisions
– Maintaining safety, order, and care in a shared workspace
The residency prioritises depth of engagement over quantity of output.
Participation & Selection
Brass Atelier operates through a screened application process. Applications are reviewed internally to assess intent, readiness, and suitability for the studio environment and the physical nature of the work.
Selected applicants will receive further details regarding confirmation, payment, formal documentation, and pre-residency instructions. Applying does not guarantee selection.