M supports emerging talent

It’s not easy to find your way as a young, emerging artist. You need a studio, time, resources and a network. M’s residency programme offers support in all these areas. The museum is expanding the scheme further: the residencies will last longer and end with a showcase in M, and new collaborations are also on the horizon.

All the residents are ready to make the leap

Laure Vanrijckeghem

Residency coordinator at M

Laure Vanrijckeghem is the residency coordinator at M. She guides M-residents from the moment they arrive to the opening of their showcase.

“At M, we think it’s important to support artists early in their careers. Once they graduate, the academy’s framework vanishes, and they need to make their own way in the world. These are crucial years in terms of their development. The artists are exploring new paths and beginning to shape an oeuvre, yet their position remains very precarious. In any job, you need time, space and resources to work, but this is particularly difficult for many young artists. Which is why residencies are critical. They offer a free and safe space for self-development, with no preconceived goals or pressing deadlines.”

“Artist studios are much in demand in Leuven. M co-founded Cas-co in 2014, a studio and residency space on the Vaartkom. We’ve had our own studio there since day one. A part of M thus operates in Cas-co, where we host two artists every year, one of whom will have a connection to the region.”

“Residents are selected by M’s curatorial team. We’re looking for artists for whom the M residency is a next step in their career. Artists who are facing an important development in their oeuvre, and for whom the residency can make a difference.”

M-residentie in Cas-co — © Eva Beeusaert voor M Leuven

Bespoke workplace

“First of all, we offer residents space and time. Five months, to be precise – it used to be three. During that time, their ideas crystallise, they can experiment with different techniques and create new work. They receive bespoke support and all kinds of opportunities in terms of research, deepening, production and practical guidance. External partners are also involved: M invites curators, artists and other professionals to meet the resident. The artists receive valuable feedback and make interesting connections.”

“The current M-resident, Lola Daels, for example, is immersed in artisanal Italian techniques: in consultation with her, we invited an expert to Leuven. He spent a week advising and assisting Lola. Her predecessor, Anna van der Ploeg, trained in Belgium but hails from Cape Town. For Anna, the residency wasn’t just important in terms of her art. The temporary studio and showcase at M helped her forge a network in Belgium.”

A chance to exhibit

“We’ve extended the residency period but haven’t stopped there. Since 2023, we’ve been giving the artists a chance to show their work at M, for several months, after each residency.”

“A showcase moment is not the same as an exhibition. We display the results of the residency, even though the work might not be finished. It can also be a snapshot of the artist’s development, the starting point for a new series ... We don’t want the residencies to be too results-oriented. During the process, you must be able to evolve, adapt, change tack. Experimentation is important.”

“And even after the showcase moment, we continue to follow our residents and invite them back to the museum. That’s how we build lasting bonds.”

Zaalzicht Toonmoment M-resident Lola Daels, 2024, M Leuven, foto: © Eline Willaert voor M Leuven

Leuven-Brussels, round-trip

“No institution is an island – including M. Alongside our regular collaboration with Cas-co, we’re also joining forces with Moussem, an arts centre in Brussels, in 2024. Every two years, together with their staff, we’ll select an artist from their milieu. They will have a five-month M-residency and show their work in Leuven. And we, in turn, will send a Leuven-based artist to Moussem for a residency. It will be an interesting exchange. We’re launching the initiative this spring: Angyvir Padilla will be the M-resident, and Kaïn Walgrave will head in the other direction and take up a residency at Moussem.”

An external view

“Finally, we’re working on a Thinkers-in-residence programme. We’d like to invite an artist or thinker to spend several months at M on a ‘philosophical journey’, and to cast an external eye on our museum operations and how we work with art. Artist Grace Schwindt started researching a series of ‘Christ on the Cold Stone’ sculptures from M’s permanent collection in 2023. In the coming months, we’ll see how her research becomes visible.”

Cas-co, or the importance of community

Mirthe Demaerel is the general coordinator at Cas-co.

Mirthe: “Cas-co is the fertile ground of the M-residency. We involve the resident in talks, studio visits and other programme areas through which we support artists.”

“The Cas-co community is vital to a residency’s success. It includes both temporary residents and people who already know the local ecosystem like the back of their hand. It’s a very warm residency. The artists can go to each other with their questions. They organically exchange feedback. Even afterwards, many collaborations between the M-residents and other Cas-co artists still arise.”

“The typical M resident is ready to make the leap. They’re artists who won’t retrace their steps and who have immense scope for development. They know the work of their predecessors and are keen to grasp the opportunity with both hands. Slowly but surely, the M-residency is becoming a kind of brand.”