Ways was conceived as a ‘rest residency’ in a small attempt to mitigate the intense emphasis on production and output in most residency settings.
As a teenager, I was fascinated by the story of Sunday Reed, an Australian socialite who rejected her family and social status and moved to the countryside with her partner to create a sanctuary where their artist friends, mainly painters and sculptors, could come and spend time and create while being part of the day-to-day safety of the family farm.
I always had the dream to create a place that could also host artists, and I moved to Gyula in 2018 to start Ways. These days, I live mainly in Berlin, and the residency has shifted to a non-hosted model. But its importance as a place for queers to access, to do nothing or do something, in a cosy and welcoming space, remains more important than ever.
Some more reading on rest: Rest Is Resistance: A Manifesto - Tricia Hersey Sister Outsider: Essays and Speeches - Audre Lorde Resting Reader - Queer Archive
Sunday Reed at her home and informal art residency at Hasenheide in Victoria, Australia.
