The Imaginary Residency is a three-week, artist-led residency that unfolds entirely from your own home or studio. Drawn from my practice of re-imagining everyday cities through the lens of the surreal, it responds directly to conversations with other artist-mothers about the steep decline in residency opportunities once caregiving enters the picture. Instead of travelling away, we will come together online to cultivate a sense of focus, community, and creative renewal while staying embedded in our own lives—committing to sustained but realistic periods of making, supported by online check-ins, shared prompts, and reflective sessions. Running in January, when work slows and summer already holds the qualities of travel and lightness, The Imaginary Residency invites participants to treat their own surroundings as fertile ground for new work, new perspectives, and creative possibility. Together, let’s build community, creativity, and cultural participation for those whose opportunities are otherwise limited.

You don’t have to be an artist-parent to join - this is designed for anyone needing a creative reset while feeling resource-constrained, whether that resource is time, energy, community, money — we don’t discriminate.

We are reserving 2 free places for participants who are currently unwaged/underemployed. Please email natalie.mather@gmail.com to express your interest in one of these places: it’s first in, best dressed.

What does the residency involve?
The program is deliberately light and adaptable. Most participants will likely spend 1–4 hours per week engaging with prompts, making work and joining discussions — but you can lift or soften that depending on your own capacity. There’s no falling behind; you can move at a rhythm that works for you.

Session timing:
We’ll have two live group calls each week (60 minutes) — one weeknight and one weekend night (TBD) -- to give as many people as possible a chance to attend. Neither session is mandatory, and you’re welcome to come to whichever fits your week. They’re designed as supportive anchors for:

• sharing practice and progress

• gentle critique and conversation

• exchanging ideas, obstacles and breakthroughs

Structure and experience inside the residency:
Rather than a class model, think of this as a guided generative studio accompaniment. Over the three weeks you’ll have access to:

• My Substack Chat for ongoing questions, critique and casual conversation with one another

• Shared Google Drive folders for images, readings, inspirations and any of your own work you want to share,

• Light creative prompts to explore in your own time, like neighbourhood derives and mapping exercises;

• My Creative North Star Workbook + Quarterly Planning Ritual, both self-paced and accessible after the Residency,

• A future-focused final session where we map the year ahead as artists and as people

The residency is generously supported by the City of Yarra.