Thicket Residency
The Ranch House, home to residents of The Thicket. Photo: Ansley Rivers.
In 2014, Ansley West Rivers and I created the Thicket Residency. The Thicket allows artists, writers, historians, scientists, and farmers to reply to Georgia’s Low Country in their artwork, research, and critical practice.
The Thicket has now been home to a diverse group of international artists and researchers from China, Korea, England, and Poland. Other residents have hailed from all over the United States. Residents do not pay any fees to attend. We've awarded travel stipends to a third of our residents. Ansley and I are proud of having ensured The Thicket's continued operation for three years and counting through fundraising dinners, grants, and fiscal sponsorships.
We believe The South, despite its reputation and because of its history, has the capacity for deep cultural insights. Our commitment to this proposition, along with our location in rural Georgia on one of the first organic and sustainable farms in the state, distinguishes The Thicket from other residencies. Each resident has access to produce from Canewater Farms. The residency is situated on Sapelo Island, one of Georgia’s largest, deserted barrier islands, within thousands of acres of untouched marshlands, surrounded by huge oak trees dripping with Spanish Moss.
The view from the Ranch House. Photo: Ansley Rivers.
Myung Gyun You, a 2017 resident, at work. Photo: Ansley Rivers.
Sam Ihrig and Anna Riley, 2016 residents at work. Photo: Ansley Rivers.
Teresa Baker, a 2015 resident, at work. Photo: Ansley Rivers.