When did artists begin doing ‘residencies’? From the patronage system of Renaissance Italy, to artists’ colonies of the 19th Century and the decades-long stint of an artist-in-residence at the NYC Sanitation Department,  researcher Amaara Raheem tells us the history and ideas behind the Artist-in-Residence. Producer Lisa Divissi catches up with the artist-in-residence of Melbourne’s Footscray Railway Station, David Wells. And artists Nicole Barakat, Nikki Lam and Gegee Ayurzana share messages from their studios-away-from-home.

Artist Johnathon World Peace Bush paints global figureheads and Catholic icons (and occasionally British royalty) with Tiwi body art designs, in huge, vivid portraits in ochre. Reflecting on his own family history, the impact of colonial crime, and a complex relationship to Catholicism. Fellow Tiwi artist Walter Brooks talks Rosa through the four ancestral beings that are key to the Tiwi creation story and to culture: Japarra, Wai-ai, Purukupali and Jinani. All feature heavily in the figurative wood-carving tradition he works in.