On a hard drive, there is an area dedicated specifically to temporary storage called scratch space. This volume space is commonly used with graphic design programs as an overflow when there is insufficient computer memory. But a scratch space is also a space of ideas – a mental or physical scratch pad–somewhere we jot down concepts, make preliminary notes and sketches, and make connections.
Montalvo is home to the third oldest artist residency program in the United States, and in many ways an artist residency is one large scratch space – a space to try things out, to experiment, and to imagine new ways of thinking and working. With Scratch Space, we are interested in open ended exploration, where we are allowed to fail and make mistakes, all in the service of reimagining a more just world.
Please check back again soon!