PLOP Residency was founded in London in 2019 by artist Oli Epp and curator Aindrea Emelife. PLOP is a residency run by artists for artists and has provided free artist studios, mentorship and industry visits to 48 artists from over four continents. The artists that have taken part in PLOP created communities where ideas, thoughts and opinions could be freely shared. Previous artists who have taken part in the residency include: Sarah Slappey, Andrew Pierre Hart, Stine Deja, Hunter Potter and Cathrin Hoffmann. They have gone on to have international and solo exhibitions, and forged long-standing communities that cross continents.
Many opportunities for emerging artists and recent graduates, like Degree Shows and art openings, have been squashed by the pandemic. By opening up dialogues between artists, and fostering a new, creative synergy, I hope PLOP can help redress this and contribute to London’s cultural landscape post-covid. We want to amplify those new voices in the UK’s art scene who have an innovate and original approach to art making and who consider how their practice is reflective of current life and contemporary culture. – Oli Epp, co-founder of PLOP.
Beginning in August 2021, PLOP collaborated with Cob to host five, one-month residency programmes for emerging and early-career artists at Cob studios. The Cob x PLOP selection committee chose fifteen residents in total to particpate including six international artists. Artists were supported by the residency mentors, curator and artist Rosalind Davis and art historian Hector Campbell. Each residency culminated with a dedicated exhibtion within the studios.
Cob x PLOP selection committee:
Oli Epp, artist | Marcelle Joseph, collector and curator | Claus Busch Risvig, collector founder of Artlandapp | Jeremy Levison, collector and lawyer | Aindrea Emelife, art historian and curator | Cob Gallery - Victoria Williams, Cassie Beadle, Madeleine Dunnigan
Summer Residency 2021
Anna Kenneally, Desire Moheb Zandi, Okiki Akinfe
Autumn Residency 2021
Madinah Thompson, Natalia Gonzalez Martin, Eve Stainton
Winter Residency 2021
Anne von Freyburg, Ania Hobson, William Grob
International Residency 2021
Horacio Quiroz, Bianca Fields, Agostino Iacurci
International Residency 2022
Timmy Irani, Mathew Zefeldt, Debbi Kenote