IAN MARR
25 February – 26 March (NSW Ministry for the Arts)

Ian Marr has worked as an artist in many media since the 1970's. For the last decade Ian has practiced the ancient craft of letter cutting, rarely now used in Australia, and has travelled to London and Ireland to study with masters of the tradition. Ian cuts text from literature and philosophy of the world onto slate and sandstone. He is particularly interested in placing test in stone in public and private gardens and in bushland settings. At Hill End Ian will work on large watercolour and charcoal drawings, and will draw on monumental stone slabs, developing forms of words for stone which interpret and mark historic and artistic life of the village. He will also explore the potential of Hill End stone for epigraphic expression and letter cutting with the possibility of leaving a site-specific stone work in the Hill End environment.

DAVID PAVICH
29 March – 17 April

A painter currently based in the inner city of Sydney, David Pavich spent time at Murray's Cottage, Hill End in 2003 and was immediately captivated by the atmosphere, colour and light of the Village. David plans to use his residency to continue the development of a new series of paintings, working en plein air, and to further research the emotively charged and historical environment. David has exhibited in Australia for over 20 years and also internationally, living and exhibiting in Paris and London. He was one of seven young inner city artists involved in the Terrain project and exhibition at Bathurst Regional Art Gallery in 2003.

CURTIS RHODES
1 - 31 May

A senior American artist with an impressive exhibiting history, Curtis Rhodes has just retired as Professor of Art at Michigan University, where he has taught since the late 1960s. Curtis, who works often in Arizona as well as the mid-west, describes himself as a "dreamer of places". His work is inspired by references to many cultures, ancient and contemporary, and by journeys both real and imaginary. He works across media - an expert printmaker, he also paints, draws and creates mixed media-works. Keen to continue developing works began during two weeks at Haefligers' Cottage in 2003, travels to Kings Canyon and Uluru Curtis is very excited to be returning to Australia.

SARAH MACE-DENNIS & SVENJA KRATZ
14 June - 27 August

Two Brisbane based interdisciplinary artists, Sarah and Svenja have just completed their Honours degrees at Griffith University on the Gold Coast. Their collaborative projects involve interactive video and photography with narrative elements. While in Hill End they plan to research, develop and present a community based arts project. Historical narratives pertaining to the Hill End community, with particular reference to the concept of the ghost conveying stories and identity, will be explored.

The project aims to produce an interactive video, as well as a publication combining stories, oral histories and photographs.

JULIE ANN LONG
3 September – 1 October (Regional Arts NSW)

Freelance choreographer and dance artist, Julie-Anne Long is the former Director of the celebrated One Extra Company. Inspired by the acrobatics display of the Shaolin monks and Jeffrey Smart's painting The Picnic (Nun's Picnic) 1957, Julie-Anne is working on a new solo performance project with the support of a grant from the NSW Ministry for the Arts Dance Fund. In 2003 she jointly collaborated with painter Lucy Culliton, film-maker Samuel James and photographer Heidrun Lohr. Themes of shifting identity, transportation and transformation guided the work. In 2004 Julie- Anne returns to Hill End to continue working on this project and to participate in INTERFACE, a community arts project driven by Bathurst Regional Art Gallery and supported by the Commonwealth Government via it Regional Arts Fund.

JOANNE LINSDELL
11 October - 8 November (Regional Arts NSW)

Water, or the lack of it, shapes things in powerful, fundamental ways. Wet and dry materials, textures and finishes characterize Joanne Linsdell's work, reflecting the extremes of nature she grew up with in a rural Australian farming community. Jo works with water in direct and figurative ways - casting shapes with water based materials or coating objects with sleek finishes. Thirsty materials like plaster form objects only with the correct quantity of water in the mix. Slick materials like wax have a sheen like new leaves with stores of water sealed in. Jo's art practice is muscular and democratic but still intensely sensitive to her surroundings. She often involves children, enabling them to communicate the complex structure and resonance of objects through uncomplicated, direct techniques. In 2004 Jo returns to Hill End to participate in INTERFACE a community arts project driven by Bathurst Regional Art Gallery and supported by the Commonwealth Government via regional Arts Fund.

DR JEN WEBB
12 November - 10 December

Dr Jen Webb is Program Director of Creative Writing in the School of Creative Communication at the University of Canberra. Jen is a creative writer (poetry and short fictions), and a writer on art and creative practice. The holder of the inaugural artsACT Poet of the Year award, Jen has also been selected by Five Islands Press to be one of their poets in the current series. As well as several academic books, she has written and published over 50 articles, essays, book chapters and reviews on visual arts, regional communities, human rights, and communication in culture. Currently researching the relationships between art and human rights, Jen will use her time at Hill End to organise her research materials, arrange them in a coherent form, and prepare a manuscript for publication and a visual 'book' for presentation. Hill End will provide a crucial environment for consideration, reflection and art writing.