Patricia Healy McMeans

Patricia Healy McMeans is a PhD-holding researcher and founder of the Art Residency Research Collective (ARRC), coordinating experimental projects across Minneapolis and Edinburgh. She operates at the intersection of artistic practice and institutional critique through initiatives like Ten Chances, No Hustle and Moveable Feast Bothy.

Her research centers on artist residencies as knowledge-producing ecosystems, with particular focus on experiential learning, permaculture frameworks, and embodied research methodologies. She challenges conventional knowledge production through auto-ethnography, magic, and non-linear temporal experiments, advocating for residencies as spaces for radical institutional transformation.

Her recent publications reveal evolving emphasis on equity frameworks (10x MPLS), post-pandemic adaptation, and perma-cultural institutional design. Key themes include decolonial practices, community co-creation, and ecological sustainability in arts infrastructure.

• Constructive Advanced Thinking Grant (2023–2025) for residency transformation framework
• Kone Foundation collaboration on Summer Well symposium (2021)
• Res Artis Virtual Conference participation on post-COVID futures

Her work integrates grant-funded research with hands-on residency curation, emphasizing collective thinking exercises and alternative knowledge systems. Current projects focus on developing frameworks for residencies serving marginalized communities through the Mist and Mountain initiative, while building sustainable models via the CAP (Curating for Advanced Practices) program.

Operating through the ARRC network, she maintains active collaborations with Scottish residency programs (RSA Residencies for Scotland, Birnam Arts) and European institutions like Saari Residence, fostering transnational knowledge exchange through virtual and physical platforms.