This year, I’m lucky enough to travel abroad twice. In a few days, I’ll be off to the UK. It’s my first time across “the” pond. I’m going to be an artist in FRED, the annual art invasion of Cumbria. Then I’m going to see as much art in Manchester and London as possible.

I feel lucky to be an artist who makes a living as a self-employed graphic designer. Still, having tasted the life of a full-time artist during my trip with Galleon Trade, I want more. And that’s another reason why being an Affiliate Artist at the Headlands is so great — sure, there’s the studio, the awesome environment, the community, but I’ve also been savoring the osmotic zone of artists-in-residence. The AIRs are there to have time and space to experiment and develop, and appear to be happily spending their days and nights thinking about, talking about and making art. I find myself wondering, What would it be like to wake up in a secluded place, and in the quiet of the morning, wander over to the studio and see where the day takes me?

I’m starting to think of these opportunities for international travel as Temporary Autonomous Zones (TAZs) as an artist. A while ago, I worked with Underground Railroad, a collective of cultural workers who theorized that, while we lived in a country that lacks physical TAZs (Not counting Burning Man — I mean those accessible to young urban POCs), cultural events could be transient TAZs. The vision was that a taste of being free would lead towards expansions in duration, until soon enough the TAZ would be round-the-clock and migrate beyond its four walls.

I love this idea’s elegance — its sense of natural momentum. It’s not about the fear of failure driving one to a necessary optimism. Rather, the potential is just too good to pass up.