Community Guidelines — RMAR | Rate My Artist Residency

RMAR exists because artists share honest information with each other. These guidelines help keep the platform useful and trustworthy for everyone.

Writing reviews

Reviews are the backbone of RMAR. A good review helps the next artist make a better decision. Here's what we ask:

Be honest and specific

Share what your actual experience was like. Mention specifics — the workspace, the community, the neighborhood, the food situation, how the program was organized. Vague praise or vague complaints don't help anyone.

Only review residencies you attended

Reviews must be based on firsthand experience. Don't review a program because you heard something about it or were rejected. If you visited but didn't attend as a resident, say so.

Focus on the experience, not individuals

Critique the program, facilities, and organization — not specific staff members or fellow residents by name. It's fine to mention roles ("the director was responsive") but don't single out individuals for personal attacks.

Negative reviews are welcome

Transparency is the whole point. If a program was disorganized, unsafe, or not what it advertised, say so. Critical reviews are often the most valuable — they're exactly the information that's hardest to find elsewhere. Just keep it factual.

Include the year you attended

Programs change over time. Noting when you were there helps future readers weigh the relevance of your review.

What's not allowed

Fake reviews — reviews for residencies you didn't attend, or reviews written to boost or sabotage a program's rating.
Personal attacks — naming and targeting specific individuals with harassment, threats, or defamatory statements.
Discriminatory content — hate speech, slurs, or content targeting people based on race, gender, sexuality, religion, disability, or national origin.
Spam or self-promotion — using reviews or listings to advertise unrelated products, services, or your own residency.
Duplicate accounts — creating multiple accounts to post multiple reviews of the same program.
Confidential information — don't share other residents' private details, medical information, or similarly sensitive content.

For residency programs

We welcome programs to submit and maintain their own listings. A few ground rules:

Keep your listing information accurate and up to date.
Don't post fake reviews of your own program or competitors.
Don't pressure residents to leave positive reviews.
If you believe a review is fake or violates these guidelines, contact us and we'll look into it. We don't remove reviews simply because they're negative.

Photo guidelines for listings

A strong cover photo makes your listing stand out and helps it get approved faster. We have strict creative direction to keep the directory consistent and authentic — every listing should feel like a window into the actual place.

Do show

•The residence, campus, or building where artists stay
•Studios, workshops, or creative workspaces
•The surrounding town, city, or landscape
•Community moments — open studios, studio visits, group dinners, critiques
•Natural, well-lit photographs that feel authentic

Don't use

•Graphics, logos, or images with overlaid text
•Stock photos that feel generic or staged
•Low-resolution or heavily filtered images
•Screenshots, flyers, or promotional materials

Listings with quality photos that follow these guidelines are approved faster and get more engagement from the community. If you don't have a photo ready, that's okay — your listing will use a gradient placeholder until you add one.

How we moderate

RMAR is a small team. We review flagged content and may remove reviews or accounts that violate these guidelines. We try to be fair and transparent:

We don't remove negative reviews just because a program asks us to.
We will remove content that is clearly fake, abusive, or violates these guidelines.
If your content is removed, we'll try to let you know why.
If you think a moderation decision was wrong, email us.

Report a concern

See something that violates these guidelines? Email kn@studiostudios.net with a link to the content and a brief description of the issue.