Residence
Deadline: 18/05/2024 - 20/06/2024
OPEN CALL: ARTIST RESIDENCY
We invite artists, as well as art theoreticians, to immerse themselves in the exploration of the city of Karlovy Vary and its surroundings, its people, its institutions, its sources and its life for one or two weeks. We will support the production of temporary interventions, happenings, walks, performances or lectures set in various interdisciplinary contexts: environmental, social, psychological, psychogeographical, place-making, aesthetic, etc.
We will support at least three artists or theoreticians from the fields of performative or visual arts, sound art or those working in an interdisciplinary artistic context. The condition of the residency is the realization of an output at the end of the stay, such as a performance, exhibition, artistic site-specific intervention, lecture, discussion with the artist, etc.
THIS YEAR’S TOPIC: CARING – RESISTANCE
The common conceptual denominator of this year’s programme of the Essence of a Site residencies in Karlovy Vary is the notion of care and resistance. By caring, we mean first and foremost caring for the physical and mental space that enables and facilitates other forms of care focused on specific „others.“ We understand resistance in this context as one aspect of caring that is the counterpoint or counter-movement to consumerism, performance, exploitation, and insensitivity in relation to other beings and the environment and space. Care, as a particular kind of resistance, happens by slowing down, listening, mindfulness, sensitivity, and interaction.
We are interested in the ways in which art can modulate the relationships of individuals and communities to the interpersonal or non-human environment. We are looking for non-violent and safe ways of breaking through the limits of care, expanding it, and transforming its typical structure. We want to foster situations in which caring meets resistance, and protection and empathy meet recognition of alterity.
The Karlovy Vary region offers many opportunities to explore different positions of caring through artistic interventions and research. The relationship to the landscape is currently undergoing a „trial by fire“ in the region due to the planning of the future without mines, which is largely being decided from above. The reasons for the low engagement of the population are certainly manifold but undoubtedly include the existence of blind spots in the region’s emotional maps. Similarly unexplored are the local perceptions of history, whether its own or inherited, a history of which we have temporarily become the “carers” through a confluence of historical accidents. The sphere of artistic infrastructure, the local institutions that care for the arts, and the limits of that care would also be worth investigating.
VZBUĎME VARY / WAKE-UP VARY
A non-governmental cultural organization set in a famous spa town in the Western part of the Czech Republic, Karlovy Vary, focuses on community and inter-media art, new theater, and contemporary dance. Site-specific artistic creation and research is the key part of our activities. Since 2020, we have initiated artistic exploration of imaginative auras and layers of perception of several loci in Karlovy Vary, such as the art-brutalist building of the Hotel Thermal. For more information, see https://www.vzbudmevary.cz/esence-mista/
WE OFFER
- an opportunity to slow down in the pace of a spa town, to explore, to experiment, develop ideas, and to concentrate;
- an opportunity to work at places with a unique genius loci in Karlovy Vary;
- accommodation (to stay with a child or children and a partner is possible);
- a space for work at a specific location;
- to cover transport fees, or their part, depending on the amount;
- production support and help;
- for those coming with children – babysitting allowance up to CZK 3500,-
- financial contribution to cover material and technical needs, or its part up to CZK 3000,-
- honorarium in the amount of CZK 8,000 per week (if the applicant is an artistic couple or a collective, the amount will be distributed among all the members)
TERM
- Autumn 2024
WE EXPECT
- an active, in-person participation at a creative, site-specific residency
- open and friendly communication
- playfulness, courage, and determination to creatively and, at the same time, empathically enter the public space, explore it and intervene in it
- understanding and respect to places and their users and inhabitants
- realization of public presentation or performance during or at the end of the residency
HOW TO APPLY
Send email to tereza@offcity.cz with:
- a motivation letter
- a description of the intended creative activity (500 – 1000 words)
- CV (with sample/s of the work)
DEADLINE: June 20, 2024, 12pm
This project is produced with the financial support of NextGenerationEU and Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic.