OPEN CALL FOR APPLICANTS: ‘VISITING’
Townhouse in Cairo in cooperation with the Rijksakademie in Amsterdam
Deadline: April 10, 2012
Townhouse, in cooperation with the Rijksakademie in Amsterdam, invites applicants to ‘Visiting,’ an open-ended, collaborative residency that will take place in Cairo from May 14-28, 2012.
Six Cairo-based artists will be selected to join six visiting artists from the Rijksakademie to participate in an initial, two-week long residency hosted by the Townhouse.
This exchange takes as its point of departure the relationship between the Cairo-based artists, who inadvertently take on the role of hosts, and the visiting artists. Through examining this relationship, the artists will begin to address a range of questions that can serve as catalysts for possible collaboration. The artists are not required or expected to complete a finished work over the course of the two weeks; rather, throughout the residency, participants will engage in a rigorous exchange of ideas structured as an open sharing of knowledge and practice. The program will be a full-time commitment for selected artists.
Townhouse will provide a communal working space for the resident artists, and activities will be largely self-directed. Evenings will be structured around presentations by the participants introducing their current project or idea in progress for an open critique by the group. Participants will also organize knowledge-sharing discussions based on topics decided upon by group consent, ranging from the theoretical, to the art historical, to the practical. Additional programming will include meetings with invited guests, outings around the city, and a final night of presentations where the artists will interact with the public and present concepts and processes that have emerged over the course of their residency. The exact format of this event will be determined by the artists.
This intensive collaboration should leave artists with new ideas, new relationships, and a better understanding of what a residency is, and what it can be. Eventually the completed works made in relation to ‘Visiting’ will be presented through an exhibition, created in collaboration with curators both Egypt-based and from the Rijksakademie, to be held at Townhouse in September.
How to apply
Applicants should be practicing artists based in Cairo who have past experience as participants in residencies programs or, workshops or similar programs.
Applicants must have a firm grasp of English, as this will be the working language of the residency.
In order to apply, please email the following information in English to [email protected] by April 10, 2012:
-A portfolio of 5-10 works in jpeg files no bigger than two megabytes each, clearly labeled with your name.
-A personal statement (maximum 500 words) detailing your background, areas of interest within your work, your interest in the project, and what you feel you will contribute to the collaboration.
-CV
The Townhouse, Cairo: www.thetownhousegallery.com
More information about the Rijksakademie and their programs can be found at www.rijksakademie.nl
