Photo: Tasneem Khan & Umeed Mistry.
Open Call for residency stay in India in the summer of 2017 – within the framework of the program Create in Residence: Swamp Storytelling
Swamp Storytelling combines the working fields for scientific method and artistic production, while sharing research residency field sites. We endeavor to address current environmental realities through collaboration between Art Lab Gnesta, Earth CoLab – an enterprise for science, design and learning – and the Swedish Institute (SI), a public agency creating confidence and interest in Sweden around the world. This call invites Swedish artists to apply for participation in the 2017 India Swamp Storytelling Residency.
The project was initiated by Art Lab Gnesta in 2014, and has functioned as a platform for discussions and action on environmental and rural issues, making several artistic productions and opening creative dialogue with artists around these concerns. As part of this field based residency, artists are invited into close dialogue with scientists, sociologists, policy makers and the community – thus formulating new perspectives on issues of wetlands, the environment, climate challenge and catastrophe. This project began in 2014 and has since, initiated educational meetings, pedagogical and artistic research that connects the swamps of Sweden and India.
As a society, we are acutely aware of what the last hundred odd years of industrial and human activity has had on our planet. In Swamp Storytelling we bring together scientific understanding and artistic perspectives on wetlands – as an ecosystem and a conceptual space. What remains uncovered in the damp mud, among deep roots and decomposition? We view the swamp here as both a symbol of the prevailing climate policy, the necessary processes of transformation and the very cradle of life.
In 2017 we collectively explore the idea of ‘seasonal swamps’ – taking cognizance of the central role that the monsoon plays in India, its environment, food security, biodiversity and geography. Precipitation transforms landscapes and life – here we investigate the ‘swamps’ that appear within the various strata of rainforests. From the forest floor to the canopy water creates multiple in-between spaces, each a microcosm is a universe in itself. The creation of these seasonal swamps bring with it birth, death, renewal, love, possibility and life as we know it. The rainforests of Coorg, nested in the western ghats of Karnataka will be the field site for Swamp Storytelling 2017, in India.
The residency includes
- A month long, tailored, field-based residency, with Earth Colab and their research network
- Engaging with Earth CoLab’s program of ‘field as a studio’
- A stipend of 1,000 euros
- Travel expenses from Sweden to India and domestic travels in India
- Production costs based upon agreement
- Informal onsite presentation and engagement with local practitioners
- Presentation of the project at Art Lab Gnesta and/or the SI upon agreement
After an initial shortlist, one artist will be awarded this residency position. The artist is responsible for visa costs and insurance during the residency period.
Time frame: May 25 – June 30 2017.
Location: Coorg, India
APPLY HERE
Please send us your application no later than Feb 28, 2017.
Selection
The selection is made by a working group with representatives from Art Lab Gnesta, Earth CoLab and the Swedish Institute and will be based on the theme of the artistic work, curiosity for the location and the expected opportunity to benefit from what we offer.
Eligibility: residents of Sweden are eligible for this call. The final selection will be announced in March 2017.
For more information about the project, see Swamp Storytelling and earthcolab.com
About Create in Residence
Create in Residence is a bilateral residency program initiated by the Swedish Institute in 2014. The program is implemented in different artistic and creative disciplines, and aims to promote knowledge exchange and build lasting networks between individuals and organizations in Sweden and other countries.
