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Soil Futures Residency Exchange - Deadline Extended! 12th of September at 11pm Italy time

This is an exciting opportunity for an artist based in Italy who is active in the field of agro-ecology and environmental practices to delve into rural contexts of Palestine and to work closely with Riwaq – Centre for Architectural Conservation, an organisation that brings together different fields of knowledge while being responsive to its regional ecologies.

The selected artist will take part in a rich exchange with local communities of practices – including farmers, ecologists, activists, artists and soil caretakers – to develop their artistic research and to nurture new and existing networks with the support of the host organisations.

We are particularly interested in practices that speak to some aspect of ecology, climate, economy, science or technology inherent to the locality where the residency takes place.

Applicants should submit a project proposal outlining what they would like to do while in residency in Palestine, and the artistic rationale for wanting to be in residence there. Proposals may include developing a new body of artistic research and/or collaborations with artistic/cultural practitioners.

The artistic output can have an online or offline public manifestation in the form of an event or artwork – such as a performance, workshop, informal gathering, meal, walk, sound work, radio broadcast, screening, etc.

There is no expectation or ambition to develop an exhibition at the end of the residency, rather we are interested in applications centred around artistic methodologies that support exchanging, collaborating, and practising ecologically.

Residency Dates:

6-week residency between October – December 2022 (exact dates to be agreed on with host organisation)

Who can apply?

Please note that this opportunity is addressed to artists based in Italy to undertake a residency with Riwaq. The artist will be hosted in Riwaq’s residency space in Qalandiya village.

Applicants should have presented previous projects publicly and have an ongoing practice.

The majority of communication during the residency will need to happen in English, therefore good English language skills are required.

Support and fees include:

Return flights between Italy-Palestine (Tel Aviv Airport) & practical support for travel (particularly re: VISA application process)
Artist fee: £1,500
Production budget: £1,000
Per diem: £1,100 (food and daily expenses)
Free accommodation for 6 weeks
Translation support for meetings – from Arabic to English (provided by the host organisation during the residency).​​
1:1 mentoring and support during the residency by the host organisations
Access to the host organisation’s network of artists, curators, institutions, experts from multiple fields
Opportunity to be involved in the broader Soil Futures programme, for instance as an active participant in the online School of Soil Futures, podcast series and local assemblies.

*Please note that expenses listed above are for 1 person only, if you choose to apply as a duo or collective you must show how you will be able to fund both people in your application.

Deadline:
12th of September at 11pm Italy time.

How to apply:

Please send us a PDF containing the following information to admin@artscatalyst.org
A summary of a project proposal (250 words max)
An outline of how you think this residency could help you expand your practice and how you plan to approach the project (150 words max)
CV (2 pages max)
Supporting material, dependent on your practice; 10 images maximum, 3 sound pieces and/or video clips (max length of all clips - 5 min), writings / text
Please state in the subject of the email that you are applying for a residency at Riwaq
Please note that the application should be written in English.

Soil Futures is an initiative between Arts Catalyst (Sheffield, UK); RIWAQ (al Bireh, Palestine); Sakiya - Art/Science/Agriculture (Ein Qiniya, Palestine); and Vessel Art Project (Puglia, Italy) for artists to undertake a six-week residency.

The wider inter-institutional exchange is structured as follows:
UK based artists can apply for a residency at Sakiya - Art/Science/Agriculture;
Palestinian artists can apply for a residency at Vessel Art Project;
Italy based artists can apply for a residency at RIWAQ.

Selection process:

Interviews led by host organisations via Zoom at the end of September.

About the host organisation:

Riwaq - Centre for Architectural Conservation

Riwaq - Centre for Architectural Conservation is an NGO established in 1991 in an effort to preserve the cultural heritage in Palestine — it was the preservation of peasants’ architecture and cultural heritage that influenced the centre’s agenda and vision for 30 years. In 2017 Riwaq initiated its project in rural Jerusalem ‘The life Jacket: The Restoration and Regeneration of Rural Jerusalem’, rendering the villages surrounding the city of Jerusalem – with their agricultural produce, their labour force, and services – a sort of “life jacket” to the city itself.

This call is part of Riwaq’s ongoing research on rural Jerusalem. Recognising the local community and its practices is at the core of this call, with an aspiration to experiment with multidisciplinary methodologies, grassroots approaches, and to focus on a process based approach.

The works will contribute to Riwaq’s existing research and invests in Riwaq’s efforts to clarify the growing political and epistemic significance of cultural heritage in local towns and villages, and acknowledging the importance of the public sphere as a means for communal interaction, arenas for social change, preserving collective memory and reasserting and recognising heritage as part of everyday life in Palestine, or in other words; as a living heritage.

We are asking artists to think of art as opposing the logic of monuments, or to think of a living thing rather than a frozen object, stretching towards the social, and different hidden humans and non-human agencies. Since Riwaq’s project is situated in the north west and north east of Jerusalem, namely in Jaba’, Kafr Aqab, Qalandiya, Beit Hanina and Al Jib villages, artists are encouraged to build on the knowledge of these communities as sites of research. The resident will be hosted in Riwaq’s residency space in Qalandiya village.

Soil Futures is funded by the British Council’s International Collaboration Grants, which are designed to support UK and overseas organisations to collaborate on international arts projects.