Application deadline: August 7, 2017
European School of Visual Art (EESI)
134 rue de Bordeaux
16000 Angoulême
26 rue Jean Alexandre
86000 Poitiers
France
“Damn the Dams” has often been mobilized by indigenous and environmental activist groups worldwide in their struggles against mega dam projects that have drastically modified ecosystems and landscapes. Dams are inherently ambivalent structures, engendering new ecosystems at the cost of destroying older ones. Following a year of questioning the figure of the dam as both a physical and metaphorical construct, the imperative “damn-the-dams” opens up to a profusion of other possible forms and forces, in their political and ecological dimensions. What lies beyond the dam, literally and metaphorically? This is the starting point for the research which will be carried out over the course of 2017–18 in the Doctoral-level program Document and Contemporary Art.
Launched in October 2010 at the initiative of the European School of Visual Art (ÉESI), in partnership with the École nationale supérieure d’art de Bourges (ENSA-Bourges), the Doctoral-level experimental research program will be run from this year on by a partially renewed academic advisory team, placing equal emphasis on collective and individual research agendas.
The program is open to young art or film practitioners, curators and theorists seeking to prolong their studies through a three-year, doctoral-level program, irrespective of media or technique. Participants are expected to follow the program’s collective activities and to undertake individual research integrating artistic production and theoretical reflexion. Individual research projects must be validated by a committee made up of the academic advisory team and an external assessor at the end of the first year. Successful completion of the three-year program enables participants to obtain a PhD-level Degree in artistic research (DSRA).
The program is by nature nomadic, displacement being a conscious methodological choice. Its activities are condensed into once-monthly meetings of one week, held in different cities (Paris, Bourges, Poitiers, Angoulême…). For these meetings, the program functions as a seminar, inviting artists, theorists or curators. Participants are required to attend the collective research seminars and to engage in a regular writing practice in the form of reports and correspondence.
An annual publication provides an account of the program’s activities by bringing together writing and other work from the participating artists and invited guests. The partnership with the Film and Critical Studies departments at CalArts (California Institute of the Arts, Valencia), will be renewed once again this year. A research trip to Argentina is planned for October 2017.
The program recruits internationally. Principal working languages are English and French.
Program directors: Mabel Tapia & Stephen Wright
Academic advisor: Andreas Maria Fohr, Virginie Yassef, Arnaud Deshayes, Ferenc Gróf, Aurélien Bambagioni
External advisors 2017–18
Rebecca Baron, filmmaker, CalArts; Arne De Boever, theorist, CalArts; Catherine Malabou, philosopher (UK); Susan Schuppli, artist (Canada); Brian Holmes, activist (Chicago); Center for Land Use Interpretation (Los Angeles); Iconoclasistas, cartographers and artists (Buenos Aires); Roberto Jacoby, artist (Buenos Aires); Ana Longoni, art historian (Buenos Aires); Graciela Carnevale, artist (Rosario)
Application and selection procedure
Applicants should hold a national or international level-1 degree or equivalent (high-school certificate + 5 years of post-secondary study), or demonstrate equivalent artistic experience for those countries that do not typically award Masters degrees in artistic practice. Following a preliminary selection on the basis of the candidate’s artistic dossier, letter of application and curriculum vitae, applicants will be invited to an interview with the selection committee. The artistic dossier, in digital form only, should include documentation of work produced by the applicant (texts, photographs, films, catalogues, articles). For film or sound works, applicants should select excerpts of 10 minutes maximum and make them available online. The letter of application (2 pages maximum) should mention the candidate’s itinerary, past experiences and particular interest for the program. The candidate should also propose the names of two referents (artists, theorists, curators) whom the selection committee can contact for possible recommendations.
Successful applicants have access to both Schools’ technical facilities and receive an annual stipend of 4000 euros. This year, the program is recruiting three young practitioners for the session beginning in October 2017.
The artistic dossier and a letter of application should be sent by 7 August 2017. Results will be announced by 4 September 2017. Interviews with the selection committee will be held in mid-September 2017. The group’s work sessions begin in October 2017 in Paris, followed immediately by a research trip to Argentina.
Applications and inquiries should be addressed to:
concours.troisieme-cycle [at] eesi.eu
The European School of Visual Art is a fine art school supported by the Ministry of Culture and Communication, the Aquitaine–Limousin-Poitou-Charentes Regional Council and the cities of Angoulême and Poitiers.
