Application deadline: April 15, 2019, 5pm
International Art Space is now seeking applications from visual and new-media artists interested in participating in the fourth iteration of spaced, our recurring program of context-responsive art.
To obtain the application form and additional information on this opportunity please contact IAS’ Program Manager at admin [at] spaced.org.au
Participating artists will be invited to live and work in Western Australian rural communities with the view to developing original art projects created in response to local social, historical and environmental situations. Projects will address the program’s overarching curatorial theme that focuses on the idea of “rural utopias.”
Artists will undertake up to two residencies, each running for 6 weeks or longer and both located in the same town. The first residency will focus on research and community engagement, the second on creating a major artwork. The residency will start on September 1, 2019 and continue until December 31, 2020. Participants who have completed the first round of residencies may submit proposals for works to be created during the second placement. Submissions will be assessed by IAS’ curatorial panel in consultation with the residency hosts, with the final selection to be made based on the projects’ intrinsic value and available funds.
Participating artists will be offered a remuneration package covering travel expenses, artists’ fees, and production costs.
Curatorial focus
Rural and remote locations have often attracted visionaries, seekers, and dreamers in pursuit of grand utopian goals, be they alternative communities, fantastically ambitious economic projects, spiritual renewal and other far-sighted or quixotic ventures. Sometimes, such schemes are conceived to escape from the dystopian living conditions of modern cities, which are seen as alienating, detached from nature and deprived of community bonds. Other times, rural utopias have a futuristic bent that stresses the untapped economic and social potential and aim to create a new type of non-urban-centric modernity.
In responding to this theme, artists have two options. The first is to create artworks that explore existing or historical utopian projects sited in or around the host community. Alternatively, artists can propose projects that have a utopian character. In either case, projects will have to be developed in dialogue with the local community and host organizations.
About IAS
International Art Space (IAS) was established in 1998. Since its inception, IAS has run more than 120 residency-based projects by artists from 22 countries, created five national touring exhibitions and organized educational programs, professional mentorships and a range of other cultural and community activities.
IAS’ mission is to:
–Foster new and more productive modes of interaction between contemporary artists and communities
–Support artistic practices that engage non-specialist audiences without compromising professional excellence
–Promote a dialogue between regional, metropolitan and international perspectives
