UNIDEE residency: Neither on Land nor at Sea

UNIDEE Residency Programs and Cittadellarte-Fondazione Pistoletto are pleased to announce an open call for participation in the first two seasons of residency modules in the programme Neither on Land nor at Sea. Meeting by the Mediterranean Im/Possible, curated by UNIDEE Visiting Curator Chiara Cartuccia.

Neither on Land nor at Sea invites to meander around unreducible complications and on shifting grounds, to explore together ways in which geography is historically, socially, and politically produced. The project pluralises Mediterranean concepts/spaces as sites of worldmaking and experimentation in communal living. To do so, it adopts un-grounded geographies and colliding historicities as meeting places, in which to congregate to elaborate on the role played by situated practices and shared processes in the promotion of social transformations, towards epistemic justice.

The UNIDEE modules are programme-based week-long residency formats. Participating residents will be offered the opportunity to expand on their ongoing research and practice exploring Mediterranean complexities and geographical thinking in the arts and beyond, within a group of peers and invited guests. The spring & summer modules are curated by UNIDEE Visiting Curator with invited mentors: interdisciplinary artist and filmmaker Noor Abed, critical spatial practitioners FRAUD (Audrey Samson & Francisco Gallardo), and artist, researcher and educator Alessandra Ferrini. For more information about the context and scopes of the project, please read the full curatorial framework here.

Programme
The first leg of the Neither on Land nor at Sea residency modules is articulated in two seasons, a spring season, taking place in May, and a summer season, taking place in June. The exact dates of the modules are as follows: Spring season module I: May 13–19. Summer season module II: June 5–11 / module III: June 10–16.

Invited mentors in each module are: Noor Abed (spring season, Module I), FRAUD (summer season, Module II) and Alessandra Ferrini (summer season, Module III). More guests in each module will be announced soon.

The programme of each module will employ different working formats that foster collaboration and exchange, including workshops, reading sessions, talks, screenings, collective interventions and exercise (indoors and outdoors), one-on-one mentoring, according to the specific approach proposed by each mentor and to the needs of the group.

Neither on Land nor at Sea is curatorially conceived as an organic project, which articulates across the single residency modules and an accompanying public programme over the duration of a biennium. The modules are interlinked, and each contributes to shaping the discourse developed by the project as a whole. Residents will be asked to leave a “trace” of their participation behind. This can take different forms—from a commented bibliographic reference to a visual fragment, in video, photo, drawing etc., a sound recording, a written note, or a shared toolkit. The material thus collected will be made accessible to future and past residents, both in the physical spaces of UNIDEE and online, through the Neither of Land nor at Sea digital platform. The residency programme’s working language is English.

Participants
We aim to invite a group of up to eight residents to take part in each module. The programme is open to international participants of all backgrounds, whose practice sits anywhere across the broad spectrum of visual practice and research, with no restriction regarding disciplines, media or methodologies of work. Applications from artists, curators, writers, theorists, activists, all are welcome and encouraged.

The selection of participants will be based on the affinity of the subject matters, concerns and questions participating in the applicant’s work with those expressed by the curatorial framework of the project, as well as on the applicant interest and ability to contribute to a programme-based residency whose working is grounded in processes of active exchange and participation.

Practicalities
The residency modules will take place at Cittadellarte-Fondazione Pistoletto, in Biella, Italy. The UNIDEE and Cittadellarte spaces will host a large part of the programme, while further opportunities for exploring the urban and rural landscape of Biella and its immediate surroundings will be offered.

Participants will be accommodated within the premises of Cittadellarte, in single rooms with the use of shared bathrooms. The residential spaces offer basic cooking facilities and communal resting areas. Participants arrival is expected by the afternoon of the day prior to the beginning of the module, departure is expected by the afternoon of the day following the end of the module.

We are committed to meeting to the best of our ability any accessibility requirements an attendee may have; this will be discussed individually with prospective residents.

Expenses & bursaries
Participation in the spring & summer modules is offered free of charge, and the residents will be provided with free accommodation at Cittadellarte. Residents will be required to arrange and cover expenses for their travel to/from Biella and for the food/living costs whilst in Cittadellarte.

A limited number of partial and full bursaries—including a contribution towards travel costs—are made available to those who would not otherwise be able to participate; please remember to state in your application whether you would like to be considered for this.

How to apply
To apply you need to submit the following documents: the filled out application form; a single document containing a detailed CV (two-page limit) and a portfolio including up to three recent projects (in PDF format, max 6MB).

Each applicant is requested to express a first and a second choice as for the module they would like to participate in. The application material must be submitted via email at unidee [​at​] cittadellarte.it, with the subject line “UNIDEE Modules Spring/Summer 2023 Application (your name)”.

Deadline for submissions is April 12, 2023, 12pm (CET). All applicants will be informed about the result of their application by April 18, 2023.

Partners
UNIDEE patrons are Regione Piemonte, Compagnia di San Paolo, CRT Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Torino, illycaffè S.p.A., Fondazione Zegna, Creative Europe. UNIDEE AIR partner are A.M. Qattan, Institut Français Italy, Inlaks Shivdasani Foundation.