Artistic Residencies Programme: Summer - Autumn 2023
EMPACT’S exciting open call for artists!
The EMPACT project recently promoted an open call for the upcoming Artistic Residencies Programme. There was an overwhelmingly positive response to this call where 14 artists will be granted the opportunity to spend their Summer/Autumn of 2023 at one of our four partner institutions of the Creative Europe project EMPACT for a short-term artist-in-residence programmes in:
- Taleggio Valley (Italy) hosted by Nature, Art & Habitat Residency (NAHR): 4 July – 16 July 2023
- Athens (Greece) hosted by Vorres Museum: 31 July – 11 August 2023
- Sozopol (Bulgaria) hosted by National Academy of Theatre and Film Arts (NATFA) “Kr. Sarafov ”: 26 August – 6 September 2023
- Madrid (Spain) hosted by Espacio Rojo: 16 September – 29 September 2023
The jury will select artists based on their application and profile and match their artistic interests and ability to the most appropriate partner institution.
The aim of the residency programme in the context of EMPACT
EMPACT initiates a dialogue between artists, sustainability experts, philosophers and social scientists, in order to explore the importance of empathy as a key to aid people to tackle and act upon climate change.
Specifically, EMPACT aims to facilitate artists in creating, through sustainable practices, art that fosters an empathic stance towards non-human beings and nature; that is, art that encourages people to relate to non-human suffering in a first-personal manner and thus acquire experiential knowledge about climate change related issues.
EMPACT considers the artist’s own emotional and empathic stance as a key point that will allow them to effectively incorporate the concept of sustainability in their artistic production.
What can select artists can expect during their EMPACT Artistic Residency Journey?
Selected participants are invited to develop works relating to the themes of the project EMPACT – Empathy and Sustainability: The Art of Thinking Like a Mountain and explore how these broad topics can be interconnected. They will do so by relating to particularities of the local character and context of each residency and host institution. Artists will produce work in various media and artistic fields, depending on the mandate of each inviting institution (e.g., visual arts, performing arts, creative writing, philosophy).
In Taleggio Valley, Italy, artists-in-residence will visit high and low pastures, walk across the mountains and landscapes (natural and built), and attend and participate in dedicated lectures by specialists. In addition, they will have the opportunity for site-specific investigations in the area and topics related to EMPACT and to NAHR 2023 Topic AIR: Commons, Chaotic Fluid, Inspiration.
The next group of selected artists will make their way to Athens, Greece, where visual artists – working in all media – will be provided the opportunity by Vorres Museum to gain an in-depth knowledge of Greek modern art through their engagement with the museum’s permanent collection and immerse themselves in developing artworks relating to the given subject. Residents will be able to take advantage of its scenic natural environment – a paradigm of Mediterranean gardening redefined in the light of climate change, focusing on a sustainable approach.
NATFA’s residency theme is ‘Water: Memory & Movement’ and will be on the creation of a performative story, focusing on artists’ own resilience and sustainability. The residency will take place in the town of Sozopol on the Black Sea and residents will have the opportunity to get inspired by the beauty of the sea, rivers, and mountain areas in the region, as well as by the rich cultural heritage of the ancient city. The residency is organised in collaboration with the Apollonia Festival of the Arts and participants can attend a number of arts and culture events during this period.
Finally, the residency programme will conclude in Madrid, Spain, at Espacio Rojo where artists will be able to facilitate empathic and sustainable art creation on the theme “Nature, Health and Care” in the urban environment with vulnerable groups for social inclusion and change in collaboration in diverse sites, scales and cultural institutions to be confirmed.
New works will be presented to the public at the end of each residency and later a selection of the artworks will be jointly presented in an exhibition at Vorres Museum in Athens.
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