Enclave Land Art. Open call for the third edition of the artistic residency

ENCLAVE LAND ART and the Vall de Gallinera council (Alicante, Spain) with the support of Cultura Resident from Consorci de Museus de la Comunitat Valenciana and the Direcció General del Cultura i Patrimoni de la Generalitat Valenciana, are glad to announce the open call for the Third Edition of the Enclave Land Art Residency.

Submissions should focus on the dialogue between human beings and nature so as to create an artistic Land Art itinerary in the area.

We will select seven projects from different artistic disciplines that will be developed and produced in the natural environment during the two weeks of the Art Residency, sharing experiences, ideas and a common goal.

All projects must take into consideration people's interest in contemporary arts, aiming to give greater value to the area of Vall de Gallinera, promoting a deep and permanent conscience about the historical, cultural and traditional aspects of the territory through a dialogue between art and nature.

Concept: 

"Truly memory does not consist at all of a regression from the present to the past, but rather in a progress from the past to the present."

Bergson H., Matter and Memory, 2006.

The power of intangibleness in art could be considered to be the core of creation and transformation: perception, habits, culture, language, time or memory can be channels used to define artistic research.

This symbiosis between tangible and immaterial is what, along with history, builds the identity of a territory. There are many important elements in Vall de Gallinera apart from its geologic structure and its natural heritage, like for example the vestiges from prehistory up to the civil war, passing through Iberian villages, funerary steles and medieval castles. This historical legacy, traces of human beings along the millennia, has been preserved in this enclave thanks to its natural idiosyncrasy. They are the physical result of a non-linear time that presents a dialogue of human beings with nature through its layers. These layers could be metaphorically a book (nature itself) where the territory's inhabitants have written their story and defined their identity.

Nature has since forever been a spiritual source of research and inspiration for human beings. It is not a coincidence that one can see trees in the forms of the columns in the churches, or caves in the arches, and many other examples. This union appears represented in different styles and functions, and in what remains when time and various factors alter them.

Due to this connection between absence/presence that is preserved nowadays, the inner identity has been reinforced with nature as witness. These are the elements that the selected artists will be invited to reinterpret through their projects.

Enclave Land Art aims to start a new chapter, leaving a contemporary trace to continue this dialogue with the environment through contemporary art. The relationship with what remains, together with what is not visible but nonetheless is present and forms part of Vall de Gallinera's people, represents who the locals are nowadays as a result of the path trodden.

Duration of the open call: 

From the 15th of August until the 10th of October 2021.

Deadline:

10 pm (mainland Spain’s time zone) on the 10th of October 2021.

Preselected Artists interviews:

From the 15th until the 19th of October 2021.

Announcement of the Selected Artists:

20th of October 2021.

Residency period:

From the 22nd of November until the 5th of December included.

Projects will be presented to the public on the 4th and the 5th of December 2021. 

Location of the itinerary:

The route of Corrals de La Carrotja (between Benisivà and La Carrotja), Vall de Gallinera (Alicante). (Maps, images and more information on our website).

Disciplines:

Installation, land art, photography, anthropology, research, sculpture, performance and any other artistic manifestation or line of work in which the artist-territory-nature dialogue can be found within the specific nature of the environment in which the work will be developed and of the proposed idea. 

Open to artists of any age and nationality.

Selection committee members: 

Jose Luís Pérez Pont, Manager of Consorci de Museus de la Comunitat Valenciana and director of Centre del Carme Cultura Contemporània.

A professional proposed by A.V.V.A.C. (Valencian Association of artists from Valencia, Alicante and Castellon):  Anaïs Florin, artist.

A professional proposed by A.V.C.A. (Valencia Association of Critics of Art): Roser Oduber; artist, cultural manager, director of Centre d’Art Contemporani i Sostenibilitat El Forn de la Calç.

Nerea Ubieto, independent curator, manager and art critic.

Miguel Mallol, director of Enclave Land Art.

Terms & Conditions:

The artistic proposals/research must have as their main goal the reinterpretation of the concept of the Residency proposed in this open call.  

Projects should focus on research and production based on the dialogue between artist and nature (the environment which surrounds the Residency). This should be seen in the choice of the concept, materials or during the project's development. 

Only one project can be submitted per candidate. It must be created with respect for human beings and intellectual property. 

Submissions might be excluded if exceeding the number of pages specified in the next section.

Fifteen projects will be preselected following the score criteria below:

Quality of the project, relationship with territory and concept, up to 30 points.

Sustainability and impact on the rural environment, up to 25 points.

Correct use of the resources provided, time and material, up to 20 points.

Interdisciplinary work and innovation, up to 15 points. 

Interaction with the inhabitants, up to 10 points.  

A final selection will choose 10 (7+3 standby) from the 15 which were preselected, which will then go to the final stage.

The selected artists will be invited to do an interview with three members of the Enclave Team to briefly explain the project and the reasons why they want to be part of the Residency.

Enclave Land Art reserves the right to withdraw any participant in case of uncivil behaviour or disrespect for the rules of coexistence, the inner exigencies of the Residency or the timing scheduled for the execution of the work. The artist(s) will be invited to leave immediately at his/her/their own cost, without any benefits of the Residency program. 

Enclave Land Art maintains the right to publish a catalogue of the Residency in a digital or physical format that will contain information about all projects and the artists.

The selected artists will sign the rights to use all images and content of the Residency to be reproduced, distributed in public and private communication, and any other means that might be necessary to promote the Arts Residency and the final artworks.

All artworks/projects will be donated permanently to the Vall de Gallinera's council for their artistic itinerary after the end of the Residency.

Artists will receive: 

The organisers will cover the travel costsfrom/to the original countrywith up to 200€and can provide an acceptance letter to the artists to apply for other grants in their country to cover any extra expenses they might incur. 

Individual grants of *600€- V.A.T. included.  

A shared workspace and up to300€for materials according to the characteristics of the proposal, previously approved by the Enclaveproduction Team. 

Accommodation in a shared house with the possibility of a double shared room.

Mealswill be provided. Artists must inform the organisers about any special diet, allergies, intolerances, veganism, etc.

- One assistant could be provided if required for the execution of a project. A request with an explanation must be made for the organisers who will consider case by case. 

* Artists must send an invoice to Enclave after completing the Residency to be paid/reimbursed.  

Artists' commitments:

The artists must accomplish and consign their projects within the deadline,on the 3rdof December 2021 included. 

The artists must participate in the open doors events on the 4thand 5thof December 2021.  

The artists must be part of all the events and activities which require their presence. 

- The artists must prepare and deliver a workshop about their project and general research to the local people during the Residency. (if the artist does not speak Spanish, an interpreter will be present).

Collateral activities and Enclave Curatorial:

During the Residency, Enclave Land Art will organise collateral activities to explain the history and environment of Vall de Gallinera.  Attendance: optional.

Enclave Curatorial Team will work with the artists in the creation of a curatorial project to be developed and shownin an external exhibition space. 

Enclave Curatorial members will brainstorm with the artists on creating a concept. 

● Artists might be invited to develop further research and a new independent project (it will be a separate project from the Residency, despite being linked with the concept, with a new budget, grant and production). The result will be exhibited in the following months after the Residency in an external space to be confirmed.