OPEN CALL FOR ARTISTS TO PARTICIPATE IN 'ENCLAVE LAND ART ARTISTIC RESIDENCY 2022’

ENCLAVE LAND ART is a project co-produced by Consorci de Museus de la Comunitat Valenciana through a program of residencies Cultura Resident, with the support of the Vall de Gallinera council (Alicante, Spain) are glad to announce the open call for the Fourth 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: 

Enclave Land Art 2022 invites artists to reflect on how the Sun, ever-present in Vall de Gallinera, is influencing and shaping its surroundings, and on how this impacts on nature, animals and humans.

The Sun's influence is mirrored by a natural separation of the valley itself in two segments: the Solana (permanently sunny side) and the Ombría (shady side).The human distribution within the villages is equally affected, all being located on the southern side of the Gallinera river, the backbone along which the water flows constantly, despite its appearance and disappearance.

The Solana, mainly shrubland, thinly vegetated and strongly sun-exposed, has very high temperatures during the summers. Decades back, this favoured transhumance and livestock transport, as well as the construction of farmyards - although abandoned today, they still stand as a fine expression of the dry-stone construction, typical of the region, and have now become a building heritage of the area.

The Ombría, the shaded area, is characterised by thicker vegetation and colourful terraces stretching across the whole rhombus-shaped valley.

Alongside this anthropic-natural link with the land/sun, a distinctive element, la foradà, originated thanks to the particular orography and an imaginative play of nature.

The natural arch in the rock is a coup du théâtre. The Sun wants to wink and sneak into the shadow. It is an unexpected spot that offers the Sun the chance to participate twice a year in this unattainable place. In the 17th century, some Franciscan monks interpreted this as a divine sign and built a monastery in its honour. The solar alignment reached notoriety and it was reinforced by this building. However, this was lost and forgotten until the beginning of this century. 

As José Lull wrote in 2008 in La alineación solar de la foradá en la Vall de Gallinera, nowadays the monastery does not exist anymore. All the traces of its presence were cancelled, even from the collective memory of the valley. Only a vague memory has been heard about its existence before. Even the solar alignment through la foradà was lost. No alignment, no franciscans, no monastery. Everything forgotten, buried forever. 

However, in  recent years, the alignment of the Sun has made a comeback, and the legend of the monastery it illuminated has become part of territorial history and a rescue of historical memory. 

In this second edition of the Enclave Land Art Residency, we invite artists to reflect upon the presence of the Sun and how it affected, is affecting and will affect human nature. 

The existence of a dialogue with Mother Earth has always been a constant. We can only understand Nature's signs and thus benefit from them if we are willing to look at them closely and from a variety of different perspectives.

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Duration of the open call: 

From the 1st of July until the 15th of September 2022.

Deadline: 

12 am (mainland Spain’s time zone) on the 15th of September 2022.

Preselected Artists interviews:

From the 19th until the 21th of September 2022.

Announcement of the Selected Artists:

25th of September 2022. During the seminar Enclave Cinema.

Residency period:

From the 7th until the 20th of November included. The artists will present the projects to the locals on the Sunday 6th of November 2022.

Projects will be presented to the public on the 19th and the 20th of November 2022. 

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: 

Rosa Mª Castells González. Conservator of the Contemporary Art Museum of Alicante (MACA). She is also curator and art critic. 

A professional proposed by A.V.V.A.C. (Valencian Association of artists from Valencia, Alicante and Castellon):  Inmaculada Abarca, visual artist. Lecturer and researcher at University of Fine Arts of Murcia (SP).

A professional proposed by A.V.C.A. (Valencia Association of Critics of Art): Alejandro Mañas, visual artist, researcher and lecturer of the UPV.

Amelie Aranguren, manager of the artistic program of Centro de Acercamiento a lo Rural in Madrid. 

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 be focused 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 in standby) from the 15 which were preselected, which will then go to the final stage.

The seven selected artists will be invited to do an interview with two 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 during the residency 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. The privacy of the reasons will be maintained. 

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.

The artists will have to participate in the mandatory events like presentations, workshops or other activities not considered explicitly as optional.

Artists will receive: 

The organisers will cover the travel costs from/to the original country with 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 800€** - V.A.T. included. It will be paid upon receiving an invoice from the artist, with no exception.

A shared workspace and up to 300€ for materials according to the characteristics of the proposal, previously approved by the Enclave Production Team. 

Accommodation in a shared house in individual rooms with shared bathrooms.

Meals will 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 to the organisers who will consider case by case. 

* In case of exceed the amount Enclave Land Art can support the artist to ask for a travel grant in the original country with an acceptance letter. In case the grant is not accepted the artist must cover the travel expenses from this amount. 

** 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 18rd of November 2022 included. 

The artists must participate in the open doors events on the 19th and 20th of November 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 a selection of artists in the creation of a curatorial project to be developed and shown in an external exhibition space. 

Deadline and important dates: 

The projects can be sent until 12 am (Spanish mainland time) on the 15th of September 2022.

The people selected from the first stage will be contacted on the 19th of September 2022 to arrange an interview in the following days. 

On the 25th of September 2022, Enclave Land Art will publish the shortlist of artists who will attend the Residency. Enclave Land Art will communicate this selection through our social media, web and other channels of promotion. The director will present the selected projects to close the Enclave Cinema’s seminar.