Call for Applications: NAC Residency Programme June–November 2020 and Nightlife Residency June–July 2020 in Nida, Lithuania

Call for Applications: NAC Residency Programme June–November 2020 and Nightlife Residency June–July 2020 in Nida, Lithuania  

Application deadline: 27 March, 2020

NAC is seeking applications for its international residency program and new residency format dedicated to nightlife from artists working in a wide range of disciplines.

NAC Residency Programme June–November 2020

The residency programme at Nida Art Colony of Vilnius Academy of Arts (NAC) grants selected artists the opportunity to live and work in Nida, Lithuania for a period between two and six months. NAC is located in a remote UNESCO World Heritage Site, surrounded by the unique landscape of the Curonian spit: forest, sand dunes, a freshwater lagoon, and the sea. NAC is a subdivision of Vilnius Academy of Arts and in addition to the international artist-in-residency programme, it organises educational and research projects as well as exhibitions.

The programme has the capacity to host up to five international residents at a time. NAC regularly works with visual artists and researchers who focus on history, ecology and politics, social sciences, visual culture and interdisciplinarity. The programme is also open to designers, architects, and curators, as well as practitioners working with performing arts, sound, material research/craft, and film. In addition, proposals for a residency by professionals from other fields are always welcome.

The programme’s goal is to provide time and space for residents to focus, and through exchange, gain insight, broaden, and diversify their outlook. NAC is collaborating with local cultural institutions and offers the possibility to organise presentations and engage with the educational programme of NAC by conducting artist talks or workshops at Vilnius Academy of Arts or local public schools.

LIVING AND WORKING CONDITIONS
Each of the five duplex residency studios have 65m2 of total space, and are equipped with basic kitchen, bathroom, bedroom, and workspace infrastructure. Additionally, full access is given to the common spaces such as the library and the professional workshop (with laser cutting, wood and metal working tools, plus photo, video and sound equipment).

DURATION
Two to six months; June–November 2020

COSTS
Studio and living space rent is 400 Eur/month, including all taxes, use of equipment, WiFi, communal spaces, and bicycles. No grants are available; selected candidates are issued a letter of support for individual grant-seeking.

Nightlife Residency June–July 2020

In collaboration with Beijing based I: Project Space and The Neighborhood, we are calling for DJs, producers, artists, and performers to work in Nida for a two-month residency in June and July 2020, to focus on individual productions and connect to the vivid and urban summer community of the Neringa region, including its open-air beach and forest clubs, bars and hangouts. Nida is a remote village on the Curonian Spit and the Baltic Sea in Lithuania, secluded during most parts of the year, but then becoming a broad meeting point in the summer months.

Developed by I: Project Space and The Neighborhood, Nightlife Residency was launched 2018 for the first time to give artists working on fusion of visual art and nightclub culture time and space to focus on their productions as well as connect to the ever-growing and increasingly idiosyncratic nightclub and electronic music communities in Beijing and China. Bringing this residency format to Nida and the Baltic Region, we want to open up the NAC Residency to a broad scope of practitioners, rhythms, sounds, and visuals and contribute to twisting and broadening definitions of visual culture.

“This new nightlife residency is a safe space for unsafe ideas.”

“You see the untapped potential of nightclubs as spaces in need of deeper consideration; you agree that the relationship between nightlife and contemporary art has not yet been fruitfully explored. As a producer or DJ, you extend what you do into the visual realm; and/or the visual art that you make is tied up with electronic music and nightclubs.”

During the residency, there will be opportunities to perform, exhibit, and experiment with the local scene. The selected resident will receive a 2500€ grant to cover travel and visa costs, living, accommodation, and workspace costs at NAC in Nida.

This application is open to all; there are no restrictions on artists’ mediums, age, nationality, ethnicity, gender, or any other criteria.