Now that’s what I call an artist’s residency!

OPEN CALL DEADLINE // 15 MARCH 2019 (23.59 CET)
RESIDENCY DATES // 5 AUGUST – 6 SEPTEMBER 2019

For Now that’s what I call an artist’s residency! art writer, Artforum contributor and PRAKSIS co-founder Rachel Withers invites applications from anyone who’d like to spend a month with PRAKSIS in Oslo, developing their art practice. Workers in any medium or art-oriented practice (criticism, art theory, art history) will be considered. She challenges you to send us the most ingenious, original and practical month-long work plan you can cook up.

Today, from Aarau to Zalaegerszeg, artists’ residencies proliferate. Websites such as TransArtists and ResArtis list thousands, from the lavishly resourced and wildly prestigious, to low-and-no-budget initiatives open to anyone with motivation, talent, and scope to step away from their job and/or family for a given period. Underlying this relatively untheorised phenomenon are numerous assumptions about how artists create and what they “give back” to the communities that host them. During the residency, Withers plans to inventory and reflect on those assumptions, as part of her investigation into the theory and practice of artists’ residencies.

Withers’s extremely open Open Call is designed to support her investigation. By loosening the residency application parameters, she looks forward to learning more about what artists (and art writers or researchers) really want from the experience. Artists’ residencies are usually viewed as a revitalising break from the continuum of “normal” practice – but do they deliver this in practice, and why is it so needed and wanted? What does it say about “normal” practice? Do deeper art-historical perspectives shed light on the concept and practice of residencies? What other research methods – economic, sociological, philosophical – might support the enquiry?  

Successful applicants will become part of a small, close-knit community for the residency period, engaging in discussions and other collective activities to be decided by the group: these might include visits to local sites or organisations, or other strategies – Withers looks forward to hearing. There will be opportunities to brainstorm your project and your wider practice 1-to-1 with Withers and the PRAKSIS team. Wherever practical, she and PRAKSIS will support you with your project’s logistics. This might be by brokering introductions in the Oslo area, or helping negotiate access to specific facilities you may need.  

As the residency process unfolds, Withers will invite participants to share reflections on the process and discuss their views on, and experiences of, residencies as a phenomenon. 

SELECTION CRITERIA //

Places will be allocated on the basis of the inventiveness, criticality and practicality of applicants’ individual work plans.

Applicants should be keen to engage in supportive discussion with fellow residents in internal and public events, and to share reflections on their personal plan’s progress (or lack of it: nothing ventured, nothing gained!)

Successful applicants will potentially (but not necessarily) have had have previous experience of doing (or running) some form of residency; and will have interesting views on artists’ residencies as a social, historical and cultural phenomenon.

POTENTIAL RESIDENTS //

Applications are welcomed from artists and art-related practitioners or theorists whose interests and experience are relevant to the residency’s theme. Selected residents will be part of a temporary community of between five and eight local and international participants. The residency will involve group activities, discussion and creative exchange around the residency theme, as well as time for independent working. Selection is based on applicants’ ability both to gain from, and contribute to, the activities of the month-long residency.

PRAKSIS aims to provide an environment for development and professional growth: applications are welcome from practitioners of differing ages and experience levels.

PRAKSIS residencies are structured around the interests and needs of their participants. The particular form that each residency takes is developed collectively through discussion once the group comes together. Group members are encouraged to share their reasons for applying and what they hope to get out of their time with PRAKSIS.

WHAT PRAKSIS PROVIDES //

This residency is free of charge and offers comfortable accommodation for non-Oslo based residents in central Oslo. Local residents will continue to live at their usual address. The residency community will regularly come together at the residency studio space, and at organised events and meals.

International participants receive a stipend of 3500 NOK (approximately 350 euros) towards additional costs.

Weekly meals encourage for discussion, debate and friendship. On weekdays PRAKSIS will provide lunch at the working space. Dinners for all residents with invited guests will be held weekly.

Oslo has a vibrant and adventurous arts landscape. PRAKSIS will provide residents with information and links to the city’s cultural scene, informing them about exhibitions, talks, performances and other events. PRAKSIS seeks wherever possible to connect participants with relevant organisations and individuals in Oslo. PRAKSIS residencies aims to introduce the residency community to Oslo creatives in various spheres including among others: curators, writers, and artists.

Activities and events will be mainly held at PRAKSIS’s space in central Oslo. At the start of the residency, participants are invited to make a presentation, informally introducing themselves and their practice to the rest of the group. Other activities include residency related visits, a tour of Oslo's galleries, networking events, discussions and group critiques – some open to the public. A screening/seminar event will address issues surrounding the residency theme.

Residents are responsible for their own travel and any further costs.

Our team is happy to support applications for external grants wherever possible. 

Residents are welcomed to suggest or lead an action, activity or workshop that will clarify and support their own background, interests or methodologies. Participants are also encouraged to contribute towards a shared resource list in advance of the residency, potentially including readings, podcasts, films or other materials for consideration during the residency.




REQUIREMENTS // 

English is the common language at PRAKSIS and residencies must be sufficiently fluent to participate in group discussion and activity.

Residents are expected to involve themselves fully in the work of the residency: joining meals, participating in events and engaging with the resident community.

Accepting a residency involves a commitment to participation for the full residency term.

APPLICATION GUIDELINES //

Please submit:

A completed application form (click here to download word version). We kindly request that you send a PDF version of the application.

Recent CV/resume.

Portfolio (only one PDF file). Up to 5 images. The images should include captions or short descriptions. 
For videos/films, please provide links to your own website, Vimeo page, YouTube page, etc. Do not attach actual video files.


In the subject line of your email, please write your name and country of residence per the following order:  Last Name, First Name, Country.

Selections will be made by Rachel Withers and PRAKSIS on the basis of each individual’s potential to contribute to and benefit from residency involvement, and are not based on applicants’ academic or professional backgrounds. Successful applicants will be selected for Skype interviews with residency admissions jury, which will take place shortly after the application deadline.

APPLICATION FEE //


There is an application fee towards administrative costs of 90 NOK (£8 as for 22/02/19).
 

TIMELINE //

Open Call Deadline // 15 March 2019 23.59 CET
Interviews // 4 – 5 April 2019
Residency // 5 August – 6 September 2019

(Image: Marinus van Reymerswaele, St. Jerome in his Study (Musée des Beaux-Arts de Reims, Reims, France/WikiArt © public domain)