'ENCLAVE LAND ART ARTISTIC RESIDENCY 2023’

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 Quesa council (Valencia, Spain) are glad to announce the open call for the Fifth 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 Quesa, promoting a deep and permanent conscience about the historical, cultural and traditional aspects of the territory.

Concept: 

"And thus, when we do not notice any change, and the soul remains in a unique undifferentiated moment, we do not think that time has elapsed. And thus, when we perceive and distinguish it, we say that time has elapsed. It is evident, therefore, that there is no time without movement nor change." - Aristotle

Until the emergence and growing strength of the concept itself, and thus the detachment from the necessity of beauty to consider something as art, color and composition were the elements that enchanted the spectator in a first lecture. From them, symbology, history, and meaning completed the information to build a well-founded criterion about a proposal.

In the landscape of the dry riverbed of the Escalona River in Quesa, just before reaching the reservoir, a combination of vibrant colors segmented in layers caught our attention during an initial visit. These are areas where the hills have a more pronounced red color compared to clay.

This first impression led us to believe that there might be an effect caused by chemical industrial residues or waste present in the soil, resulting in artificial colors.

The initial visual reference invited us to confirm our suspicions and delve deeper into understanding the cause. 

We discovered that a few meters from these hills, there were recent remnants of human intervention hidden among shrubs and trees. 

In the early XXth century, industrialization and the era of mass transportation accelerated human impact in search of soil resources. Between the 50’s and 70’s, the Cerro Negro quarry in Quesa was operated to extract diabase as sand and gravel. These stones are highly durable and have a gray tone, used for securing train tracks.

Nowadays, the quarry is completely abandoned, covered by vegetation, and with no traces of any structures or machinery that could provide evidence of past activity.

Furthermore, we consulted geologists for additional information. We discovered that the origin of the colors of the hills lies in the composition of sediments from what was an ocean billions of years ago. The seabed remained on the surface due to water evaporation and tectonic movements.

The reddish color of the hills is caused by the rusting of iron present in the area, combined with clay and plaster. This condition gives rise to a series of minerals with whimsical shapes and varying colors.

These two contrasting aspects of the landscape invite us to contemplate how nature has uncovered aesthetically pleasing phenomena to hide, blend in, or absorb human traces. This contrast between the inward excavation of the soil and the emerging colored phenomena resulting from tectonic collisions of continents can be seen as a collision transformed into chromatic poetry and mineral contrast.

In both cases, there is a common element: nature and the passage of time. The whimsical landscape has followed a different rhythm in its evolution, characterized by impermanence. This process of mutation occurs over thousands of years in one case and only a few decades in the other, highlighting the fact that movement does not cease.

As mentioned earlier, time has always been perceived through changes. It is not a linear unit of measurement like the one we commonly use when thinking about history. The rhythm is different, not only in human beings but also in all the elements that make up the reality in which we live.

This is a fact that, as in art, has an initial superficial interpretation. It is when we listen, see, and perceive through our other senses that the nuances and connections appear, composing the puzzle of identity that defines a territory.

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Duration of the open call: 

• From the 15th of July until the 15th of September 2023.

Deadline: 

• MIDNIGHT (mainland Spain’s time zone) of the 15th of September 2023.

Preselected Artists interviews:

• From the 27th until the 29th of September 2023.

Announcement of the Selected Artists:

• 1st of October 2023. In our website and our social media channels.

Residency period:

• From the 20th of November until the 3rd of December included. The artists will present the projects to the locals on the Sunday 19th of November 2023.

• Projects will be presented to the public on the saturday 3rd of December 2023. 

Location of the itinerary:

The location where the permanent projects will remain is on the riverbed of Escalona river in front of ‘El salto del molino’  (Maps, images and more information on our website).

Disciplines:

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

The idea is to propose an interaction between inhabitants, traditions, history and nature of the area.

Open to artists of any age and nationality who present projects individually.

Selection committee members: 

• Jose Luís Pérez Pont. Manager of Consorci de Museus de la Comunitat Valenciana and director of Centre del Carme Cultura Contemporània (CCCC) in Valencia.

• A professional proposed by A.V.V.A.C. (Valencian Association of artists from Valencia, Alicante and Castellon):  Graham Bell, transgender artist.

• A professional proposed by A.V.C.A. (Valencia Association of Critics of Art): Juan José Soler, Historian and Art Critic. Editor of the Sinergias Visual and Performing Art Magazine. 

• Obarra Nagore, Manager and coordinator of the temporary exhibitions at CDAN in Huesca. She also manages the conservation, documentation and archive of the CDAN collection. 

• Miguel Mallol, director of Enclave Land Art.

Terms & Conditions:

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

2. 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 clearly noticed in the choice of the concept, materials or during the project's development. 

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

4. Submissions will be automatically discarded if exceeding the number of pages specified in the next section or do not respect the terms and conditions clearly specified (anonymus PDF and cv and portfolio in other document).

5. Fifteen projects will be preselected following the score criteria below:

• Quality of the project, relationship with territory and with the 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.  

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

7. 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. Also to demonstrate availability and commitment to accomplish the goal. 

8. 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. 

9. 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. As an alternative Enclave Land Art will publish a book of an artist selected by the organisation to be presented in the CCCC in Valencia in 2024.

10. 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.

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

12. 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€*. Enclave Land Art will provide an acceptance letter to the artists for applying 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 twin room with shared bathroom.

• 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 exceeding 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 and reimbursed.  

  Artists' commitments:

• The artists must accomplish and consign their projects within the deadline, on the 2nd of December 2023 included. 

• The artists must participate in the open doors event on the 25th and 26th of November 2023.  

• 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 Quesa.  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 in the future.

Deadline and important dates: 

• The projects must be sent up to midnight (Spanish mainland time) on the 15th of September 2023.

• The people selected from the first stage will be contacted on the 27th of September 2023 to arrange an interview in the following days. 

• On the 1st of October 2023, Enclave Land Art will publish the definitive 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 the inhabitants before the arrival of the artists.