Date of residency: two month long residency between June and July 2016

Number of participants: 1

Profile of the resident: Czech artist interested in development of „Olawskie Suburb“, which is a neglected district in Wroclaw, through working with the local community and creating artistic interventions in the urban environment. The main goal of the residency is to support the revitalization of the district through art and culture but also to strongly oppose the gentrification of it. During these two months the artist will focus  on creating the cultural bridge between the “old” and the “new” though leading art workshops for the habitants of the district, involving them in her/his project and raising the level of local participation in art and culture. The residency will also include work with local artists and curators, urban activists, architects and designers.

„Olawskie Suburb“ is located in the eastern part of Wroclaw with approx. 25 thousand of habitants. Before World War II it was the representative area of Wroclaw, which has been in almost 60% destroyed. Its characteristic buildings are a multi-storey rent houses and post-industrial buildings from the turn of the century. Since WW II a common name of this part of the city is „Bermuda Triangle“, which channels the opinion about it - known as inhabited by the difficult sections of society and a very dangerous place with a high crime rate. Currently, the area has not been characterized by above-average crime and its notoriety is stereotypical. The area was significantly damaged during the flood in 1997. The houses were flooded to the first floor and many buildings were irreparably damaged and, in subsequent years, gradually demolished and replaced with new ones. Currently the district is the next one included in the European Union revitalization programme, which sets few important questions for Wroclaw: how to combine culture and community supporting approach to the process of revitalisation with the business approach? How to keep the balance between the „old“ and „the new“? How to link the creative and cultural sectors there?  What are the best solutions for the community, seniors and imigrants living in the district? How to raise the level of participation in culture? What can we collectively do to reclaim the beautiful, yet forgotten, space for culture?

Language: English

Applications including CV (in a tabular form with an overview of past exhibitions, etc.), portfolio of recent works (up to 5 different projects), project description and cover letter commenting on artist intention (all in English) should be sent no later than the 15th March 2016 (until midnight) to Tereza Svášková, the coordinator of OPEN A.i.R. Artist in Residence Program, via email: svaskova@plzen2015.cz. The selection will be made by a special jury between the 17th March and the 1st April. The results will be published on the 4th April 2016.

In your cover letter please mention what are the topics and issues you are currently working on or you would like to target during the residency. Let us know what motivates you to come to live and work in Wroclaw.

During the residency the artist will take part in at least four public events. The first one will be artist talk/presentation of artist’s portfolio followed by two public workshops and the final presentation of her/his work at the end of the residency. The events are organized by A-i-R Wro team.

 The organiser of the residency will provide:

• transport
• artist fee  (1000 € gross)
• accommodation
• work studio (if needed)
• material and technical equipment required for the residency (up to €500)
• curatorial and substantial support
• promotion and communication of the project

A-i-R Wro Artist in Residence Programme

A-i-R Wro is a long-term and interdisciplinary artist-in-residence programme established under the auspices of the European Capital of Culture Wroclaw 2016. Based on a collaboration of local and foreign partners it aims to create an international platform that will enable artists, curators, animators, managers, organizations and institutions to cooperate and exchange their experiences, practices, ideas and knowledge. In addition, A-i-R Wro intends to promote artists, support their development and mobility as well as to give them an opportunity to form cultural bonds beyond borders. We invite artists who represent different disciplines of art as well as these who work on their borders, both emerging and experienced ones, interested in collaboration with representatives of the local art scene, open to get to know a capital of the Lower Silesia region with its inhabitants, and therefore to find a creative connection between Wroclaw and cities that they come from.

Accommodation for residents:

The artist will be accommodated in his/her own room in a flat located in the city center.

For more information check:

A-i-R Wro Artist in Residence Programme: www.facebook.com/airwro

European Capital of Culture Wroclaw 2016: www.wroclaw2016.pl / www.facebook.com/Wroclaw2016

OPEN A.i.R.: www.facebook.com/openairplzen

or contact:

Tereza Svášková on OPEN A.i.R., the city of Pilsen - svaskova@plzen2015.cz

Krzysztof Bielaszka on A-i-R Wro Artist in Residence Programme – krzysztof.bielaszka@wroclaw2016.pl