Open Call for Media Art Residency in Creative City Košice
Creative Industry Košice & K.A.I.R. Košice Artists in Residence announce an open call for media artists from UNESCO Creative Cities. The deadline to apply to the residency is 30 June 2020.
Open Call: Residency in Košice – UNESCO Creative City of Media Arts
After its successful pilot year, here comes a follow-up! Košice – UNESCO Creative City of Media Arts offers media artists a two-month stay in Košice in autumn 2020. The residency is organized by the NGO Creative Industry Košice – a focal point of UNESCO Creative City of Media Arts, and by K.A.I.R. Košice Artist in Residence.
About Košice
Never a place of the biggest names, insane cash flows or Top 10 Lonely Planet’s places to visit. Some say it’s just the last ten years since Košice changed its mindset, became open to different ideas and started to define itself as rather cool and vivid. A hundred years ago, it was a mere speck of a creative centre compared to what defines the city today.
Slovakia’s second city stands firm on its foundation for a bright future. The European Capital of Culture 2013 literally redesigned the cultural infrastructure of the town, spread culture to the suburban areas and formed exquisite places for the exhibition. Diverse bottom-to-up and up-to-bottom locations, emerging galleries displaying young art, active citizenship initiatives, world concerts and over 15 cultural centres piled with interesting people and nutritious talks.
Gone are the days of being known as a steel city. Now with a booming ICT industry and a growing creative sector, Košice has been slowly transforming into a cauldron of culture. Although we wouldn’t dare to guess what one-quarter of a million people here do, one thing we know for sure. The creative and cultural scene here is small but pretty solid and zealous.
In 2017, Košice joined the prestigious UNESCO Creative Cities Network in the field of Media Arts to develop this niche industry on the local level. If you are an artist flirting with an idea to come to Košice – do come in autumn. Last months of the year tend to be most generous for the media arts and digital culture showcase. Starting off by White Night, followed by the festivals Moon Ride, Art & Tech Days and DAAVS. All have much to offer for the eligible distinction of the Creative City of Media Arts.
About CIKE & K.A.I.R.
The NGO Creative Industry Košice (CIKE) is a focal point of UNESCO Creative City of Media Arts, which aims to inspire new generations through the interdisciplinary and innovative language of media arts. The organisation started as a daring project Interface – European Capital of Culture 2013 and brought a major transformation of the city. One of its key projects was K.A.I.R. Košice Artist in Residence, which started in 2011 and got a stable ground to develop the international activities and network of partners. In 2016 K.A.I.R. became an independent association.
K.A.I.R. is an international Artist-in-Residence programme for artists from all over the world and out of all artistic disciplines and expressions. It is strongly focused on international cooperations between the Slovak and foreign artists and art organisations. Artists have the possibility to work in the inspiring environment of Košice‘s singular cultural surrounding to realize art projects, collaborate with the agile local art scene and present themselves to the local and European public.
Media Arts Residency 2020
This specific residency seeks to create space for a media artist from one of the UNESCO Creative Cities to develop his/her own artistic project. The residency is an opportunity to create a new project or to continue work on something in development by shifting its perspective and embracing the open call’s topic.
The open call is limited to the artists who are either born, live or work in any of UNESCO Creative City.
During the residency, the artist will be asked to participate in Open Studios Night to introduce himself/ herself to the local audience. By the end of the residency program, the artist will provide a public exhibition and a final presentation of the work created over the 70-day residency period. The exhibition and presentation will be a part of the international festival of media arts, technology and digital culture – Art & Tech Days. The artist will be also given the option to be one of the speakers at the Art & Tech Conference (optional).
Topic: Human Responsibility
In the last hundred years, we as humans have experienced exponential progress in economic and social development. This comes with great achievements such as the increase in our lifespan and literacy, poverty decrease, improved global interconnectedness, urbanization, internet, nanotechnologies, AI, VR, etc but at the same time, constant growth in limited conditions on Earth has led to many negative consequences. We exploit more resources than we can sustain, there is a rise in inequalities, many living species got extinct, climate change, fake news, the rise of surveillance, and so on.
It is our role as humans to take responsibility for all the domains we have intervened with and conquered to find a sustainable and resilient way to live fulfilled and prosperous lives as a global society while sharing our planet and protecting all the life and beauty it accommodates. Today more than ever we feel the urgency to address global questions of the future. We believe that art and creativity have the potential in putting things in a new perspective which with the help of technology could help us find answers and new solutions.
During the residency, the artist should explore the topic in the context of art and technology.
Artist can search for answers to questions:
– What is the relation between a human and our planet; between human and human? How can art and technology refer to, process and further develop such relation?
– What is the role of humans in digital space? What is their responsibility?
– How can art and technologies help a human to be resilient?
– Does technology have the ability to solve all the problems in the future?
–Do we need more arts and empathy to be able to use technology in better and more responsible ways?
– Are we allowed to make decisions on behalf of the planet?
Artists are also encouraged to think of using the exterior of the Botanical garden of Pavol Jozef Safarik University. See its map here.
To view Bulletin of Botanical Garden click here.
The deadline to apply to the residency is 30 June 2020, 23:59 (CEST).
Timeframe
Open call announcement: 20 May 2020
Deadline for the applications: 30 June 2020, 23:59 (CEST)
Results announced: 22 July 2020
Study visit in Košice (optional): summer 2020
Residential stay in Košice: 21 September – 29 November 2020 (70 days)
What we offer
Scholarship 2000 EURO (gross)
Covering of transportation costs to and from Košice
Providing accommodation in Košice
KAIR Atelier
Budget for technical production (up to 4000 Euro)
An opportunity to participate in the art and community life of the city and to promote own work in Košice
FOR APPLYING TO THE RESIDENCY, PLEASE USE THE FORM ONLINE.
https://forms.gle/Z3zbJPP6qwxYQ6u4A
May you have any questions or problems with the online form, please contact us at kosice@cityofmediaarts.sk.
In a case of an unfavourable situation in regards to COVID- 19 or another vis major, the residency will be postponed until spring 2021. It will be agreed individually with a selected artist-in-residence.
The residency program is supported using public funding by Slovak Arts Council.