NETWORK ACTIVITIES
4th Xarxaprod GATHERING Art Residencies: time and the pandemia.
Rituals / Films / Resources / Dialogues / Accompaniment /
Time to Share and to take Care of each other
Date: 16 December 2020
Sessions: from 10:00h to 12:00h and from 16:00h to 18:00h
Place: Virtual and at home
Artistic residencies: time and the pandemic proposes to continue the work done during the 3rd meeting of Xarxaprod expanding support, empathy and synergies. Despite an unfavorable context, we believe it is essential to rethink and articulate new tools for mutual support and knowledge exchange. To do this, the 4th Xarxaprod gathering expands its field of action in order to get closer to transnational and post-virtual creative practices.
The gathering is divided into two sessions of two hours each. For the first session we propose conversations between La Caldera, the Instituto del Tiempo Suspendido and the curator Angela Serino. For the second session, we invited the Scottish Sculpture Workshop and La Escocesa. The aim of these two sessions is to share experiences and reflect on alternative conceptions of temporality and institutionalization from the perspective of artistic residencies.
As a prelude to these dialogues we want to connect with the experiences of different local artists who, due to the pandemic, have had to adapt to new formats and ways of being in the place. To do this, we propose the interventions of Lara Brown and… artists in residence at ARAR and Project Co.
16th December from 10.00h to 12.00h
Presentation (5m)
Experiences: Lara Brown artists resident at La Caldera: Projecte ARAR (15m)
Dialogue between spaces/projects:
La Caldera + Angela Serino 'Cultivating time' + Instituto del Tiempo Suspendido (60m)
Break (10m)
Q&A and conclusions (30m)
16th December from 16.00h to 18.00h
Presentation (5m)
Experiencies: Artist resident at La Escocesa: Projecte Co and Fora de Camp (15m)
Dialogue between spaces/projects:
La Escocesa + Scottish Sculpture Workshop (60m)
Descans (10m)
Q&A and conclusions (30m)
The gathering is complemented by a series of post-virtual proposals. These proposals aim to expand the temporality of the gathering stressing on its pre and post through the practice of a series of tools, visualizations and rituals. With these resources, individual and collective, we propose to explore the bodies and spaces from which to continue articulating our artistic practices and projects.
AiR Films
The first of these resources is a selection of films which reflect upon the phenomenon of art residencies and more concretely on the idea of the journey as a way to share knowledges.
Andrei Rublev (Andrei Tarkovsky, 1966) Filmin
‘Visages Villages’ (Agnes Varda, 2017) Filmin
Uzak (N B Ceylan, 2002) Filmin
Fully Awake: Black Mountain College (Cathryn Davis Zommer and Neeley Dawson, 2008) Vimeo
Coco Chanel and Igor Stravinsky (Jan Kounen, 2009)
Los Idiotas (Lars von Tier, 1988)
‘Soñar un Lugar’ (Pueblos en Arte)
Two Years at Sea (Ben Rivers, 2011)
Rituals
In order to humanize virtuality in pandemic times, we propose the practice of a series of micro-actions or rituals. In an almost invisible but persistent way, these rituals aim to promote other ways of doing and being. The actions we propose can be practiced both intimately and collectively, individually or institutionally and, although we suggest some guidelines, they are above all an invitation to play.
These rituals are part of one of the seven prototypes of the RESHAPE network funded by Creative Europe. You can send the documentation of your rituals at coordinacioxarxaprod@gmail.com
1. Attuning to the Vegetal World
In this ritual we propose to explore the connection that exists between us and plants.
- Choose a plant, tree, shrub or vegetable.
- Set aside ten minutes from your busy schedule to observe this plant, tree or shrub. Watch it closely and from afar. Make sure you feel the soil where it is rooted, the soil that nourishes it. Observe the small changes, the light that feeds it and the beings that live in it. Repeat the action for ten days.
- Document the process every day with a photo or drawing and make an audio recording of what you have observed or heard.
- Share these observations with your colleagues. The content can also be shared on Xarxaprod website and instagram.
2. Mapping possible routes.
- Before the next artist in residence arrives, either physically or virtually, set aside time to think about what they need to know about your environment. Maybe you would recommend going to the local bakery, strolling through a quiet park, visiting a quirky house or building, or a place that reminds you of a sad or happy time.
- Take paper and colored pencils and draw a map of your surroundings, places, characters and facts that are important to you.
- Explain your mapping to the new resident, either physically or virtually.
- Invite the resident to comment, create their own map and share it.
3. Standpoint invitation
- Observe the space, team and institution where you work.
- Take a paper and colored pencils and draw you in the center.
- Taking into account your affinity and / or interaction, also draw the different communities that are part of the context in which you work. The closer the interaction the closer they will be to you. If the interaction is non-existent, these groups will be placed at the borders of the paper.
- Choose one of the communities and look for who represents it. The person you are looking for may not be in your direct network, in which case ask your friends or co-workers. Find a way to contact this person.
- Invite this person for a coffee or a walk.
- Listen and look at everything you may have overlooked. See what you can offer or improve.
- At the end of the meeting, give him or her a present.
4. Letter to oneself
- Focus on what you do in your workplace.
- Take a paper and colored pencils and draw an organization chart of the network you are part of. Describe the structures that have been created by your organization. Write down the people involved: your co-workers, artists, employees, designers, producers, those you are in daily contact with, or who co-define who you are and what you do.
- Close your eyes ... and get off the map. Delete yourself from the network, let a blank space replace you. Now you are out, you no longer belong to the structure.
- Write a letter to a person with your name. Be honest and critical. Explain why you would like to take over the white space of the network. What would you change if you had this position? What are the privileges this position enjoys? Focus on accessibility. Imagine that you are in a situation of social, cultural or economic disadvantage. What needs to change in your organization so you can be a part of it?
- Put the letter in an envelope. Write your name and address. Take a walk to the post office. Buy a stamp and send it.
- Return to your workplace. You will receive a letter soon.
5. Privileging direct action
Once we have identified our privileges, we can put them into operation, trying to find ways to distribute them, giving space to others.
- Identify your privileges within the organization you belong to. Stroll through the spaces and review past or present projects, paying attention to the privileges that accompany them (economic conditions, visibility or knowledge).
- Translate your privileges into potential. Pay attention to what you bring and imagine what someone else might do, someone who may not yet be present in your work context. Identify active social projects in your neighborhood or town. Pay attention to the communities that are part of it and the needs it covers.
- Transform the potential into a direct action.
- Give visibility to this social project. Use your organization's newsletters, networks, and public relations to spread the word. If possible, share with your organization's work team the possibility of making a donation, whether financial or material.
Tools
The third of these resources is a selection of tools that can help us humanize virtuality in pandemic times. We want to understand this series of tools and reflections as possibilities to expand collaborative creative work and more specifically to understand artistic residencies also from a pre and a post which are as creative as necessary.
Tools for Remote Working (Resartis)
Digital Learning / Virtual Residencies (Resartis)
Webinar ‘Residencies in Challenging times’ (Resartis i IASPIS)