UNIDEE Residency Programs 2023

UNIDEE Residency Programs and Cittadellarte – Fondazione Pistoletto are pleased to announce an open call for participation in the fourth module of the residency programme Neither on Land nor at Sea. Meeting by the Mediterranean Im/Possible, curated by UNIDEE Visiting Curator Chiara Cartuccia.

Module IV, Autumn 2023 is co-curated by UNIDEE Visiting Curator with invited mentors Francesca Masoero & Shayma Nader (QANAT) and Nouha Ben Yebdri (MAHAL).

OVERVIEW

Neither on Land nor at Sea invites to meander around unreducible complications and on shifting grounds, to explore together ways in which geography is historically, socially, and politically produced. The project pluralises Mediterranean concepts/spaces as sites of worldmaking and experimentation in communal living. To do so, it adopts un-grounded geographies and colliding historicities as meeting places, in which to congregate to elaborate on the role played by situated practices and shared processes in the promotion of social transformations, towards epistemic justice.

The UNIDEE modules are programme-based, short-residency formats. Participating residents will be offered the opportunity to expand on their ongoing research and practice exploring Mediterranean complexities and geographical thinking in the arts and beyond, within a group of peers and invited guests. The modules are interlinked, and each contributes to shaping the discourse developed by the project as a whole.

For more information about the curatorial framework, context and scopes of the project, please visit Neither on Land nor at Sea website here.

PROGRAMME

Taking place from 10 to 19 October 2023, Module IV is conceived as a double module, jointly co-curated by invited mentors Francesca Masoero & Shayma Nader (QANAT) and Nouha Ben Yebdri (MAHAL).Conceptual Note by the Mentors:

“E da quel giorno, l’uomo selvatico abbandonò la valle” / “And since that day, the wild creature disappeared from the valley” (provisional title) is a two-week long module inviting to explore the uncanny, the magical, the political, and the ways we can engage with them through collective and vernacular pedagogical processes.

Once upon a time, the valleys surrounding Biella were populated by magical creatures carrying and sharing wisdoms embedded in and embodied by its soil and seeds, its waters and rocks. Today Biella is often perceived by its inhabitants as a city-archipelago, a fragmented territory notwithstanding its relatively limited geography.

As we witness the loss of collective memories and ways of knowing, societal fractures, environmental depletions and life extractions, this module looks for the political in the fantastical and summons it back, while exploring and testing ways in which we can be-come together otherwise.

Adopting a situated perspective, we will draw from fables/ing, politics and forest ecologies, exploring forms of listening and learning from the territories we inhabit, and how we could bring back the wisdoms and creatures deeply embedded in forest and river ecologies. Based on intimate and sensitive cartographies developed during the two weeks, we will investigate how to design spaces to gather and be together, places to shelter the left-over and the left-aside.

This double module is an experiment in collaboration, bringing together the research, practice and methodologies of QANAT and Silent Pedagogies. Led by Francesca Masoero & Shayma Nader, QANAT is a collective platform exploring the politics and poetics of water and the ways in which manifestations of commoning come to form in Morocco, Palestine and beyond. Initiated by Nouha Ben Yebdri at MAHAL, “Silent Pedagogies” evolves and revolves around modes of transmission in the field of contemporary art drawing from contextual and non-institutionalized cultural manifestations and learning institutes.

Methodology:
Walking, journaling, storytelling on pluriversality, collective reading, constructing  structures/houses, re-enchantment & hospitality to the invisible, cooking, playing…

The residency programme’s working language is English.

PARTICIPANTS

We aim to invite a group of up to 10 residents to take part in the module. The programme is open to international participants of all backgrounds, whose practice sits anywhere across the broad spectrum of visual practice and research, with no restriction regarding disciplines, media or methodologies of work. Applications from artists, curators, writers, theorists, activists, all are welcome and encouraged.

The selection of participants will be based on the affinity of the subject matters, concerns and questions participating in the applicant’s work with those expressed by the curatorial framework of the project and the conceptual positioning of the selected residency module, as well as on the applicant interest and ability to contribute to a programme-based residency whose working is grounded in processes of active exchange and participation.   

PRACTICALITIES

The residency modules will take place at Cittadellarte – Fondazione Pistoletto, in Biella, Italy. The UNIDEE and Cittadellarte spaces will host a large part of the programme, while further opportunities for exploring the urban and rural landscape of Biella and its immediate surroundings will be offered.

Participants will be accommodated within the premises of Cittadellarte, in single rooms with the use of shared bathrooms. The residential spaces offer basic cooking facilities and communal resting areas.

Participants arrival is expected by the afternoon of the day prior to the beginning of the module, departure is expected by the afternoon of the day following the end of the module.

We are committed to meeting to the best of our ability any accessibility requirements an attendee may have; this will be discussed individually with prospective residents.

Further information regarding practicalities and FAQ available here.

EXPENSES & BURSARIES

Participation in the Autumn module is offered free of charge, and the residents will be provided with free accommodation at Cittadellarte.

Residents will be required to arrange and cover expenses for their travel to/from Biella and for the food/living costs whilst in Cittadellarte.

A limited number of partial and full travel bursaries are made available to those who would not otherwise be able to participate; please remember to state in your application whether you would like to be considered for this opportunity.

The team at UNIDEE remains at your disposal to support you in the travel arrangements and in the visa application process. Additionally, the team will provide you with any documents you may need should you decide to pursue other funding opportunities through your local art councils or via international platforms / funding bodies.

HOW TO APPLY

To apply please fill in the form at this link: https://form.jotform.com/231512751619050

Deadline for submissions is 09 July 2023, 23:59 (CEST).

Website link: UNIDEE Residency Programs | UNIDEE Residency Modules: NEITHER ON LAND NOR AT SEA – Module IV – Autumn 2023 | open call (cittadellarte.it)