Who: visual artists working in a variety of media and disciplines are invited to submit project proposals along the lines set out below.
Where: FLACC, Genk in Belgium
When: a continuous period of three months, or approximately 90 days spread over different periods between January 2013 and December 2013
Deadline: 1 March 2012
The call is open to all visual artists. Owing to the diversity of our workshops, the application is open for projects in various media and disciplines. In 2013 FLACC is launching a research programme lasting several years. It will take changing artistic ‘labour’ as its starting point and study the artistic calling by means of a historical analysis. That analysis will be taken as the basis for the central question: is the artists’ workplace in its present form still the most appropriate instrument to support artistic production. The open call only invites projects which respond to this and the following themes, namely the development of artists’ roles, the interaction between local visual traditions and the international arts field and, lastly, changing production methods and techniques (paying special attention to old artisanal crafts and high technology).
The artistic calling has changed dramatically, evolving from an apprentice’s artistic training in the master’s workshop to the creation of academies with the gradual detachment of artistry from craftsmanship, through conceptual (free arts) to the academicized artist and creative entrepreneur. As a result the role of artists has also changed: from the mystification of the artist as an eccentric genius to commercialized investment, from visionary to 9-to-5-worker. Project proposals are invited from artists who research these historic roles and models, question their relevance today or link them to contemporary artists’ models (which often partly borrow from or adapt historical concepts) or develop alternative models. That proposal will also look at the sustaining force of these old models (relevance, significance, quality, etc.).
The relationship between contemporary production/discourse and craft, and visual tradition in relation to identity is often different outside Europe. This can result in the local visual tradition being contaminated by influences from the international arts field or to an enrichment of the artistic discourse. In the contemporary development of a ‘glocal’ art world in which local and global are ever more interwoven, visual languages and traditions increasingly converge, so that the artist’s own background and identity merge with the global artistic discourse. A project proposal for this open call might examine this interaction between the local visual tradition and an international arts field and the reaction to it.
There is renewed interest in artisanal methods of working and disciplines, which were previously deemed peripheral and less important (ceramics, wood, glass, woodcuts, etc). This renewed interest coincides with a redefining of manual work, crafts, working from scratch, within the field of contemporary media (laptop design, high tech, etc.). It is often used by artists who combine historical materials and techniques with contemporary techniques and models to arrive at a new way of working and visual language, so as to then go in search of originality in art, authenticity and new points of departure. The open call welcomes artists who explore these models or who research the combination of high and low tech.
The work period is three months fulltime or approximately 90 days spread over the period January 2013 to December 2013. As well as technical, organizational and artistic support, FLACC offers the artists a workplace, accommodation, travel expenses and a small production budget.
Presentation
The results of all the artists’ work periods will be presented to an international project partner at the end of 2013.
Application procedure
Please use our application form and excel sheet (fill in required budget) to apply. The application should include a well-defined project proposal, a thoroughly calculated budget, a preferable time frame and your résumé (text and images and/or video).
More information
For more info please visit www.flacc.info or contact Luuk Nouwen or Sarah Indeherberge at application@flacc.info .
