BERLIN-LAGOS RESIDENCY PROGRAM 2019

The Goethe-Institut Nigeria, in cooperation with the Arthouse Foundation Lagos and the Berlin Art Institutions Galerie Wedding, ZK/U – Center for Art and Urbanistics and SAVVY Contemporary, is offering two residencies for artists / curators from Berlin in Lagos.

The call is aimed at artists and curators living and working in Berlin. Through the cooperation of Goethe-Institut Nigeria and Arthouse Foundation, this residence offers not only the possibility of working in Lagos / Nigeria, but also insight into the work of two important cultural institutions in Lagos, a variety of consultation and contact opportunities as well as the possibility of a final presentation at the Arthouse Foundation Lagos. In addition, there will be the opportunity to get an insight into the work of the second Lagos Biennal, which is taking place from oct. 26th - nov. 30th 2019. Around the same time, a residence program for an artist / curator from Lagos takes place in Berlin. In the run-up to the residence in Lagos, there will be a meeting with this resident in Berlin.

In addition to the usual application documents and the residence in Berlin, the description of a project project in a freely selectable medium of fine art and / or performance on the topic of the New Commons is obligatory.

On the topic of the New Commons:

Inspired by the theme of the second Lagos Biennale for Contemporary Art 2019 *, project designs are sought that describe the relationship between architecture, nature and the digital sphere and that aim to establish new commons in public spaces.

The project proposals should deal with the economic, ecological, ethnographic and sociological preconditions of historically evolved places in Lagos.

Dates:

first residence: 9.9. - 20.10. 2019, second residence: 21.10. - 30.11. 2019

The following costs are covered by the exchange program: accommodation and studio in the Arthouse Foundation Lagos, flight costs Berlin-Lagos (economy class), visa fee, per diems

Note: Applications are only possible for individuals with Berlin residency; Accommodation in Lagos is not suitable for children traveling with you.

Further enquiries can be sent to: Constanze Fischbeck (lagos-residency@galeriewedding.de)

Application material: (german or english)

1. Project proposal (max. 3000 characters) to the subject of the  „New Commons“

2. Curriculum vitae

3. Portfolio, publications and/or catalogs as PDFs

All documents in total as PDF max. 5 MB

Please keep in mind the following questions: How does the subject of the residency correspond with your artistic practice? Which discourse or field of practice are you referring to? How do you want to realize your work? What do you expect from the residency?

Please send the complete application documents to: lagos-residency@galeriewedding.de

Deadline: March 15, 2019

The scholarship holders will be selected by an independent jury in April 2019 in Lagos.

* Excerpt of the concept of Lagos Biennal 2019:

An archetype of a megacity in a postcolonial world, Lagos has been described as a cradle of contradictions, a city of the imagination, a state of mind. For many, these pronouncements derive credence from the city’s expansive population, partisan politics and creative effervescence. From its elitist and populist tensions, daily battlegrounds between human and nature, and its ceaseless re-appropriation of resources

 Since the advent of the twentieth century, Lagos’s urban identity, a convolution of tradition and modernity, has been the subject of feverish—and at times, fetishistic—theorization. The efficacy and failures of planning and non-planning, as it relates to socioeconomic disparities, informal structures, ethics of citizenship, and the city’s apartness from, and entanglements with the rest of the world have all been subject of critique.

 Rather than overtly revive these arguments on the problematics of the city as a backdrop for curatorial inquiry, the second edition of the Lagos Biennial aims to embrace and harness the unique characteristics of the city as building blocks of the very concept, structure, and public program of the biennial itself. https://www.lagos-biennial.org/


project partners:

Goethe-Institut Nigeria: The Goethe-Institut e.V. is the globally active cultural institute of the Federal Republic of Germany. The Goethe-Institut Nigeria organizes and supports a wide range of events for the presentation of German culture in Nigeria and implements projects for intercultural exchange with Nigerian partners. It offers consultation and contact opportunities during the residencies.

www.goethe.de/ins/ng/de/index.html

Arthouse Foundation: The Arthouse Foundation is the work - and residency space of this program. There will be a presentation in the end of the 6 weeks stay.

The Arthouse Foundation is a non-profit organisation that aims to encourage the creative development of contemporary art in Nigeria.Through a residency-based program, the Arthouse Foundation provides a platform for artists to expand their practice and experiment with new art forms and ideas. By establishing a network that supports cross-cultural exchange between Nigerian and international artists, the Arthouse Foundation embraces contemporary art as an educational model to engage communities, promote social dialogue and advance the critical discourse of artistic practices.

www.arthousefoundation-ng.com

Galerie Wedding Berlin: The Gallery Wedding - Room for Contemporary Art is an urban gallery in Berlin Mitte. Here the binding final presentation takes place. It is located in the middle of an urban and multicultural district between Müllerstraße and Leopoldplatz in a historic building of Expressionism. Just as the building was part of a utopian social design, Galerie Wedding follows the claim to be a place for contemporary forms of artistic expression and forward-looking socio-political models. In 2019 Solvej Helweg Ovesen and Natasa Ilic will be responsible for the curatorial program. Under the exhibition title Soft Solidarity (SoS) they show four solo exhibitions of well-known artists living in Berlin with an extensive audience program.

www.galeriewedding.de

ZK/U – Center for Art and Urbanistics: The ZK/U is the place of work and residence of the residence. There it is also possible to participate in monthly presentations and consultations within a group of international residences. The ZK/U sees itself as a laboratory of intermedial and interdisciplinary activities that deal artistically and scientifically with the phenomenon of the city. Temporary thematic focus programs consolidate the creative exchange along contemporary issues. Geography, anthropology, urban development, architecture and the social sciences meet contemporary artist positions ranging from contextual and intervention art to conceptual art and street art. In addition to partners from the fine arts, this thematic debate also ties in other artistic disciplines such as contemporary dance and theater formats as well as music and literature.

www.zku-berlin.org

SAVVY Contemporary: As srt space, discursive platform, food and drink place, Njangi House, space for meetings SAVVY Contemporary is situated on the threshold of ideas and constructs of the West and the non-West, especially to understand and negotiate, and To deconstruct ideologies and connotations that are important for such constructs. An important part of our culture is to work in a disciplinary way. With team members from 12 countries and 5 continents, trained as biotechnologists, art historians, cultural theorists, anthropologists, designers and artists, we think that interdisciplinary work is not enough, you have to be able to free yourself from the tight corset of your own discipline.

www.savvy-contemporary.com