Art Residency and Conflict Research

Art Residencies in Areas of Conflict.

Research, Interviews and project experiments by Gab Ron

Art Residencies in Areas of Conflict

What is the role of art residency programs in areas of conflict and what kind of dialogue can the art residency mechanisms create?

‘Art Residencies in Areas of Conflict’ is an MA thesis project done by Gaby Ron for the Creative Practice for Narrative Environments Program in Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design in London.

The research focused on different existing models using the art residency mechanism as a tool to generate artistic dialogue and heeling points in various areas of conflict.

The conflicted areas researched ranges from regions such as the Middle East; where racial and religious differences limit the exchange of ideas and make cross-cultural connections difficult, sometimes impossible. To more “hidden” conflicted areas such as different housing estates in the UK.

In order to fully examine these issues, I produced a series of interviews documented by text, video and images with selected residencies from USA, UK, EU and The Middle East. I surveyed these organizations, examine their networking systems, operational structures, physical environment and general involvement with the community.

I have also created a few live experiments as additional tools of research in this project. Through the research of these different platforms, I aspire to find ways for creating such initiatives in the future, focusing mainly in Middle East, and suggest ways in which to improve existing facilities or a structure for creating such residency.

The final aim in this project is to create the outline for an art residency that facilitates models of participation between Arabic and Israeli artists in the Middle East. This way I hope to generate an open artistic dialogue and exchange of ideas by using the mechanism behind residency programs.

The Delfina Foundation

The Delfina Foundation, London

Interview by Gaby Ron

The Delfina Foundation is an art residency and cultural institution facilitates in cross-cultural exchange and collaboration via artist residencies. They mostly bridge between UK based artists, Middle East artists and Artists from Africa. They aim to provide a space to expand artistic practice and develop new ideas.

I’m meeting with Eva Langret the foundations program manager. The foundation is based in residential area in Victoria. They own a small townhouse with a bright office on the first floor, a small gallery space on the second floor and two studios and bedrooms on the third and fourth floor. I arrive at 11am Eva welcomes me in to the building. There is a very nice and homey feel to the space. I start by taking some photos then Eva asks if I wish to see their current exhibition.

I go up to view the Morphospace exhibition by Tobias Collier. The exhibition presents works done by the artists during his visit to Damascus, Syria in spring 2009. Collier was sent to Syria by the Delfina foundation as part of their new pilot program sending UK based artists to different regions in the Middle East and Africa. I don’t necessary relate to all of the works, but think the process is very interesting and worth exploring. I come back downstairs; Eva and I start the interview. She starts by telling me about The Delfina Foundations history. Art patron Delfina Entrecanales established the foundation two years ago, after having more then 20 years of experience working with artists in residency at The Delfina Studio Trust.

Established in the early 80s the Delfina Studio Trust grew to be Britain’s largest studio space with 35 active artists studios located in proximity to the Tate Modern. The trusts was mainly based on studio practice and provided work spaces for established artists such as Mark Wallinger and Tomoko Takahashi and emerging European and international artists. After closing the trust in 2005, Delfina Entrecanales decided to open a new residency in 2007 working on a smaller scale and focusing mainly on international artists from Africa and the Middle East. While the Delfina Trusts was mainly providing studio space for artists, The Delfina Foundation is more concentrated with the artist’s personal development and finding ways for developing their practice. The Delfina work methodology is very personal and almost one on one, as there are only two artists and one curator in each residency period. Eva tells me about the range of artist the foundation works with and their different approaches in promoting their work, providing them with the tools and information needed for their work. For emerging artists who come mostly from countries where there is no such thing as formal art education the foundation functions as a continuing education organization. For non-emerging artists whose work was shown in major exhibition spaces in the Middle East or international art fairs, the foundation focuses on the public engagement between the artist work and the London audience. For the more established artists in residency the foundation seeks to create collaboration with UK establishments and finding ways to commission their work.


The interview has a very good flow and the questions lead to each other in a natural way. We continue our discussion exchanging thoughts on what drives Middle Eastern artist and is there a common thread through their work. Understandably, Eva is very hesitated to make any generalization on the subject. She says that the thing that struck her the most and might be a shared link between ME, is the way these artists keep generating their art and ideas by creating independent alternative artistic networks for production, exhibiting and conceptualizing their art. I find this observation very relevant to my research and I refer her to the initial starting point of my thesis in investigate contemporary models of alternative educational environments. These models are employed by artists and explore the ways in which it

generates social interaction inter-disciplinary practices and the ways in which it affects the community. We then agree that these artist initiatives are usually generated in places where art is not seen as an establishment and necessity. I then ask Eva about the Delfina Foundation collaborations process with other residencies and institutions. She mentions the following residencies and institutions: Townhouse Gallery in Cairo, Platform Garanti in Istanbul, and the Artists to Artists foundation. Eva explains that the connection with these institutes is significant to the foundation for a few reasons; They relay on these institutions to assist them in the selection process of the artists in residency and depending on the financial collaboration for covering the artist’s traveling costs, as the foundation can usually only offer accommodation and costs of project.


When asking Eva about the post residency process in the Delfina Foundation she admits this is a point of contention in the residency. She explains that they are currently working on ways of improving this issue as in some cases the artists in residency returns to their origin country and for various reasons the connection fades. In regards to the post residency affects she also talks about what the artists acquire from the residency after their visiting period is done. She says that some of them receive intangible things such as thinking space, knowledge and information that helps them to develop their work. While others are left with more tangible things such as projects or offers to future exhibit at UK based spaces.

We finish the interview and I continue taking photos of the space. Eva shows me the bedrooms and studios on the third and fourth floors. We then go back down, and say our goodbyes, we agree to stay in touch.

The Delfina Foundation – Research criteria

History

Art patron Delfina Entrecanales established the foundation two years ago, after having more then 20 years of experience working with artists in residency at The Delfina Studio Trust. Established in the early 80s the Delfina Studio Trust grow to be Britain’s largest studio space with 35 active artists studios located in proximity to the Tate Modern. The trusts was manly based on studio practice and provided work spaces for established artists such as Mark Wallinger and Tomoko Takahashi and emerging European and international artists. After closing the trust in 2005, Delfina Entrecanales decided to open a new residency in 2007 working on a smaller scale and focusing manly on international artists from Africa and the Middle East.

Location, space and facilities

The residency is based in residential area in Victoria. They own a small townhouse with a bright office on the first floor, a small gallery space on the second floor and two studios and bedrooms on the third and fourth floor.

Social/political involvement

The residency mine work is to promote Middle Eastern artists in the UK and to send out UK based artists to different areas in the Middle East. They do not have a specific social or political agenda but are certainly very socially aware in their practice and methodology

Selection process

Artist’s selection is done in collaboration with various residencies and institutions from Africa and the Middle East. These well known establishment advice the Delfina residency staff on current artists working in the regions.

Funding

Private funding

Post residency affects

At the moment is not dealt with in an official way.

Apartment Project Istanbul

Apartment Project Residency, Istanbul.


The Apartment Project Residency in Istanbul is a non-profit artist initiative with the aim of providing artists spaces to work in Istanbul, opportunities for interdisciplinary collaborations and hosting their own exhibitions.

Apartment Project residency are located in Tunel quarter in Istanbul. The area is under going major regeneration. The once residential area is becoming a cultural attraction; full of bars, coffee shops and restaurants. The Apartment Project owns two spaces in the area; a small gallery space and a few blocks from there a four-bedroom apartment.

I met with Serra, APT Projects curator and coordinator, at their gallery space. There was a two-channel video projection screened on the front wall and a strip of photos covering the remaining gallery walls. Serra explains that this is documentation done during a collaboration project they did with a residency program in Georgia. The project named “Reciprocal Visit“ was based on the journey, done by an artists group formed by APT Project, from Turkey to Georgia through Armenia, Azerbaijan and Iran in April 2009. Throughout their journey by bus and train, they explored different ideas emanating from the collective; By being together and sharing, the artists went through different

experiences and created various narratives using different materials. I found the project especially motivating due to its straightforward method yet complex implications. Serra tells me about other collaborations they have done. She says they tend to work mainly on collaborative projects with residencies and institutes from Istanbul and other European locations.


During the interview she often speaks about Selda Asal, the women who initiated APT Project in 1999. Although Selda has been devoting herself more to her own work as a new media artists, she still acts as a supervisor of APT Project and sets the tone to many projects produced there. When talking to Serra about the work methodology in the residency, it was interesting to reveal that their approach is informal and very independent, although it always carries a strong curatorial agenda and social involvement.

We then discussed funding. She tells me that most of the art funds in Istanbul are from the EU as the Turkish government hardly allocates funds for art related projects. I was very empathic to this problem as in Israel the situation is similar. When I expressed my feeling we started discussing the relationship between Israel and Turkey, that was once friendly and have worsened during the past year. From there we talk about how political, racial and religious differences limit the exchange of ideas and make cross-cultural connections difficult, sometimes impossible. I then expressed my deep interests in Istanbul; its history, emerging art scene, and its fascinating connection between east and west. I tell Serra about my thoughts regarding trying to live

in Istanbul for a time period. She is very encouraging and tells me a bit of the current art world in Istanbul and how it grew during the past ten years.

After an hour-long conversation, we say our goodbyes and agree to stay in contact and meet again in the next possible opportunity. I go out hoping a collaboration can grow from this meeting.


Apartment Projects, Istanbul – Research criteria

History

Established in 1999 by Turkish artist Selda Asal The Apartment Project Residency in Istanbul aims to provide artists with opportunities for interdisciplinary collaboration and a space for exhibiting their work. Since the opening over one decade ago, Apartment Project has hosted various artists from Europe and the Middle East and assisted and collaborated with them on many performances, installations, exhibitions, happenings and events.


Apartment Project residency are located in Tunel quarter in Istanbul. The area is under going major regeneration. The once residential area is becoming a cultural attraction; full of bars, coffee shops and restaurants. The Apartment Project owns two spaces in the area; a small gallery space and a few blocks from there a four-bedroom apartment.


Most of the projects produced in Apartment Project carry a strong curatorial agenda and social involvement. Their projects can be characterize by a straightforward approach yet complex implications, that fits well with socially and community driven projects. They also host annual events that are open to the public and usually involve a political agenda.

Selection process

An open application based selection process. Artists can apply at any point with a project proposal.

Funding

Like most of the art projects in Turkey APT Projects are supported form EU related funds and grants. The Turkish government hardly allocates funds for art related projects.

Printed Matter

Produce a catalogue once a year on special big scale projects or exhibitions.

Post residency process

Not dealt with although they do collaborate with past artists in residency.

Townhouse Galley

Townhouse Gallery, Cairo


I arrived to Townhouse Gallery after an hour in a white Taxi standing and honking in a typical Cairo traffic jam. When I finally arrive to the industrial neighborhood where the Townhouse Gallery building is located, I discover that Laura Carderera, Townhouse Gallery’s Program Manager, with whom I’m supposed to meet, is also late due to a traffic jam on the other part of town.

While I wait for Laura I’m taken to a small café located at the entrance of The Townhouse Gallery building. In the Café I am introduced to Sarah Rifky a curator working with Townhouse. She invites me to seat and introduces me to the two women how are seating with her: Elisabetta Fabrizi, head of exhibitions for the BFI Gallery in London and Kyla McDonald, assistant curator of international art at the Tate Modern. While sharing a strawberry flavored hookah we discuss the Middle Eastern Art scene and the upcoming Alexandria biennale.

After a short while Laura arrives and gives me a quick tour of the Townhouse building. Laura tells me about William Wells, Townhouse Gallery director that established this gallery more then ten years ago. She explains the rational behind establishing such a gallery in the garage area of Cairo in 1999. “At the time most of the galleries in Cairo were commercially oriented or owned by the government. After living for five years in the region and visiting many artists’ studios, William saw a need for a space where non-commercial artists could exhibit their work in social or political context. Then William started the process by renting out the first floor of the existing Townhouse building.” At

first the Egyptian art scene was very hesitative due to the innovative nature of the space and its industrial location. For that reason it was very difficult to find any local artists willing to exhibit and the first Townhouse exhibition presented works of two foreign artists. After the success of the first exhibition, the gallery started to operate on a regular basis and exhibited a series of solo exhibitions by local Egyptian artists.

As the townhouse gallery grew in audiences, so did the spaces in it. In 2002 William Wells rented another warehouse space in front of the Townhouse building and slowly started cleaning it up and renting the abandon apartments in the upper floors. Today, one of these apartments is the Townhouse library; a gathering place and information hub for Cairo based individuals from all ages. The two upper floors are currently acting as the studios and living spaces for the Townhouse residency artists.

Townhouse Galley

After discussing the history of Townhouse Gallery, we moved on to talk about more current matters such as the Cairo Residency Symposium (CRS) produced by The Townhouse Gallery and The Netherlands Foundation for Visual Arts, Design and Architecture (Amsterdam) in March 2009. The symposium was a 3 days in depth discussion between artists from Europe, the Middle East and Africa on the significance and possibilities of cultural exchange in residency centers. I ask Laura about the process behind the CRS and what triggered them to produce such an event. “When we initially talked about having these discussions the idea was to create a moment of reflection and to examine the growing interest in art residencies. In a way doing a residency has become a hot thing now, we wanted to ask why is this

happening now? Are we evaluating this? Is it valuable? These where the questions that lead us to create the CRS”.

From viewing the videos and reading the text based documentation of the CRS, it is clear that the event’s organizer achieved some notable success; from the in dept discussion groups on innovative topics, to the exceptionally divers speakers. I then ask Laura what were the most valuable conclusions from the event and what are the gallery’s plans concerning the future of CRS. She explains that for them the most constructive part of the event was the small group discussions they created during the afternoons. “Many people from the community singed up for these group discussions and we received many responses saying they wished they had more time for the discussions. I believe that if there will be a continuing to the CRS, it will take form as a series of smaller events where there is more space for group discussions. Most of the participants in the group discussions were very actively engaged with residencies, so they all had a lot of experience to share. Many times the subjects of the discussions formed from the needs of the individuals that singed up to the discussions group. Some people were interested in developing new residency participation models, so we created a discussion group around that. Another topic came from people’s interest in the residency site and its representation in the residency projects. I think these were definitely the most inspiring moments.“

Townhouse Galley

Townhouse Gallery – Research criteria

History

In 1998 William Wells (Townhouse Gallery director) established the Townhouse Gallery in order to create a new exhibition space for Middle Eastern artists working in social political fields. Since its inception in 1998, The Townhouse Gallery of Contemporary Art has established itself as one of the leading private art galleries in the Arab world. The gallery aims to exhibit unique aspects of contemporary arts, including visual arts, theater, and film, which are mediums that tend to be quite different to the eye of the public.


Townhouse is located in a three-storey building, consisting of a first floor for exhibitions and independent art display, and two other floors containing public libraries. The gallery is located in downtown Cairo, Egypt, in Mahmoud Bassouni Street, surrounded by a traditional café, a large garage, and a mechanics shop. The location of the gallery also signifies it as a symbol of where contemporary and modern art intertwine with Cairo’s societal aspect.


Due to the gallery’s location in the heart of downtown Cairo, it attracts a diversified group of people. Its library and unique selection of spaces that are open to the public created a strong community of people from all ages around the Townhouse building. Since its opening, the gallery has always encouraged the connection between politics to arts in the Egyptian art scene. Unlike many privet owned galleries in Cairo, Townhouse is more of a risk taker in its artistic selections, despite the fact that many times the state plays a role in what is displayed in the gallery.

Selection process

The Townhouse selection process varies from local artists to foreign artists: with foreign artists, an open call is distributed via local cultural departments in embassies worldwide, the initial selection process is created by these cultural departments. A short list is sent to William Wells for the second faze of the selection process. According to Wells, in the second selection process one of the most important parameters is what will the artists benefit from his residency experience at Townhouse, and what can he give back to the community. With local artists the process is less formal. The artists can apply at any point and the townhouse staff reviews their application on a daily basis.

Funding

The gallery is regularly supported by private and local funds. When international artist apply the gallery assists the artist to approach funds from his region.

Printed matter

Since October 2004 the gallery has been activating a library space open to the public. The vision behind the library was to provide, for the first time in Egypt, free access to a wide range of up-to-date material and resources especially related to art. The library currently acts as an artistic information hub that encourages a critical dialogue among Egyptian artists and ties these artists to the global arts fabric.

Post residency process

At the moment there is no formal post residency process at the Townhouse Gallery. They have been examining this issue thoroughly in the CRS and intend to formalize their post residency methods.

The Market Estate Project

The Market Estate Pilot Art Residency.

Examining the artist residency experience in non-

familiarized conflicted environments.

The Market Estate Project was a one day art event that transformed a soon to be demolished 1960s housing estate in north London, into a creative playground for artists, designers and residents. During the mid production stages of this project, I was approached by the organizers to create a pilot residency program for two American artists; Mary Coble and Blithe Riley.

Mary and Blithe traveled from the US to live and practice their art in the Market Estate for three weeks. Throughout their stay in the Estate, Mary and Blithe produced two video pieces. Those were later presented in the flat where they slept during the three weeks of the pilot residency.

For the period of these three weeks, my role was to host the artists and provide to their creative needs. As part of the project I also documented their

collective work methodology, in order to examine the artistic process they experienced as artists working and living in a non familiarize, conflicted territories.

My goals in this project were formatted through a set of

questions I created in the beginning of the residency period:

1.What are the duties and responsibilities when hosting international artists?

2.How can I visualize to my audience the artists experience during an international art residency?

3.What are the possible reflection mechanisms during (and post) the residency process?

4.What are the most affective tools to examine collaborative artistic projects in conflicted environment?

I choose to answer these questions via a compilation edited from conversation I had with Mary and Blithe during their stay in the Estate.

Reflecting on the Market Estate Project Residency – Q and A, Composed from conversations between Gaby Ron, Mary Coble and Blithe Riley. Gaby Ron: What is the most memorable moment or experience from your time at the Market Estate? Mary Coble: It was absolutely amazing seeing all of the hard work of the artists and organizers finally come together on the final day of the project. We had spent two weeks there working intensely on our own project, meeting and watching the other artists work and seeing how the whole project was organized. Being a part of the project so intimately, even if for a short time, in the overall life it was so exciting to see everyone’s hard work pay off felt very rewarding and I was proud of us all. Blithe Riley: Huh, there are so many funny ones that stand out. However the most memorable related to our production is when we figured out the final shot to our piece, and decided to throw hundreds of pounds of found objects off the third story balcony. There was another piece underneath it so we had a small timeframe to cover the piece (to protect it from objects we were about to throw). During that timeline we realized that a group of school kids were about to play paintball right next door. We thought everything was over and our piece wasn't going to work. Gadi then re-routed and maneuvered to make the final shot happen. Other second bests include̶ cutting our huge hole in the fence, teenagers talking to Mary about coming out of the closet, and me accidentally grabbing human feces in an old sink underneath Market Estate. G.R: How do you think living in the estate has influenced your work process? M.C: Living on site allowed us to experience the estate in ways we could have never done if we stayed somewhere else and only went there to work. We were there 24 hrs a day giving us the opportunity to meet people, to explore and to experience the site in many different forms. We made decisions within days of being there that were instantly informed by the opportunity we had to live in a flat in the estate. B.R: Well it really solidified our collaboration. We were forced to push our ideas and solve problems in a unique way. The limitations of the space in combination with the array of possibility forced us to stretch ourselves. We had to become comfortable with the unexpected and move forward despite any unforeseen obstacles. Our work changed with the changed as the surrounding environment changed, we had to make sure that as our ideas necessarily shifted that they retained their integrity.

Left: Mery Colbe. Right: Blithe Riley G.R: How did timetable affect you work process? Did you feel you needed more time? What would you have done if given more time to create at the market estate? M.C: We had to think and work fast. This required a lot of focus on our part-first identifying possible site to work with within the estate while at the same time considering conceptually the issues that we wanted to address with the work. We also had to figure out how to actually pull the two together and logistically make it work within the two weeks we were there. With more time I think we would have continued to work-to explore more sites and ideas. We had several more ideas we wanted to explore but simply ran out of time. If we didn’t have the showcase of work on the final day I think we may have not spend days editing the work and instead we would have continued to produce. After the hard work though we wanted to be able to show everyone who had supported us throughout what we came up with. B.R: The timetable was good. We were happy with what we produced in that time. We could not have had any LESS time, but with more we would have devoted more time towards research and community interaction, and would have probably ended up with a very different piece. The experience was so intense we were ready to leave, but again with more time we would have been happy too, just changed our approach.


G.R: What is your most successful moment at the market estate? M.C: I’m not sure if I can pinpoint one successful moment. I think there were successes throughout out process. We hit many roadblocks but every time we worked through them as collaborators and with the unwavering support of the organizers. Each time we hit a wall we were able to take the time to push past it to make the pieces work. There was a time when we had already decided on the ending to one of the videos but we both had doubts about it. After much dialogue we still couldn’t come up with a solution that we were happy with. We both spend the morning apart-writing, researching and walking around. When we came together we both had ideas that together formed the ending that we had been looking for. B.R: Again, resolving the final shot of our three part video piece. Finding resolution with the idea that was surrounded by tension felt really good. We wanted a solution that was not a didactic one, or a comment about a situation that we couldn't fully understand during our short stay, and felt true to our experience there and observations we had made. What was the most unsuccessful moment? M.C: The only real unsuccessful moment I can think of us when one night there was a mouse behind my bed. Blithe made a very intricate trap and we were certain that through our teamwork we could capture it. However it totally jumped around the trap and we lost it. That was a hard moment and I will forever remember it as a very unsuccessful moment. J

Really, I can’t think of any! B.R: Hmm... not really sure. There was a lot we wanted to try but the situation wouldn't allow it. We were really wanted to walk across the roof on the other building but couldn't get access. I don't view any part of our experience there are as a failure or being unsuccessful. Technically I wish we would have done our sound differently... We had to approach the whole thing with a rather zen attitude. Our main goal was to produce something that we would be proud to show when we got back home. We achieved that. If you could what would you change in your experience? M.C: I would have been a little better informed going into the project as far as the living situation we would be in, the goals of the organizers and the overall idea of why this estate was in the shape it was. That would have involved us asking more questions. This is a great lesson learned for the next time we decide to do a project like this. This was the first experience in a situation such as this so these experiences will only inform and help in the future. B.R: Funding. We could have done a lot more with a budget. We were stressed with the dollar conversions, and that stress did mark our time there. I also would have advocated for more interaction with other artists and the residents. I do think that it was a major fault of the project not to facilitate more of those interactions. As outsiders more interaction would have made us feel more at home̶ more hospitality from time to time would have been nice. Still though, given our personalities we were overall pretty content


G.R: Do you think our interview process was productive experience for you? If so in what way? if it wasn’t what do you think where the problems? M.C: They were helpful for me to be able to express ideas that we were exploring outside of our collaboration. To be asked things that we may not have asked ourselves and to have to find the words to articulate what were thinking was a productive experience. The time the interviews took (which were not too long-I felt like you were very respectful of our time) also gave us a reason to stop working, to take a break and to just focus on talking about the process which in turn informed the work. B.R: It was nice to feel like there was someone who cared what we were up to, but I think that could have been substituted with more facilitated interactions with other artists/ organizers/ and or residents. Also, it was unclear the interviews were effecting the project. It seemed like a separate activity outside Market Estate. In an interview process its nice to know how what you say will be used. I also would have rather that have been more of a dialog, part of a facilitated discussion with other people so that we could bounce our experiences off of others.


G.R:Are you satisfied with the result accomplished during your experience? M.C: I’m extremely happy with the work we made while there. Visually and conceptually I feel like it is very solid. I was excited to show it there and I’m also looking forward to its life from this point on. I also feel appreciative of the experience as a whole-the time that Blithe and I got to spend together being able to focus on only making work-the experience of living on the estate-being

able to meet other artist̶these are all things that came together to form the full experience for me. B.R: YES! Now we need to find the time to finish the edit. But we have some good leads regarding venues to show the work. G.R: Did you feel as if you where being helped and supported during your time at the Market Estate? M.C: I felt extremely supported. When we needed helping solving a logistical problem or needed materials were we pointed in the right direction immediately. My favorite quote that was heard very often was “yes, right now!” That was great to not be put off and as artist we were many times given priority over the everyday running of the project. This made me feel like respected and valued as an artist at this site. B.R: Yes and no. Gadi was incredible on that front. He tried to help us make everything happen. Although, not everyone on the team had the same spirit. With Gadi it was always YES and RIGHT NOW, lets do it NOW. That was wonderful. Again a budget would have helped tremendously, I think that would have taken off a lot of the stress about getting the project completed. It would also have helped us feel like respected and valued participants to the project.

The Market Estate Project 10. Did you feel isolated at any point? M.C: Sure, there was a sense of isolation because the estate eventually became all but abandoned. This in many ways helped inform the work. I do wish that there were more opportunities for the artist to interact with one another. Even if it was in the form of one formal dinner where everyone could

come together-to talk about their work and their experiences. There were so many people in and out that many times it felt as if we were strangers co-existing in the same space. I made the specific effort to introduce myself to as many people as possible as a way of connecting to the people around me. Since we were there for a while much of this happened naturally with the few other artists who were there for extended amounts of time but many time the effort was needed. B.R: Are you kidding? Mary was there ALL THE TIME. No, seriously I don't know how I could have done this by myself. We were really left alone to do our own thing. That was great for us and how we work as a team, but I can see how this could not work for everyone. We were also fortunate to have contacts outside the Estate that we hung out with. Without some of that interaction we would have felt more isolated. G.R: Have you formed a connection with any of the other artists? If so did it help your process in any way? Have you kept in touch? M.C: Yes, there were other artists there that we formed friendships with because they were also around for extended periods as I mentioned above. Personality played a large part in this as well and there were some people we just really connected with. It did help in the process because there were moments that it was nice to talk to a fellow artist about what we were working on and to connect in a friendship building way. They also offered support in ways that friends would help each other. Yes, we’ve kept in touch̶facebook being a huge help in that! B.R: Really just Maria & Momoko. We hope to spend time at Maria's house in Greece someday. Gadi and I have gchatted, and I think we will stay in touch. We were the only ones living there so when we wern't working really hard the place was pretty vacant. Some facilitated discussions and/or social group events would have helped with that. G.R: Looking back what do you think was missing from your experience? M.C: The only thing I can say that I missed was that communal experience that you get from many “residencies”. The few times we all (meaning organizers or the few artist that wondered by) cooked and had dinner was so nice. At the end of the day to be able to share in that- food, conversation and relaxing̶it’s very important when you’re in such intensive environment (of constant work, being someplace new and having so much activity around you)

B.R: I think I stated that mostly above. More interaction, and funding :) That said, we still had a great experience. G.R: Would you consider your video as a site-specific piece? M.C: These performative videos were very site specific to The Market Estate. They could have only been made on that site in response to the specifics of the location. That doesn’t mean that they have to be shown as site specific installations. They will still function outside of the estate and we are looking forward to the responses we get from people who were not there experiencing it for hand or have prior knowledge of the estate. B.R: Yes and no. It depends how you define site-specific. It was made with an extremely site-specific approach. Virtually of our decisions were made in relationship to the site. However what we left with was about displacement, movement, and utopic failure. Both pieces we made there were pretty essentialist and relate to people in a pretty visceral way. We also made it with the intention of showing it outside the ME. It was always our intention that the exhibition of the work not be tied down to the Estate.

The Market Estate Project G.R: What was the balance between the story of the location and your own personal story in your piece?

M.C: I don’t think our own personal stories are in the piece at all̶if you mean the stories or experiences of Mary and Blithe. Of course the pieces are not documentary films so there is a narrative, if you want to label it as such that we imposed on the piece. B.R: Not sure if story is the right word. I think our piece is about what we observed while we were there. Our piece is a result of actions created from those observations. It is our interpretation of our experience and of the Market Estate during the last days of its life. Also I would argue that there wasn't one "story" of the location. The story of Market Estate is that of the teller. It's different whether or not its an old person or teenager telling it, an anti-squatter, a former resident, a developer, or a visiting artist. Our piece comes from what we saw and how we lived during a very small window of time. G.R: Did you feel your work process in the estate was very different from your studio process? If so in what way? And how did it affect the final product? M.C: I only collaborate with Blithe for the most part (I usually work by myself) and that is not a daily part of my studio practice. We do talk and email about ideas etc but as far as actually being able to make work together this was the first time in months that is was possible. As a collaboration that was site-specific it was great to be able to respond to a site-which isn’t a part of my daily practice either or was even in my scope of past experiences. It was completely new to me so I came with fresh a eye which was exciting-to see something for the first time and to have to pay attention to learn more about it.Although I do explore things like this in my own work to an extent being on the estate gave us so many possible routes to take with this work. It was stimulating and full of potential Working with someone else is challenging but so rewarding when you can respect and trust your collaborator and that is something I’m happy to say we have in our partnership B.R: Completely, but that's the nature of working truly in a site-specific way. We really wanted to use the environment for the final product. ME was essential to producing this work. There were crossovers in terms of approaching video and performance, but I would say those approaches are more about who we both are as artists and what we're drawn to. There is also a thrill and challenge with working this way. G.R: Would you do it again? M.C: Absolutely B.R: Oh hell yes. With a budget. It was a great experience. Challenging, but

so stimulating and productive. This pilot residency was done thanks to TallTales


Round Table; Intricate Mobility in Artist Residencies

Art Residencies in Conflicted Areas, Round Table Discussions.

What is the role of art residency programs in areas of conflict and what kind of dialogue can the art residency mechanisms create?

Round Table Number 01 (March 13th 2010)

Subject: Intricate Mobility in Artist Residencies.

In this project, as an additional research tool I have created a series of round table discussions events, bringing together art related individuals from various conflicted areas to converse on issues relevant to their practice. The subjects of the discussions were driven from my research conclusions and issues that were raised during the interviews I executed. The session process combined emerging artists/curators and art students with curators and organizers from selected residencies working in conflicted environment. This way the artists received the chance for an inside look on the residency process in less familiarize territories. And the residencies representatives were able to make themselves known to young European artists.

Round table participants. From top left

Serra Ozhan ‒ Istanbul based art curator at Apartment Project Residency. Nini Palavandishvili- Curator and graphic designer co-founder and member of GeoAir in Tbilisi Georgia. Kathryn Standing- Visual Arts Manager at Visiting Arts Organization. Adam J Knights- Art Projects Manager at Visiting Arts Organization (Image missing). Adalet R. Garmiany ‒ A London based Kurdistan/Iraqi artist. Director of ArtRole. Joanna Choukeir- Lead Designer at Uscreates, freelance communication design for social change. George Lalia- A London based Georgian journalist (Image missing), Perienne Christian- A London based artists. Lina kovacevic- London based graphic designer. Evi Kontova- London based curator.

During the event Ozhan and Palavandishvili reflected and shared their experience from the collaborative project “Reciprocal Visit”; an experimental collection project produced with participants from various creative disciplinary backgrounds. The materials created while participants where on the road between Turkey and Georgia. This project sets off to visit and to receive reciprocal visits in spite of the hostility of these states towards each other, to critically break down the physical, political and intellectual obstacles created by the borders.

The framing narratives of “Reciprocal Visit” acted as the point of departure for the round table discussion. Following short presentations from Ozhan, Palavandishvili and myself, the discussion moved on to challenge issues regarding mobility and its significance as a primary means for generating a residency environment. We discussed the virtual and physical tools for creating creative participation models in areas of conflict, where the regions political, racial and religious differences limit the mobility of people and exchange of ideas.


For me the first round table was a success due to the participation of a few core members; working via art and culture to create various artistic cross cultural dialogs in and beyond their conflicted regions origin, i.e. Iraq, Lebanon, Turkey, Georgia and Israel. This intriguing assembly created an exceptionally diverse group of artistically motivated individuals working with similar agendas. For these individuals the round table worked as a pop up platform for exchanging ideas, reflecting on experiences and sharing future plans.


Key quotes from Round Table Number 01: Intricate Mobility in Artist Residencies.

In the following pages I have put together an assembly of quotes from individuals that participated in the event. The quotes emphasis the main subjects that were raised in the first round table.

Nini Palavandishvili:

“We are all (in GeoAIR) Georgian artists that came back to Georgia after a few years of living in Europe. When we came back to Tibilisi we experienced the lack of information and exchange between artists in Georgia. Everybody was always in their studio and only went out for the occasional art opening but there was no real artistic exchange and a true difficulty to get information. So, we started an artist’s initiative to collect and archive artist’s portfolios and information about the contemporary art scene in Georgia. Our purpose was not to create a dead archive where the information is just kept so, we started to create artists talks, workshops and events around the artists and materials that are in the archive in order to make it more live and to include the audience in this experience. This way the archive became a sort of live information hub and maybe even an educational tool. Then after working via the archive for a while, we realized that while working in Georgia is good and nice there are also our very close neighboring countries Armenia and Azerbaijan so we also started collecting information about the art scene and artists from these countries. Now the archive is a significant part of the GeoAIR residency. “

Serra Ozhan:

“The journey (in “Reciprocal Visit”) had a networking plan for each country. Before arriving I would establish connections with leading curators and artists in each of the locations, through the networks I have in Istanbul. In Iran it was amazing, for each artists they arranged a personal assistant and they introduced us to artists and graphic designers who where truly enthusiastic with a strong will to work together and collaborate. Later we discovered that their enthusiasm came from the fact that they are so isolated and their difficulties to travel. Also they hardly use the public space on the day to day basis, we always had meeting in peoples houses so the interaction is extremely limited.”

Nini Palavandishvili:

“when we select artists or curators for the residency they need to have a special interests in the region, to explore the region, what is happening in it and its social or political connections. We ask all of our residents to make a presentation, artist’s talk or workshop and also to leave something behind for the archive it could be information about their residency experience or their artistic activity. This way the archive keeps growing. GeoAIR is an umbrella organization with the archive and residency working in it.


Adam J Knights:

“For example at the moment, in the UK especially there is a big buzz around the Middle East, so at the moment it’s easier to get funds for these regions. We (Visiting Arts) remember the days when the buzz was around China and everybody wanted to go there and to work with China.

Kathrin Standing:

“Through visiting arts you can almost track the places that did have the spot lights on them and many time these are regions with developing economy or areas of conflict. It was Eastern Europe 15-20 years ago, then China and India and currently the Middle East. At the moment we (Visiting Arts) are re looking at Eastern Europe and the artists coming from this region“

Kathrin Standing:

“I think that one of the things we focus on when we facilitate in residencies or bring in curators is building relationships, that is the core for us. It’s about the exchange and building relationships in different levels, if its trough writings articles or making artists talks”

Adam J Knights:

“the question is what you do with that residency time. Especially in Visiting Arts there is a goal to do a lot more in the residency time. So an artist doesn’t just work in his studio for three months anymore, now their in an encouragement to break out of that and do artist talks, meet other local artists and create creative networks. It becomes much more of a business model in a way.”

Adalet R. Garmiany:

“For me it’s interesting to see how can these art initiatives (in Iraq) relate to the locals, how much we can get to the social side of the life of the people, how much people in the region are aware of such events and how does it relate to them. There are always the concerns about all kinds of global issues especially in the Middle East where there are many crises with different countries and different sectors. The question is how much can these initiatives work as a tool for art and culture to impact on the society in terms of education ect. For me this is a very important point in the things I do.”

Adam J Knights:

“Residency hoping in now almost a way of life for some people. I think it’s almost surprising to see how competitive art residencies have become and

even when it’s in areas of conflict artists really want to go there. I think it says something about artists wanting to be more international on a wider scale.”


Adalet R. Garmiany:

“In the symposium we had a Delegates from Iran, Turkey, UK, USA, Iran, Egypt, Spain, Sweden, and Germany attended as well as representatives from the United Nations and NGO in Iraq. This was a unique combination to have a discussion about the embodiment of peace in Sulaymaniyah City and Kurdistan-Iraq that are affected by the war, It was also an opportunity to show theses individuals the true nature of this place, and I think that some of them where truly surprised. When artists and curators who arrive to these regions have the challenge to find the true story of the place, what’s behind the things that the authority and media are selling to the public.

Adalet R. Garmiany:

“There are many mobility issues concerning the Middle East; I can’t go to Israel or to Palestine, I can’t go to Iran in my country because they might kill me and I can’t go to Turkey because I’m Kurdish and they might do something. It’s just a lot of wrong stuff, it is serious but you need to be challenging enough to be able to find the true side of things and not to rely on what the media is telling you.”

Joaana Choukeir:

“I think that problems arises when you bring these open communication channels to the public, If you open your own Skype line between Tel Aviv and Beirut that shouldn’t be a problem, but if you create something that is open to the public and encourages user participation and a global connection between theses regions that might be a problem. If you create a website then it is on a public level and if the Internet providers in Lebanon realize that you use the

website to create an open forum between Lebanon and Israel they might close it down.”

Adalet R. Garmiany:

“In theses regions (The Middle East) the only way you can create art related events is via governmental funding and support. There is a lack of understanding of artistic project in these countries and also the priorities to other things such as water supplies, electricity, medicines and all these issues. As a result the last thing that people think about is art and culture. All these presents a very strong challenge, for curators especially, of how to approach these places and explain to them the importance of art in these regions and how it affects on the environment, community and education. In order to do this one needs to take risks and to face all kinds of difficulties from authorities and to deal with various politics. You need to know how to talk to the right people in order to move things, to clarify your position, to built a trust, it’s all about trust and patience. You need to have a lot of patience to move things forward on these channels.”

Adalet R. Garmiany:

” When I first started this initiative in Iraq it was very difficult to obtain funds, eventually after 4 year of work when I did finally got the funding it was almost more difficult to bring in artists and curators from the region because they couldn’t believe that this kind of event is actually happening in Iraq.

Because that these countries are so divided and there is hardly no connections, many issues of trust arise even within the art scene.”

Art Residency and Conflict Research

Documents

Transcript of Art Residency and Conflict Research