18 Mar 2016

Call for Applications: AFFECT 2016 Berlin

CALL FOR APPLICATIONS: AFFECT 2016 - BERLIN

AGORA COLLECTIVE is pleased to announce the third edition of AFFECT - Program for Collaborative Artistic Practices in Berlin. Premiering on May 2nd, the program features this year a curriculum of new topics growing out of the research and practice of 6 Berlin-based international artists and curators.

Emphasis of AFFECT 2016 will be placed on Agora's new production space: a neighboring area of 2200sq meters located in the Kindl brewery complex, at the heart of post-industrial Neukölln. The current context of transformation and redevelopment of the former factory area with the creation of a Center for Contemporary Arts and Agora itself will be part of the experimental arena for the upcoming participants.

We cordially invite you to look at this year's program, submit your interest and help us spread the word!
Visit our project website to find out more about the program, the team, previous editions and how to apply: www.agoracollective.org/affect

_

_ PROGRAM METHODOLOGY AND 2016 CURRICULUM OF MODULES

AFFECT is a Program for Collaborative Artistic Practices initiated in 2014 by Agora Collective e.V. in Berlin.

A hybrid between an educational program and a project-based artist's residency, the 2016 edition consists this year of a curriculum of 7 topics growing out of the research and practice of 7 Berlin-based international artists and curators.

Each module takes the form of a month-long participatory workshop revolving around a central research question supported by a series of activities proposed by the leading facilitators. Participants will have the opportunity to collectively delve into the proposed research question, bringing in their own sensibilities, practice and experience.

Collective exercises, urban explorations and site visits, readings and discussions will pave the way towards the co-generation of a final public event to be presented at the end of each module.

AFFECT 2016 is facilitated by: Judith Lavagna, Diego Agulló, Lorenzo Sandoval, Thelma Bonavita, Sarah M. Lewis, and Kinderhook & Caracas (Sol Calero and Christopher Kline).


1

WHILE WE WORK: A TEMPORARY STATE OF AFFAIRS

May 2 – 28

Facilitated by Judith Lavagna

Departing from the interest in reconsidering 'the exhibition' as a critical medium and a creative process beyond its conventional forms, WHILE WE WORK takes on a creative context in mutation that witnesses
different momentums of work and labor. This workshop intends to explore which roles artists take on as cultural producers, the merging of artistsas curators and the interweaving of those 'junction-makers' in search for performative expression. Structured towards active frameworks, case studies and research methodology, Lavagna proposes to conceive an exhibition together with selected Berlin-based artist as a final event which will investigate the context of Agora's new space

*Apply before March 20
agoracollective.org/affect/module-1/


2

THE ARTISTIC MISSION: DISMANTLING PROFESSIONALISM IN A FOR-PROFIT ECONOMY?

June 1 – 29

Facilitated by Diego Agulló

A collective investigation on what is the role of art in the given economy, the workshop will provide the participants with a frame to problematize together the way they access the professional structure. A mutual practice of self- examination on what is the purpose of making art, which value system operate behind their professional practices, and what are the tactics and strategies to infiltrate to and affect the professional structure from within. The purpose is to understand the constitution of the political body as the fundamental matter of social transformation within the realm of our everyday life actions.

*Apply before May 1
agoracollective.org/affect/module-2/


3

THE INSTITUTE FOR ENDOTIC RESEARCH: READING BODIES

July 4 – 31

Facilitated by Lorenzo Sandoval

This workshop facilitated by Lorenzo Sandoval is focused on researching about the relationships between body and text. The participants will approach libraries, archives and its potential performativities. An exploration of the everyday life and the immediate surroundings focusing in the body - as object and subject, as medium and device, as a place of inscription where reading is a never passive writing gesture, and as mediators who have the ability of activating their political agency. As output of the workshop Lorenzo Sandoval proposes the construction of a negotiated library made of inner 's(h)elves.

* Apply before June 4
agoracollective.org/affect/module-3/



4

COM(m)O(n) CLUB RADIO

August 1– 27

Facilitated by Thelma Bonavita

For this workshop, Thelma Bonavita invites participants to compose and perform an experimental radio station culminating in a final exhibition. The participants will transform Agora ́s new space into a functioning base to explore its meanings, matter and entanglements. The purpose of this collective experience is to produce and explore the notion of
a common space, where the primary framework is the body and the mind, working together to create a sound environment of ideas in movement - as if one could materialize the act of thinking.

* Apply before July 1
agoracollective.org/affect/module-4/



5

ECOLOGY OF ATTENTION

September 5 – 30

Facilitated by Sarah M. Lewis

If we think of scarcity as the driving force of an economic model then, given today's incessant inundation of information, what is becoming increasingly scarce is the attention we are able to pay and command. How does this scarcity affect, jeopardize or enhance the experience of working collectively? Utilizing a set methodology we will leverage imagination to more deeply engage with each other and elements around us by attempting to create an ecology of attention. We will switch roles, rotate authorship, view, observe, explore proposals put forth, and collectively edit and perform our generated material.

* Apply before August 5
agoracollective.org/affect/module-5/



6

CONGLOMERATE: ONE-SHOT SACRIFICE

October 4– 29

Facilitated by Kinderhook & Caracas, directed by Sol Calero, Ethan Hayes-Chute, Derek Howard, Christopher Kline and Dafna Maimon

CONGLOMERATE acts as a TV Network based at Kinderhook & Caracas, a Berlin- based project space run by Sol Calero and Christopher Kline. CONGLOMERATE invites the participants to develop a short 'TV Special' based on the theme of 'Sacrifice' - which connotations can range from the esoteric to the everyday. Through workshops, group presentations and discussion, CONGLOMERATE will work with participants to create a single, final, one-shot (non-stop) scene composed of various set elements, props, actors, miniatures, costumes, sounds, etc, to be featured in the frame of a final Wrap Party within the created sets.

* Apply before September 4
agoracollective.org/affect/module-6/



_ PRACTICAL INFORMATION

* Duration of residency

ONE MONTH – group meetings 3 to 4 times a week. Final public event at the end of the module.

* Fees & support

Participation fee is 300€ for each module. A small production budget will be provided for the final event. Our hybrid model between an artist residency and an educational platform opens up more possibilities to apply for financial support. Previous AFFECT participants have been granted to attend our program by university career departments, academic research fellowships, cross European and overseas mobility funds for artists, etc.

* Expectations towards participants

Willing to engage in collaborative and group working dynamics. Commitment to all the stages of the process with energy, respect and openness.

* Studio/workspace

Shared studio space at Agora, 4th floor, 120m2 loft. AFFECT group meetings and workshop process taking place 3 to 4 times a week. Kitchen provided. Residents of AFFECT can use Agora's facilities during the time of residency. The building has 2 co-working floors, a café, a garden and the AFFECT floor. 2200m2 Production and presentation space in Kindl Brewery Area, 600m walk from Agora space.

* Assistance

Wood working tools and exhibition display basics provided by Agora. Module facilitator and project coordinator assist participants in specific project-related needs along the residency process.
Agora can provide individual acceptance letters to support grant application processes. Letters can be issued to successful applicants upon request.

Accommodation is not provided. Future participants can get orientation from the program coordination about where to find accommodation, best locations and prizes upon request.

* Disciplines

AFFECT is based on an interdisciplinary approach. Some of the main fields of interest for the development of the program are:


* Visual Art - Film - Sound and Music - Dance/Choreography - Theoretical Practices - Philosophy - Writing – Urbanism & Architecture - Curation - Education & Mediation - Performance - Creative Science Crossovers - Political/Social Activism - Web Programming - Design - Innovation - Animation – Technology.

Each group accommodates 15 people.

* Application information

Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis. Selected participants will be notified within twenty days upon application. Accepted participants are requested to pay a deposit of 150,– EUR to confirm their spot in the module. This amount will be later deducted from their enrolment fee. You can apply to one or more modules of AFFECT by filling in our application form

WWW.AGORACOLLECTIVE.ORG/ AFFECT/APPLY