Thursday 04.07.2013

NUCLEO // Call for Artists // Artist-in-Residence

// ABOUT NUCLEO

/ General

NUCLEO provides space for the creation, exhibitions, analysis and questioning of the contemporary visual arts practice.

NUCLEO runs an exhibition space, several project spaces and 83 studios for local visual artists located in 6 buildings in the city of Ghent, Belgium. We currently host 76 individual artists, 2 artist collectives, a film production company, a cinema for experimental film and video and 2 cultural organisations. NUCLEO was founded in 2001 and has hosted more than 200 artists until now. Apart from the current 85 studios, we have also managed 35 temporary spaces spread all over the city.

NUCLEO wants to do more than offering spaces: we want to create the conditions for the artists to fully develop themselves by offering them artistic challenges, productional support and a public forum. Our most public events are the Open Studios Days and the group exhibitions.

NUCLEO is supported by the City of Ghent, the Province of East Flanders and the Flemish City Fund.

/ Mission Statement

NUCLEO provides affordable, good quality studios, for artists active in various art disciplines. We broaden and deepen our studio activities by paying particular attention to the social environment, by our networking and support, and by addressing the needs for production facilities.

/ Vision

Target group

This call targets the international visual artists at the beginning of their career. This is the group of young or just graduated artists and the generation with a limited experience in the field.

Visual arts

We consider contemporary visual arts to include a range of media, such as painting, drawing, photography, sculpture, graphics, mixed media etc, with the obvious overlaps with theatre, dance, internet, television, film, documentary, social or spatial interventions and other media.

Process oriented approach, tailored to the needs of artists

NUCLEO offers a safe, inspiring and stimulating environment, with space for reflection and trial and error. Experiment is an inherent part of artistic creation.

NUCLEO tailors its activities to the need of the artist. Flexibility and creativity in working pmethods and types of support are key concepts in our approach. We negotiate with the artist about the best conditions for his research or creation process. We offer assistance, made to measure, the artistic process.

Cooperation and networking

The organisation wants to create as many links as possible, on a Flemish level as well as on an international level, in order to connect people and organisations. This way they gain experience and knowledge, and build up their expertise, which they can share with other individuals and organisations.

Social orientation

NUCLEO carries out a studio policy with attention for the social context of the studios. The studios usually are embedded in a variety of urban contexts. NUCLEO has a natural interest in urban development and the different appearances of the urban tissue.


// ABOUT THE RESIDENCY

/ History of collaboration

NUCLEO has initiated a bilateral cooperation for artist exchanges with PLATFORM3 in Munich in 2011 and 2012. PLATFORM3 hosted the artist Juan Duque from NUCLEO; NUCLEO hosted the German artist Fabian Hesse. www.nucleo.be/nieuws/detail/nl/137

/ Looking for partnerships

NUCLEO wants to extend the scope of its residencies and is looking for partnerships on organisational level, on a basis of reciprocity, thus enabling exchange of artists and artistic projects. Therefore, we prefer applications with a recommendation by an organisation open to collaboration.


// ABOUT THE PROJECT

NUCLEO organises a biannual group exhibition with its artists in residence. The last edition of this exhibition contained work of 54 local artists. The next exhibition is scheduled for the end of November 2013.

All participants, including the international resident, are invited to work within an artistic framework, as described below. The curators are Mieke Mels and Laura Herman.

The exhibition will open on November 28th, during the Ghent Museum Night.

/ Artistic framework of the exhibition

TITLE OF THE EXHIBITION: There are stories of coincidence and chance of intersections and strange things told and which is which and nobody knows

Central question: What role does chance play in making art? Since the twentieth century aspects as mastery, virtuosity, beauty and imagination became less important in favour of chance and coincidence as the most important factors shaping the work of art. In dadaism, for example, we can clearly see how cultivating chance becomes more important than the artistic gift. To Kurt Schwitters chance was an essential factor when writing his MERZ-poetry. Jean Arp made drawings with scattered pieces of paper (Constellation According to the Laws of Chance). In the fifties, Jackson Pollock, a pioneer of Action Painting, let his random drippings decide on the composition on the canvas. The French conceptual artist Sophie Calle equally experiences the world as a game of chance and coincidence, ready to be exposed. Glitch Artists look at the digital realm in search of 'errors' which they consider to be a visual quality. There are many examples of practices in which artists use chance as a method to see things anew.

Chance, however, can also appear in the artist's practice without the artist consciously looking for it. During the creative process, an error or failure can elicit a new understanding or create an interesting twist. Going beyond control and leaving behind the ratio, can lead to unpredictable results. This is how many of Francis Bacon's pieces emerged, for instance: 'I had no intention to do this picture; I never thought of it in that way. It was like one continuous accident mounting on top of another.'

The way artists deal witch chance and coincidence will be the starting point for the Nucleo-exhibition. Opening up the work process and reflecting on how choices are made or images are born through chance can trigger new insights, both for the artist and the visitor. In short, the exhibition is about questioning the own practice, about showing honesty towards the way things come to being and how failure is involved in the process.

The applicant is invited to contribute to this exhibition from his/her own perspective.

/ Presentation

End of November / beginning of December 2013.

/ Publication

As part of this project, NUCLEO will publish a sketchbook, with contributions by all participating artists, including the international resident, under the working tltle 'Cadavre exquis'.

/ We offer

- participation in a mutual project with a large group of local artists
- presentation of the produced work in a group exhibition
- publication of your work in our 'Cadavre exquis'
- an artistic environment with other 75 artist connected to the organization
- artistic guidance by the curators of the project
- housing in the building of our partner organisation Timelab, very close to our own office, with a separate bedroom and shared bathroom and kitchen with one other artist in residence at Timelab - www.timelab.org/en/workspace
- depending on what the artist requires, a working studio (the resident could also be sharing the studios of local artists)
- a monthly allowance of 500 €
- reimbursement of travel costs (inbound/outbound flight and train ride)
- production budget
- practical support through a collaboration with Sint Lucas Beeldende Kunst Ghent (Higher Education in Visual Arts) www.sintlucas.org/site/?q=node/109
- networking within the local art scene.

/ How to apply

Your application should include a portfolio and an artistic CV, a concrete project proposal and a motivation letter. The outcome of your project does not have to be defined completely in advance.

Applicants are required to send their dossier by email (up to 5 MB max. per application). Audio and video material can be sent by regular mail.
- an up-to-date CV + two references
- a portfolio containing documentation of selected works and up to date projects
- a motivation letter expressing a particular interest in participating in this project (1 page max.)
- a project proposal to be carried out during the residency (1 page max.)
- any recommendations

All documents should be sent in English and in electronic form (preferably in pdf-format).
A jury composed of NUCLEO members, the curators of this project and local art professionals will select the artist.


// PLEASE SEND THE APPLICATION TO:

info@nucleo.be (contact person: Marjoleine Maes)
NUCLEO
Lange Violettestraat 231
B 9000 Ghent
Belgium