Performativity of Mortuary Rituals Fall 2016: Exploring the Idea of Death in Mexico
Arquetopia Foundation and International Artist Residency
Special 2-in-1 International Fall Residency Program, Includes Day of the Dead Arts Techniques Instruction and Self-Directed Art Production
Session Dates: October 10 to November 7, 2016 (4 weeks)
Apply Now through Monday, September 12. Spaces are limited.
E-mail Chris at info@arquetopia.org
Arquetopia's special international residency program exploring the performativity of rituals in Mexico and focusing on the mortuary celebrations known as Día de Muertos (Day of the Dead).
http://www.arquetopia.org/our-artist-residencies/performativity-of-mortuary-rituals-2016">http://www.arquetopia.org/our-artist-residencies/performativity-of-mortuary-rituals-2016
Why is the idea of Death representing Mexico globally?
This program addresses the subject of Death as a national totem, by questioning its construction as a macabre source of identity, exploring its relevance in the invention of Mexican modern art and its secularization in popular culture.
PERFORMATIVITY OF MORTUARY RITUALS: Exploring the Idea of Death in Mexico, Special International Fall Residency Program (with Day of the Dead Arts techniques instruction and self-directed Art Production) is a 4-week critical program that offers competitive professional opportunities for international emerging and mid-career artists, curators, art historians, and students age 23 and over.
This unique program offers critical approaches to the representations of Death in Mexico as a source of national identity. Through the exploration of the myths of its origins, the program will present a complex perspective of the Day of the Dead celebrations. The goal is to provide tools to understand its performativity by approaching complex nuances, including sentimental representations, material culture, and the historical transition in the meanings of death. Through the program, participants will conceptualize their art by engaging their own art practice and medium in critical perspective while observing cultural practices, including mortuary rituals, food offerings, and familial solidarity. The program will also put into context the construction of popular imagery departing from the tension in baroque representations of death, modernization and the macabre, death in the invention of Modern Art in Mexico, and its political implications with visual culture. Participants will also have a chance to place their own art practice in context, having the opportunity to learn diverse art techniques directly related to the imagery and spatial construction of ofrendas (altars) which are central to the celebration of the Day of the Dead.
PROGRAM INCLUSIONS
This program includes 27 hours of instruction in Day of the Dead ephemeral art techniques, including paper, installation, and the edible dimension of the altar; as well as an exploration of José Guadalupe Posada’s imagery and techniques. Participants will have the opportunity to join guided tours and visits to prominent museums in Puebla, altars, graveyards, and relevant sites. Activities are designed to promote intense creative work and artistic dialogue; therefore, artists are expected to allocate self-directed studio hours as part of their weekly schedule.
Workshop instruction is in Spanish or English. Participants produce work in our partnered studio at one of Mexico's most important art museums, in Puebla's majestic central historic district.
SPECIAL VENUE
Museo de Arte Ex Convento de Santa Mónica is one of Mexico's most prominent religious and colonial art museums. Its collections were formed in the 1930s with artwork from the 16th through 17th centuries including some of the greatest artists of the New Spain such as Juan Correa, Miguel Cabrera, Miguel Jerónimo de Zendejas, and Lorenzo Zendejas, among others. The museum also records monastic life in different periods of history, from everyday life to religious rituals.
RESIDENCY DURATION / TIME PERIOD
Term of 4 weeks. Dates for this program are fixed, from Monday, October 10 to Monday, November 7, 2016.
OUR ARTIST-IN-RESIDENCE PROGRAMS
Our Artist-in-Residence Programs offer competitive professional opportunities for emerging and mid-career, national and international artists, designers, curators, art historians, art educators, journalists, writers, and cultural researchers age 25 and over. Our programs are based on a non-exploitative model promoting social consciousness. Residents are strongly encouraged to explore various ways ofcultural exchange as part of their artistic and/or research goals and to actively engage in critical discussions as part of their residency experience. Understanding Mexico’s context, and specifically Puebla and Oaxaca’s cultural complexity, is key for a successful cultural exchange. We welcome applicants from diverse backgrounds and disciplines who are interested in creating work or inspired by art, elements, techniques or processes specific to Mexico and/or unique to Puebla or Oaxaca.
Arquetopia is distinguished worldwide for its http://www.arquetopia.org/our-artist-residencies/our-artist-residencies-important-information">array of unique residency programs with substantial content. In contrast to various property rental schemes, tourist resorts, B&B’s, and sublets, our residency spaces function exclusively for productive art professionals, writers, and researchers and include structured, informative programs; a network of collaborative workspaces, institutions, and studios; and individualized project support.
RESIDENCY GUIDELINES
Selection decisions are based on artistic work and proposed project. Candidates at all stages of their careers (emerging and established) must demonstrate a clear sense of potential.
Our pool of applicants and residents is diverse in all aspects.
Our residency programs are competitive opportunities for artists and researchers to pursue their own work, free of pressure (especially work that in their particular circumstances would normally be difficult to produce).
Selection priority is given to projects that explore a responsible connection between the applicant’s artistic practice and the cultural context of Mexico, of Puebla, or of Oaxaca. The connection can be as broad as an artistic technique or as specific as a local theme.
The creation of community with fellow residents and staff during the residency period is important.
ARQUETOPIA
Founded in 2009, Arquetopia is an international award-winning, Mexican official nonprofit foundation for visual arts, music, literature, and research. Run entirely by artists, Arquetopia’s programs promote development and social transformation through contemporary art with a nontraditional, culturally diverse and multidisciplinary approach. Arquetopia’s resident artist and staff backgrounds are diverse in all aspects.
ARQUETOPIA PUEBLA
New as of 2015: A spectacular, four-story 1939 Mexican Colonial California-style compound conveniently located in Puebla's central historic district and close to the Zócalo (city square) accommodates the offices, residency space for up to 12 artists-in-residence, and numerous production spaces of Arquetopia. Recently renovated and expanded, the residency offers a large, natural-light studio/gallery; an equipped darkroom; a natural pigments laboratory; ten furnished bedrooms; a large dining room; an open-access kitchen; furnished outdoor terraces and viewing decks; a small botanical garden; a research library; and a rooftop lounge with panoramic views of the city.
PUEBLA, SOUTHERN MEXICO
Known as the “City of Angels” and accessible via two international airports in Puebla (PBC) and Mexico City (MEX), Puebla is a UNESCO World Heritage Site that lies 136 km (84 mi) from Mexico City and has approximately 5,000 colonial buildings. With a population of 2.7 million, Puebla is famous for a deep cultural identity, delicious cuisine, Talavera ceramics, and traditions rooted in the 16th-century baroque and enriched by a blend of five pre-Hispanic/indigenous cultures, Arab, Jewish, French, and Spanish influences. Puebla lies 45 km (28 mi) east of the Popocatépetl and Iztaccíhuatl volcanoes, giving the residents a magnificent view of their snow-topped peaks. At an elevation of 2,200 m (7,200 ft), Puebla features a temperate subtropical highland climate, resulting in an average of only three days per year seeing temperatures above 29°C (84°F).
Lonely Planet, the world’s largest travel guidebook and digital media publisher, announced that Puebla made its Readers’ Choice Top 10 “Best in Travel” list for 2012. A New York Times article named Puebla as #13 of the “45 Places to Go in 2012,” and The San Francisco Chronicle recently named Puebla as one of the top five safest places in Mexico for travelers.
WHAT THIS RESIDENCY INCLUDES
Technique Instruction:
27 hours master instruction, spaced over the 4 weeks
Staff Support:
Each resident meets weekly with our staff for individualized research assistance/resources, project guidance, reading curriculum, and critiques
Our residencies are process-based; residents are not required to give talks/exhibitions/workshops
Accommodation and Meals:
Furnished, private bedroom
Meals and 24-hour access to the kitchen and dining room
Wireless Internet
Use of Arquetopia's residency spaces including 4th-floor lounge and outdoor terraces
Shared bathrooms with modern fixtures and showers
Housekeeping
Studio Workspace:
24-hour access to large and bright, shared art studio with generous natural light
Personal workspace with large table and wall space
Some tools provided
Equipped darkroom provided for photographers
Materials and supplies for the instructional course provided
Materials and supplies for additional project production not included but available for purchase locally
RESIDENCY FEE AND PAYMENT TERMS
USD $665 per week (USD $2660 total for the 4 weeks). Residency Fee due within 1 week of selection notification.
HOW TO APPLY
Visit the Arquetopia website at www.arquetopia.org
Complete and submit the Arquetopia Artist-in-Residence Online Application Form, following the instructions on the web page.
Following selection, applicants are notified immediately via e-mail.
Arquetopia is committed to providing an inclusive and welcoming environment for all members of our diverse local and international community. Arquetopia’s resident artist and staff backgrounds vary in all aspects. As part of Arquetopia’s mission is to promote diversity, Arquetopia actively fights discrimination by offering access to its programs and activities without regard to race, color, gender or gender expression, national origin, age, religion, creed, or sexual orientation.
Arquetopia on the Web: www.arquetopia.org
Arquetopia Blog: www.arquetopia.com
Arquetopia on Facebook: www.facebook.com/Arquetopia
Arquetopia Oaxaca on Facebook: www.facebook.com/ArquetopiaOaxaca