Aramauca Plataforma para el Arte Contemporáneo

Exploration / Production Residency Program

Aramauca was born in Chiapas, Mexico since 2016. It is an non profit, independent, flexible and changing space, whose main objective is to promote the dissemination, research, study, development and teaching of contemporary art. It’s goal is to generate bridges and dialogues between art and other branches of knowledge, while seeking to support the processes of reflection of artist/creators interested in linking with the local culture in Chiapas, within the current grammars of art.
Aramauca offers two types of residence: EXPLORATION and PRODUCTION, they are called self-directed because the artist decides their own routines and to what extent they want to get involved in the proposed program. Many creators need a space for concentration away from their usual routine that allows them to move forward in a specific project and seek total freedom, while others require more guidance to carry out their project,. In any case, Aramauca staff will be available to guide and collaborate in the process when requested by the resident. Both modalities are adapted according to the specific needs and requirements of each participant.
Residencies of exploration, unlike production, emphasize the importance of the process and not the material result. To do this, it is sought that the residents experience and obtain inspiration from the new experiences acquired in the interaction with other resident artists, the communities, the urban environment and their social and cultural reality. 

The Exploration Residency is ideal for: 

• Investigation, treasuring a time for visual experimentation, theoretical reflection and exploration of the cultural movement of the city.
• Working independently in a visual or performative project, having the possibility of making it known to the public through an informal Open Study at the end of the residence.
• Work independently in a theoretical or curatorial project, taking advantage of the Universities of San Cristóbal de Las Casas and all the cultural possibilities offered as museums and libraries to carry out research.

 The Production Residency is ideal for: 

• Create a project or carry out part of a project in development. For example: create a new body of work, make editions, portfolios, artist's books, make a prototype in laser cutting, etc.
• Work on a new body of work, with a view to making an exhibition at the end of the residency in the Aramauca Gallery Room (this point is determined according to the quality of the resulting work, its consonance with the curatorial criteria of Aramauca and the availability of the Gallery according to the program) or another cultural space of San Cristóbal de Las Casas or abroad.
• Produce a project in the format of a specific site installation for the Aramauca Headquarters that after being completed will be open to the public in the format of an exhibition (between 3 and 4 weeks).
• Creation of murals in the communities that serve as a reminder of the beauty, traditions and general value that the area represents in the world, providing an aesthetic contribution and a sense of belonging for the locals. This project seeks to impact different places in San Cristóbal de Las Casas and surrounding areas

• OPEN STUDIO: The production residences offer a day of opening to the public in an informal format where artists can share the process of working with the community. 
• WORKSHOP: If the artist is willing, Aramauca can offer a workshop dictated by the resident to the public interested in the subject, the workshop would be reviewed on the website and will be provided all the diffusion on local platforms, including photographic and videographic record of it.

Lodging throughout the stay in a private room in comfortable double bed, desk, chair, 2 bedside tables, coat rack, secure door, memory foam pillows, blankets and bedding appropriate for the climate, (shared spaces: Sanitary, kitchen-dining room, 2 patios, outdoor terrace).​

Aramauca has two small studios of artistic production of 3x3 meters. and 3.90 x 3.95 x 2.96 meters respectively, that residents can use. They are equipped with certain basic work tools that are commonly found in a studio, as well as furniture such as countertops, chairs, shelves. In addition, Aramauca has different spaces that can be used to produce a work, from the desk that each artist has available inside his room (if their production is photographic, video or new media), the patios, terraces, and a zone of multiple uses.
If the spaces of Aramauca prove insufficient for the development of the artist' work during the production residence, the platform offers as an alternative - support through their network of collaborating institutions to rent a studio in a perimeter close to the residence. These studios can be for modalities such as: Painting, installation, assembly, ceramics (with oven, sale of materials and assistance), engraving, etc. This is an extra cost assumed by the resident.

If the resident works with extra-artistic materials, industrial or for example: natural pigments, craft papers, etc., in San Cristóbal you will find a great variety of shops and stores to acquire them and the Aramauca Staff will advise you for these purposes. The residency has a Imac 21.5" computer, beamer and other tools.