AiNIN Online residency program

Since 1999, AiNIN have been supporting artists and event organisers who create and engage in site-specific work in the environment across a broad range of disciplines. Due to COVID19, the international mobility of artists is restrained and we are all facing major changes in our lives and way of working. AiNIN wants to give support to artists by sharing culture and creativity, bringing us closer even at a distance.

They are calling for proposals for a virtual residency program on the theme of “Dynamic natural connections” to celebrate the germination of ideas, continual growth, and our inherent capacity for transformation and renewal. They look for generative, process-based art and research projects, rooted in nature as an open and evolving concept and encourage curiosity, exploration even from confined spaces and enhance connectivity among the participants. The programme is open to AiNIN members and everyone willing to join their association (the artist membership is €30 / annum) and it is curated to give artists the opportunity to present their works to a new audience through AiNIN social media channels, and networks.

Applications are now sought from artists for two virtual residency programmes to be held between January and March 2021. During the three weeks of the residency, artists will be invited to share their progress weekly with the curatorial team and through their social media (website, FB and IG). A public presentation will be held at the end of each programme.

Our way in Nature: As members of AiNIN we believe that art-in-nature implies respecting nature, revealing and commenting upon our relationship with our environment, rather than exploiting it for the sake of art. Our definition of `nature’ includes human and non-human animals; animate and inanimate beings; wild and untouched landscapes, rural, cultivated and agricultural spaces, some urban, suburban or city park environments and conservation reserves across a variety of public and private domains. Site-specific work in the environment and landscape can take many forms. However, paying attention to diverse geographical, cultural, historical, physical and elemental contexts of an environment is at the core of what AiNIN artists do. We are committed to re-envision a constructive, rather than deconstructive, approach to creating art-in-nature.

Applicant Requirements:

• Artists, researchers, designers, scholars working in the field of contemporary art and research with a focus on nature.
• While any approach to nature is welcome they’ll select proposals encompassing a clear and coherent concept.
• Following an environmentally friendly principle, they ask for projects that utilise mainly materials found in-situ, recycled, natural, handmade or eco-friendly materials.
• Practices that cross-media and genres, materially and conceptually: object-making, sculptural installation, sound, performance, video, new technologies, text-based work, etc… are welcome to apply.
• Proposals that involve workshops and live demonstrations that aim to connect and inspire their members will be given priority.
• The applicant artists need to have a good internet connection to be able to manage online conversations.
• Basic video making skills and a good camera are preferable. If selected, you’ll be asked to participate in online meetings, shared studio sessions, and to make videos to document the process of your work.

Project Support:

• 750€ for each project selected. For non-members of AiNIN, 30€ will be deducted from this amount as a membership fee.
• While they welcome group or collaborative projects the fee is meant for the project, not for the artist.
• The artist will be featured on the AiNIN website and social media.

Deadline for applying is 15 November 2020. Applicants need to prepare the following materials and send to [email protected]:

• Completed application form and in one single PDF (max 15MB):
• A visual outline of your project’s idea (max 5 MB)
• Updated Portfolio (10 pages maximum, max 10 MB)
• Resumé with contact information, website and social media contacts (max 2 pages)