The current and the previous year have forced us to take a fresh look at freedom of artistic expression and recognise that it is threatened not only in countries with authoritarian regimes but also in countries with competitive democratic elections. This open call for the new residency Round 2024, which is titled "Non-Utterance", aims to capture this moment, analyse the atmosphere in the artistic environment, and explore censorship and self-censorship in art.

During the next 2024 round, AIR InSILo aims to create a safe space for the completion or reworking of an idea or an artwork that has never been realised due to the political momentum or restraints of self-censorship nature.
They are looking for artistic and curatorial projects and contributions:

• Which suffered political oppression or persecution, were censored and still deserve a better and safer environment to be realised;
• Which were self-censored because of concern about the life and well-being of the author but deserve a new life;
• Which critically reflects the topic of censorship and self-censorship;
• Which want to try out artistic tools that allow one to express ideas indirectly, which explore the capacity of unexplored systems of imagery, non-appearance, and non-expressiveness to index the object of avoidance eloquently;
• Which are dedicated to and reflect the conditions of artistic work under the oppression (of a political regime, institutional pressure, discursive dominance, etc.);

If needed, the organisers can guarantee the artists' anonymity by not revealing their real names and not using portrait photographs for public viewing. They won't demand any 'finished product' in the form of an exhibition. Still, they will be happy to work with the complete ideas that can obtain their shapes as mock-ups, drafts, tests, and experiments during the residency time. They embrace ideas and projects on different stages of development in various media: media art, visual art, sound art, new media, science art, performance art, and artistic research, but we will be upset to see unrelated works that were conceived for other institutions under different circumstances lacking any connection to the direction of the call. Please note that they do not have the capacity to provide feedback on your applications.

GUIDELINES:

• A proposal must match the conceptual direction of the new call. Extra consideration will be given to disarming creativity and irrestrainable experimentation.
• AIR InSILo pays significant attention to the principles of inclusivity and diversity. There is no age limit, and the primary focus is on late-emerging/ early mid-career artists, especially coming to the 'critical' threshold – the age of 35 when institutional support is already fading.
• Special attention will be given to:
  – working mothers;
  – underrepresented artists;
  – artists from countries with minimum/ non-existing support for art and culture;
  – LGBTIQA+ representatives;
  – former shortlist candidates.
• They do not accept applications from students.

Unfortunately, the residency is not equipped for wheelchair access and is not considered entirely safe for children under 3 y.o. But the organisers would like to be as inclusive as possible. Don't hesitate to contact them to clarify the special conditions.