‘Art Commune’ Artist-in-Residence Program

 

General Information

The ‘Art Commune’ international artist-in-residence program is an initiative of ACSL, a significant hub in the field of contemporary art both locally and internationally. The goal of the ‘Art Commune’ is to create an intellectual space where the residents will get the chance to penetrate the local cultural and socio-political contexts, as well as to combine their artistic practices (research, production, etc.) with meetings, seminars, lectures, and other discursive events with local and international artists, cultural experts, critics, and curators. The program was founded in 2008 and has evolved to include a residency, specialised workshops, and the Platform In-LAB [Discourses and Practice].

As of the fall of 2017, the ‘Art Commune’ has partnered with AGBU Armenia, a major stakeholder and strategic supporter of cultural projects in Armenia. This new partnership allows residency participants to connect with a larger international platform through AGBU’s various facilities and extensive global network of different professionals. The ‘Art Commune’ is a general member of the Res Artis worldwide network of artist residencies (visit the page).

The aim of the Platform In-LAB [Discourses and Practice] is to introduce to resident artists the corpus of significant theoretical texts on contemporary art and culture, helping them initiate and carry out new artistic production in Armenia. In addition, the platform is directed toward developing a kind of art which is oriented towards community-based projects or participatory art. Such orientation testifies that artists are conceived not only as individual producers of self-sufficing, discrete objects, but as producers of situations, processes, and collective work within studio and post-studio practices, particularly in collaboration with non-artistic communities. These practices overturn the traditional relationship between the art work, the artist, and the audience. The Platform In-LAB [Discourses and Practice] is an open platform that welcomes international critics, curators, scholars, and artists to collaborate with current residency artists of the ‘Art Commune’ AIR program as well as with the local artistic scene of Armenia.

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Program Description

The major cluster of the ‘Art Commune’ is located at the AGBU Vahe Karapetian Centre. The centre consists of a newly constructed residence that houses a consortium of artist residency programs, as well as international and regional students studying in Yerevan, Armenia. The centre is equipped with single and double rooms with access to shared and private bathrooms, laundry and cleaning services. All residents have access to shared facilities like a common room with chess boards and TV, an industrial-sized kitchen, a reading room, library, and table tennis for entertainment and social exchange. The centre has 24/7 security and reception service from 10-5pm. It is walking distance from studio and workshop space at the AGBU Youth Centres focused on national cultural arts. Residency participants are free to use the centre’s workshop space in exchange for a teaching workshop for youth based on mutually advantageous agreements. This exchange aims to introduce residents to local culture, while offering youth insight into contemporary artistic practice.

The ‘Art Commune’ is an ongoing program, and there is no application deadline. The main fields for artist selection are visual arts, participatory art, performing art, sound art, photography, architecture, writing, curatorial studies, and art criticism. The selection process takes place upon receiving the applications. Further on, the documents are reviewed by the selection committee/board of ACSL. Successful applicants are informed within one week after receiving the application. Afterwards, they are provided an official letter of invitation and other required documents. The program consists of a residency stay from 2 weeks up to 12 months.


Stipend

The program does not provide the residents with stipend and does not cover their general expenses such as travels, per diem, accommodation and commodities due to absence of structural and capacity building funding for ACSL and other similar institutions in Armenia. However, the program can fully or partially cover the resident artists’ expenses if it gets funding from international and local foundations or private sponsors. Nevertheless, the artists are provided with free assistance in research, curatorial help, written and verbal translations (English-Armenian and vice versa), introduction to the local art and cultural scene of Armenia. Moreover, the ‘Art Commune’ residency program organizes personal or group exhibitions, seminars, panels, workshops, public talks, and open studio visits for its residents. Other aid and assistance is also possible on demand.


Presentation of Resident Artists’ Works

Presentation of artists’ works is arranged on an individual basis. Solo and group exhibitions, different kinds of public events (talks, screening, presentations, open studio visits, meetings, discussions, etc.), workshops, and seminars are arranged and organized for the resident artists in various settings: public spaces, artistic and non-artistic venues in Yerevan.


Application Procedure

Download the Application Form

1. How to Apply

Applicants should provide the following:

  • Artistic statement with a brief description of the applicant’s artistic interests along with intentions for applying to the ‘Art Commune’ (300-500 words);
  • Curriculum Vitae (no more than 2 pages) together with a short narrative bio;
  • Filled-in application form;
  • Any of the following: a link to a personal website, a digital artistic portfolio, samples/images of accomplished art works.

Note: All the documents should be submitted in English, labeled according to the following examples: ‘[your name]. application.doc’, ‘[your name].CV.doc’, ‘[your name].bio.doc’, ‘[your name].intention.doc’.

2. Deadlines

Admission to the residency is ongoing, taking place all year round without any fixed deadlines.

Note: All applicants are advised to submit their applications at least one month prior to their preferred starting date of the residency.

Please contact us by email first: info@acsl.am; s.gyulamiryan@gmail.com (contact person: Susanna Gyulamiryan).

3. How to Reach the Residency

By plane + By taxi

Upon arrival at the Zvartnots International Airport in Yerevan, artists are picked up by a taxi driver and guided to the ‘Art Commune’ residency cluster. There is no bus service from the airport to the residency.


Contact Information

Program Director: Susanna Gyulamiryan
Coordinator: Raffie Davtian

Land: +374 10642047
Mobile: +374 91944783
E-mail: info@acsl.am, s.gyulamiryan@gmail.com

Postal Address: 8 A. Hovhannisyan str., 28 apt., Yerevan, 0076, Armenia