10 Oct 2012

IASKA: Call for Expressions of Interest

IASKA is calling for Expressions of Interest from artists working with visual, digital and hybrid media who are interested in participating in the second iteration of spaced, IASKA's recurring event of socially engaged art. This new event will comprise 16 residency-based projects that will take place in regional Western Australian locations throughout 2013-14, followed by a group exhibition of the residency outcomes at the Western Australian Museum (WAM), Perth in early 2015.

The curatorial focus of the second iteration of spaced will consider the idea of collective memory, intended as the site of competing narratives that communities re-interpret and reinvent to construct images of their present and future.

The 16 spaced residency projects will encompass:

• Artistic practices that intervene in the fabric of everyday life and straddle the boundaries of art, science and technology, social activism, design and architecture.
• Commissioning of artworks that result from a process of negotiation and consultation between artists and specific social groups within their host community.
• Facilitation of artworks that strike a balance between situation-specificity and gallery display.
• Promotion of a dialogue between realities that are usually separated by cultural, social, economic or geographical distances.
• Diversification of the life experience of artists so that a comprehensive experience of Australian culture, in its many forms, will be reflected in the contemporary arts

Participating artists will be commissioned to create new works informed by a dialogue with local residents and aimed at exploring local issues in a global context. The remuneration package will comprise an artist's fee, contribution to materials and production costs, travel allowance, accommodation, on site staff support (part-time) and the use of a vehicle.

The program will be run through a tripartite partnership between IASKA, regional community host organisations and the Western Australian Museum (museum.wa.gov.au/iaska-spaced). The regional hosts will provide on-site support while the Museum will assist with the development of some projects through the provision of access to its collection, facilities and research staff. The Museum will also play host to the 2015 spaced group exhibition, contribute to the documentation and public program supporting this exhibition along with considering acquisition of some of the artworks for its collection. The event will take shape progressively through a dialogue between prospective artists, participating communities and WAM, and will be mediated and coordinated by IASKA.

About IASKA:
IASKA was formed in 1998 by farmers and art professionals interested in exploring cultural identity through art. Our mission is to experiment with new and more productive modes of interaction between contemporary artists and communities by supporting artistic practices that engage with local social contexts and are based on an exchange between regional, metropolitan and international points of view. Our philosophy is based on the principle that contemporary art should not be isolated in its specialist domain but participate in a cross-disciplinary dialogue involving a wide range of other cultural and social practices. Our activities comprise context-specific projects, solo exhibitions, touring group exhibitions, publications, educational and mentoring programs.

For further information and to obtain an Expression of Interest form please email: admin@iaska.com.au or download a copy from www.iaska.com.au