RE:SOURCE Residency | Part 1: The Mine

Open Call for Netherlands based artists

Event

Reassemble Residency | RE:SOURCE

Open Call for Netherlands based artists

OPEN CALL Residency 1: FIBER x NEW NOW | 15 – 31 May 2023 | Deadline: 9 April – Extended until 16 April 00.00! 

 

As part of the nomadic Reassemble Lab, FIBER announces two European residencies for Netherlands-based artists, designers, and artistic researchers who are working with the creative and critical inquiry of technology and immersive storytelling (both in sound and image) to increase ecological and geological awareness. Under the title RE:SOURCE, the residencies will take place in 2023 in close collaboration with partners NEW NOW (Essen | May 2023) and Semibreve (Braga | TBA 2023).

RE:SOURCE invites artists to submit a proposal for the development of a work relating to one of two UNESCO sites: the largest, now inactive, coal mine Zeche Zollverein in Essen and the unique biosphere reserve Gerês-Xurês in the Barga area in the North of Portugal. For the Open Calls, we welcome proposals for artworks that explore alternative relationships with natural resources, sources of energy and ecological intelligence. We invite artists to critically engage with material extraction and distribution, or provide insights into the functioning of the unique ecosystems and their biodiversity. This can be done by using natural materials, sounds, data and archival materials to offer new perspectives on these unique environments.


RE:SOURCE is divided in two separate calls for two residency positions:

1: FIBER x NEW NOW | The Mine | 15 – 31 May 2023 (1 artist)
2: FIBER x Semibreve | The Sanctuary | TBA, summer/fall 2023 (1 artist)

 

RE:SOURCE OPEN CALL 1: The Mine

FIBER x NEW NOW | 15 - 31 May

For the first Reassemble Residency, FIBER Festival is teaming up with NEW NOW Festival, to give 1 Netherlands-based artist/designer the chance to develop a new work, and conduct research around mining histories and future imaginaries of energy usage within flourishing and symbiotic ecosystems. By responding to our first RE:SOURCE open call, you are applying to be part of NEW NOW’s on-site residency programme from 15 May to 31 May 2023. This residency is part of the NEW NOW Festival 2023 and is interacting with their theme of Hypernatural Forces. 

The location’s past invites you to take a closer look at the energy endeavours in recent history. As the largest coal extraction mine in the world, Zollverein was a huge driver of modernity, industrialisation, and the exploitation of the environment. The Coal Mine is now closed and functions as a cultural centre, nevertheless these forces – of overcoming gravity and transforming unimaginable amounts of energies – are still shaping our contemporary lives. 

FIBER and NEW NOW artistically explore the shift from industrialization to digitalization by investigating newly emerging forces and their interaction with each other. 

Using the mine as a starting point for an artistic investigation into energy transformation, resources and the intertwining of human activities and digital technology, which contemporary and future developments are important to be shown? From post-carbon energy harvesting, to the impact of deep-sea, asteroid mining or data mining for the development of artificial intelligence and cryptocurrencies. Are you a maker interested in conducting artistic research in relation to landscapes of extraction, transformation, and regeneration? Have you done research into the history of resource extraction and industrialization and connected it to bigger questions around the current climate emergency? Then we encourage you to apply to our first open call. 

Research and a physical installation prototype developed during this residency will be showcased during the Festival’s opening weekend from 1 June to 4 June at the Zollverein in Essen.

 

APPLY FOR THE OPEN CALL

Practical information

DATES

  • Call Open: 28/03
  • Deadline: 09/04 – Extended until 16/04!
  • Selection Process: 10/04 – 17/04
  • Selection Outcome: 17/04
  • First site visit: TBA
  • Residency: 15/05 – 31/05
  • NEW NOW Festival: 07/06- 06/08
  • Opening Weekend: 01/07 – 04/07

WE OFFER

  • € 5000 artist fee
  • € 2500 material costs
  • Travel & Accommodation
    • first site visit (2 days)
    • residency (17 days)
    • travel by train
  • On-site work space
  • Opportunity to meet and learn from other artists working at NEW NOW
  • Guidance by the FIBER and NEW NOW teams

Application process

APPLICATION PROCESS

We warmly welcome makers based in the Netherlands to apply. This does not require a Dutch identity, but it does require a Dutch address where you are currently based or live. Based on a number of questions, and a research and project proposal, we accept applications. Applications from artists living outside the Netherlands, or who do not have a strong and current relationship with the Dutch art sector and creative industry, will not be accepted. 

A few days after your submission, you will hear from us whether everything is complete, and we can officially accept your application.

 

 

APPLY HERE

SELECTION PROCESS

The FIBER Festival team will work closely together with the NEW NOW Festival team to make a final selection, based on a submitted motivation, a project proposal, and the match between the artistic practice and the call subject. The team is: FIBER: Jarl Schulp, Allegra Greher, and John Gummels / NEW NOW: Jasmin Grimm and Linda Dudacy.

Are you in doubt about whether you are eligible for the open call? Or do you experience any other barriers to participation? We are committed to discussing options. This can also be done after submitting the open call information. Please contact us directly at allegra@fiber-space.nl.

About NEW NOW

NEW NOW is the Festival for Digital Arts at the Zeche Zollverein UNESCO World Heritage in Essen (Germany). During the festival, the Mixing Plant on the former Coking Plant on the coal mine industrial complex shapeshifts into a vibrant production site and meeting spot for artistic makers and researchers. Concrete bunkers and huge coal containers provide spectacular spatial situations and an extraordinary festival atmosphere amid genuine industrial architecture. This year, NEW NOW Festival is returning from June 1 to August 6 for its second edition exploring the theme of Hypernatural Forces. 

 

Zeche Zollverein – Hundreds of mines in the Ruhr used to produce coal, one of which was declared an official World Heritage Site by UNESCO: Zeche Zollverein in Essen. Germany’s most important industrial monument is an attraction, an event site, and a pioneering place for culture. The Zeche Zollverein is not only a masterpiece of architecture and a popular tourist attraction but also a fascinating place of transformation. Among its preserved buildings, visitors can discover the history of mining, which played an important role in the development of the Ruhr region – and large parts of Europe. It is an icon of the era of industrialisation and a region where fossil fuel extraction enabled tremendous progress. A progress that is built upon histories of extraction. Nowadays, the location offers its visitors a glimpse into new futures and imaginaries by showing how the mining era was followed by art and culture.

 

More information about Semibreve will follow soon!

FAQ

What is the purpose of this residency?

The aim of the residency is to provide a space for makers and thinkers to artistically explore histories of resource extraction and industrialization and connect them to bigger questions around the current climate emergency. It is a place to gain and exchange knowledge and learn from other makers and thinkers as well as from the context and history of the location hosting the residency. 

 

What do I get from participating in this residency?

This residency offers you the opportunity to further develop your own project, experiments, and research in relation to landscapes of extraction, landscape transformation, and conservation, right at a location filled with histories of industrialisation, progress, and extraction. In the end, you will be able to present your work during the opening weekend of the NEW NOW Festival 2023, from June 1 – 4, in the same location.

 

Where is the residency taking place?

The residency is taking place at the Zeche Zollverein, a UNESCO World Heritage Site located in Essen (Germany). 

 

Can I also attend if I am not available for the full 17 days of the residency?

Unfortunately, this is not possible. To participate in this residency you have to be present during all the days of the residency.

 

How does the open call work?

We work with an open call structure to find out more about anyone who wants to participate in the residency. We do this in order to give everyone curious to be part of the residency a fair chance. Based on the submissions, our team will make a decision together with the NEW NOW team.

 

How am I being financially supported during this residency?

If you are selected to take part in the residency, we will offer you an artistic fee of € 5000 as well as cover € 2500 worth of material costs. We will provide an on-site working space for you during the residency, as well as the opportunity to meet and learn from other artists working with NEW NOW. We are also taking care of your travels and accommodation.

 

Do I have to pay for my accommodation?

No, you do not have to pay for your accommodation. This will be covered by us.

 

Do I have to pay for my travel?

No, you do not have to pay for your travels. We will cover the train costs.

 

My question is not included in the FAQ

Please get in contact with us directly then and share your question by sending an email to allegra@fiber-space.nl. 

RE:SOURCE partners

Creative Industry Fund (NL) / FIBER Festival (Amsterdam) / NEW NOW Festival (Essen) / Semibreve Festival (Braga)