Incubator: Call for workshop proposals
An initiative of the South Cultural Fonds (Switzerland) in partnership with Meta Arts (India), Heritage Space (Vietnam), Lugar a Dudas (Colombia) and Global Landscapes Forum (Indonesia, Germany).
Deadline for proposal submission: October 15, 2023, at 23:59 CET Extended deadline!
Call opened on September 1, 2023
Opportunity
Are you an artist keen to share your skills with others? Incubator is an initiative calling for workshop proposals to equip artists with the hands-on knowledge required to successfully design, coordinate, and facilitate online workshops. We are inviting artists of all disciplines with an active creative practice of 3 years or more to explore our six workshop categories and submit their proposal.
The goal of this call is to strengthen artists in their ability to share their creative practice and experience with others, while also fostering collaboration and dialogue on specific topics. We are looking for socially engaged proposals that focus on local realities, engage audiences beyond the art community, and include hands-on experiences and practical tools. Priority will be given to workshops that promote learning and working across disciplines.
Following the open call, we will select one applicant per workshop category. They will receive a grant of CHF 4000 for their project. The grant will be paid in two instalments to cover the expenses associated with producing the outputs of the workshop, such as honorariums, fees, and non-personnel costs. The selected workshop applicant will be paired with the partner from their category who will provide professional guidance, advice and support in the production of the workshop and its subsequent implementation. The names of the Incubator partners in each category are listed at the end of this call. We will also provide a film-based training to each applicant to document their work-in-progress. The Incubator culminates in a joint virtual showcase of all the content developed in the workshops.
Proposed workshops must run for four weeks, held online for 10 to 15 participants. To learn more and review the criteria, read on.
Who can apply?
NOTE: The incubator uses the term artist(s) to refer to both individuals and collectives. Art collectives are eligible but need to appoint one person as a representative to receive the grant.
Artists of all disciplines with an active creative practice of 3+ years are invited to submit a proposal. No prior experience in running a workshop is necessary.
Applicants must have English proficiency and submit proposals written in English. The workshop language may be determined by the successful applicant in consultation with the category partner. Proposals submitted to the “Indigenous, Afro, and Caribbean Cosmogonies” category may be written in Spanish or English.
Only one proposal per applicant will be considered in this call. Before submitting a proposal, applicants must consult the workshop categories and their respective criteria. Applicants and their proposals must meet the eligibility requirements outlined for the relevant category and the proposal must engage with the respective workshop topic.
Workshop Categories
Category Title: A. IMMIGRATION, MIGRATION, MOBILITY
Production Partner: Heritage Space
Eligibility Requirements: Artists from and living in Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Myanmar, Philippines, Timor-Leste and Vietnam
Workshop Topic: The focus of this workshop will be to explore forms and modes of mobility that are oriented towards sustainability, this may include points such as transport, human immigration, and climate change. Participants should be encouraged to express their ideas through artistic practice, interactive activities, and collective processes.
Category Title: B. GENDER AND EQUITY
Production Partner: Meta Arts
Eligibility Requirements: Artists from and living in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka
Workshop Topic: The focus of this workshop will be to identify and develop new artistic interventions based in firm belief that a gender equal South Asia is possible and urgently needed.
Category Title: C. CLIMATE ACTION
Production Partner: Meta Arts
Eligibility Requirements: Artists from and living in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.
Workshop Topic: The focus of this workshop will be to explore ways of using artistic practices within climate affected communities to create interventions that are long-term and measurable.
Category Title: D. INDIGENOUS, AFRO, AND CARIBBEAN COSMOGONIES
Production Partner: Lugar a Dudas
Eligibility Requirements: Artists from and living in Belize, Bolivia, Colombia, Cuba, El Salvador, Honduras, and Nicaragua.
Workshop Topic: The focus of this workshop will be to encourage using the language of art to enhance local practices and knowledge systems with an aim to mediate non-Western knowledge.
Note: Proposals submitted to this category may be written in Spanish or English.
Category Title: E. FOOD FUTURES
Production Partner: Global Landscapes Forum
Eligibility Requirements: Female artists from and living in Djibouti, DRC, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Morocco, Nigeria, Rwanda, and Uganda.
Workshop Topic: The focus of this workshop will be to use artistic practices and approaches to draw attention to women transforming African food systems.
Category Title: F. CONSERVATION THROUGH CREATION
Production Partner: Global Landscapes Forum
Eligibility Requirements: Artists from and living in Bolivia, Colombia, Cuba, Djibouti, DRC, Egypt, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Ghana, Haiti, Honduras, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Morocco, Nigeria, Pakistan, Rwanda, and Uganda.
Workshop Topic: The focus of this workshop will be for participants to develop artistic interventions and approaches to protect the landscape they are living in. The term “land” indicates a sense of belonging (= I own). Yet the suffix “-scape” means, in many languages, to “shape.” Our landscapes are very much the living representation of our civilization in various forms.
How it works
The Incubator runs from November 2023 to April 2024. It consists of six workshop categories, each of which is hosted by one of the Incubator partners – all of whom are experienced workshop producers. The Incubator partner provides mentorship, advice, and support to the successful applicant on both a content and technical level. Applicants for each workshop category are selected based on a review of their proposals. One successful applicant is chosen for each category and is then mentored for a period of four weeks to design and plan the proposed workshop in detail. After the four weeks of mentoring, 4-5 weeks are set aside for the coordination of the workshop, such as for recruiting participants. The workshop then runs for a period of four weeks. The Incubator culminates in a joint showcase in a virtual space, which features all the content created in the six workshops. Mentorship details and support are customized depending on the type of successful application and are determined between the partner and the artist.
Key Dates and Schedule
Call open: 1 September 2023
Submission deadline: 15 October 2023
Grantee announcement: 10 November 2023
Mentorships start: 4 December 2023
Workshops dates: 19 February – 15 March 2024
Final presentation, Virtual showcase: April 2024
Juror Information
A jury composed of experts related to the category theme and representative of the regional focus will evaluate applications in each category. All applicants, whether selected or not, will receive a response to their applications by November 10, 2023. A binding agreement will be drawn up with successful applicants. Please note that due to the high volume of applications and the confidentiality of the selection process, we cannot provide individual feedback explaining why an application was not selected.
Proposal Instructions
The proposed workshop format should meet the following criteria:
- Provide a learning experience in an online environment to 10-15 participants
- Workshop duration of 4 weeks (Schedule details I.e., frequency of learning sessions will be developed during the mentorship)
- Include 1-2 activities in your workshop that are open to an audience wider than just the participants (e.g., a talk or presentation that engages a broader community)
- Include at least 1 further training facilitator or expert beside yourself.
- Include hands-on experience and practical tools
- Engage with the topic in the workshop category
- Encourage a socially engaged practice and if applicable, promote learning and working across disciplines
- The output/works resulting from the workshop will be displayed in a virtual exhibition.
Proposals should be written in English and include the following information*:
- A title and brief description of the workshop content and how it engages with the topic of the workshop category.
- A statement of need establishing the problem and current conditions that you plan to address in the workshop
- A description of the target audience and a tentative plan to interest and select workshop participants
- A description of the methodology and activities involved in the workshop I.e., what will participants create? How will you guide participants?
- Provisional list of further instructors involved, if applicable
* Proposals submitted to the workshop topic “Indigenous, Afro, and Caribbean Cosmogonies” are accepted in Spanish and English.
Your proposal should respond to the following questions:
- What are the specific problems or issues that you are addressing and why does it matter?
- Who benefits from your workshop?
- Describe the intended participants i.e., level of expertise, demographics…
- What kind of effect - artistic, intellectual, communal, civic, social, political, environmental - do you hope your project will have on a broader public?
- What methodology, approach, and artistic mediums, will you use to achieve the workshop objectives?
- What knowledge or skills will be shared in the workshop?
- What are the specific learning activities involved?
- Who will facilitate the workshop and specific learning activities? (You? Additional facilitators/experts?)
- What is the timeline of activities?
- What are the personal and professional outcomes that participants will achieve through this workshop?
- What resources are required to implement the workshop, such as materials (handouts, slides, equipment), technologies and staff?
Note: We encourage the use of visualisations (graphs, tables, drawings, images) to help explain and support the ideas in your proposal.
How to Apply
Applications must be submitted to the Sudkulturfonds online via the SKF platform by October 15, 2023, at 23:59 CET.
You will be asked to submit the following supporting documents
- Workshop Proposal of max. 1’500 words.
Note: Consult the workshop proposal guidelines and use visualisations (graphs, tables, drawings, images) to help explain and support the ideas in your proposal. - Workshop budget
Simple breakdown of estimated expenses related to the proposed workshop. This should include both personnel costs (such as honorariums, fees, etc.) and non-personnel costs (including purchases, production, publicity, etc.). Please ensure that your budget does not exceed 4000 CHF. - Biography of applicant max. 250 words
- 2-4 examples of your previous work, which are representative of works to be created and/or techniques to be learned during the proposed workshop
- One letter of reference that is dated and signed from arts organisations, artists and/or community leaders validating your work or involvement in the arts.
Application Process
Step 1: Create an account by clicking on the register-button on this page and start a new submission for the Incubator Call.
Step 2: Fill in all required fields and upload the required attachments. You can save the application and complete it later until the deadline.
Step 3: Once you have successfully submitted your application, you will receive an automatic email confirmation.
The deadline for applications is 15 October 2023 (23:59 CET). Take unstable internet connections into account, no applications can be accepted after the deadline.
Incubator Partners
Heritage Space is an independent art organisation in Viet Nam. It aims to support the private arts sector by nurturing developments in contemporary art for the younger generation and to make connections with the regional and international cultural and art network. Heritage Space is interested in how to make art more visible and the driving force for social development. For this, they organise various kinds of programs working with artists from different countries.
Lugar a Dudas is a foundation located in Cali, Colombia. Since 2005 it has been organising local grants for artists, exhibitions, residencies, and educational programs which have created a net of practitioners nationally and internationally. Their current focus is on making educational programs that spread the knowledge that artists are building. Lugar a Dudas seeks to help artists discover the knowledge that they have and how to make it a tool to survive and to communicate with others.
Meta Arts is an international culture production company based in Calcutta, India. Set-up in the middle of the Covid-19 pandemic, primarily to address the limited number of independent culture producers in India, Meta Arts works primarily with independent artists and arts organisations from India and across the world. Meta Arts tour, co-produce and design special projects cutting across music, performing arts and literature. Meta Arts' core focus is based on gender and equity in the arts, primarily in the global south; a third of our projects feature women artists and artist practitioners of indigenous heritage. Over the past three years, Meta Arts has worked on international commissions for festivals and culture agencies from across the world.
The Global Landscapes Forum (GLF) is the world’s largest knowledge-led platform on integrated land use, connecting people with a shared vision to create productive, profitable, equitable and resilient landscapes. Led by the Center for International Forestry Research–World Agroforestry Centre (CIFOR–ICRAF), in collaboration with its co-founders UNEP and the World Bank, the GLF is supported by 33 leading international organizations and focuses its efforts on the Global South, with funding provided by the German government. The GLF focuses on working with rural communities to steward their lands by providing funding, carrying out capacity building and facilitating knowledge exchange. It aims to use art to galvanize people around sustainable landscapes and provide grassroots projects and initiatives with an outlet to broaden their reach. The GLF’s social media team uses art as a powerful outreach method, such as through storytelling.
Incubator Initiator
South Cultural Fonds, funded by the SDC (Swiss Development Cooperation) and administered by Artlink, is inviting workshop proposals. The fund supports practitioners in arts and culture from Africa, Southeast and Southwest Asia, South America, and Eastern Europe (non-EU) to access the Swiss cultural market.
Contact
For any questions, please contact Flurina Rothenberger, artlink: flurina.rothenberger@artlink.ch.
Connexion
Veuillez vous connecter avec vos identifiants
Chère utilisatrice, cher utilisateur
Vous n’avez pas encore d’identifiants ? Dans ce cas, vous avez la possibilité de vous inscrire ici. Le procédé est très simple.