Bag Factory/Luso-Linkup Open Call 2020 open to curators based in Angola and Mozambique

Supported by an ANT Mobility Grant from Pro Helvetia Johannesburg financed by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC)

Residency dates: 1 – 30 September 2020 (4 weeks)
Application Deadline: 31 March 2020 (midnight)

This residency will give one emerging curator from Mozambique and one emerging curator from Angola, with 1-5 years of professional experience, the unique opportunity to spend four weeks in residence at the Bag Factory in Johannesburg from 1 – 30 September 2020.

The residency is part of the Bag Factory / Luso-Linkup project, supported by Pro Helvetia Johannesburg through the Ant Mobility Fund, financed by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), aiming to encourage transnational collaboration between the Bag Factory (Johannesburg) and the Lusophone countries of Mozambique and Angola, with the objective of also facilitating networking and collaboration between the participants from these two countries. By focusing on networking and research, the Bag Factory / Luso-Linkup residency facilitates short- and long-term professional development, allowing the participant curators to broaden their knowledge base, develop new and meaningful professional contacts and relationships, create future work opportunities, refine their networking skills, and build other vital professional capacities.

Research and new work

In addition to exploring the arts community of Johannesburg, the Bag Factory / Luso-Linkup residency also gives the visiting curators the time and space they need to conduct research, write, plan exhibitions, or engage in other self-directed work, as desired. We do not expect a specific product or exhibition as the result of the residency but wish to provide residents with the necessary resources to make the most of their time in Johannesburg. The curators will be encouraged to collaborate on conceptualising a discursive event at the end of their residency, which could take the form of a panel discussion, workshop, or reading group, drawing on the experience of their exchanges with Johannesburg-based artists, curators, researchers and institutions.

The Bag Factory is an independent Non-Profit Organisation that provides a community and studio space for practicing visual artists. With a focus on exchange of ideas and innovation, Bag Factory hosts resident artists’ studios and develops a programme of international residencies, exhibitions, artist development programmes and audience outreach activities and events. The Bag Factory has been supporting and promoting the visual arts in South Africa since 1991. It is affiliated with the Triangle Network.

The Residency

The residency includes travel, accommodation and basic living costs. A shared working studio space for the two participants will be provided at the Bag Factory. Bag Factory staff will also offer comprehensive administrative support throughout the residency, working with the selected curators to develop a residency program tailored to their specific interests and professional goals, offering professional counselling, and introducing the resident curators to relevant networking partners.

At the same time, the selected curators are expected to be driven, self-sufficient and use their initiative to ensure a successful residency.

The residency comprises:

• Economy return flights
• Local travel budget
• Accommodation (room in a house with own bathroom and basic kitchenette – fridge, microwave, kettle)
• Basic living expenses
• A shared studio space at the Bag Factory with access to other facilities to organise activities
• A small budget for organising a discursive event such as a panel discussion, workshop, or reading group
• Administrative and peer support is also provided 

Selection and eligibility

The residency is open to curators of contemporary visual arts in all its forms and media, based in Angola and Mozambique with 1-5 years of professional experience. Curators with experience of delivering high quality projects who have not had the opportunity to work in South Africa will be prioritised. Applicants should have at least a moderate level of spoken English and should feel comfortable engaging in (public) artistic discussions in English. It is important that all applicants research Bag Factory thoroughly before submitting their application so as to be fully aware of the context which they would, if successful, be entering.

The selected curators should be able to engage discursively and speculatively with Bag Factory’s environment and Johannesburg’s wider artistic and cultural context. With this in mind, applicants should submit a project proposal within their application, outlining their specific research interests and intentions for the residency. Those who fail to submit a considered proposal that is specific to this residency and the Johannesburg/South African context will be disqualified.

NB. The residency offer is subject to the candidate being able to obtain the relevant visa to enter South Africa.

Application Procedure
We accept digital applications only. Please prepare a PDF including the following information:

1. A curatorial statement describing your areas of interest and research (up to 250 words).
2. A minimum of 20 images of recent projects, with captions and a short description if necessary.
3. A CV/Resume incl. relevant exhibition if any and former residencies if any.
4. A simple statement outlining your plans, if you were to be offered the residency, which could include a short description of a research project specific to the context of Johannesburg or your residency at Bag Factory (up to 250 words). This proposal does not have to be definitive and can change during the course of the residency.
5. Any relevant documentation (e.g. articles or papers by you or your projects, etc)
6. A cover sheet with name, contact address, e-mail and telephone numbers if available, plus confirmation that you will be available from 1 – 30 September 2020, if selected.

Applications that do not follow this format will not be considered.

Please email your application and any questions you have about the residency to: applications@bagfactoryart.org.za

Please note that there is a 10MB limit on pdf submissions. If your file is not in pdf format or is over 10MB you will not be able to submit it.

Application Deadline: 31 March 2020

Project Support: 
The Bag Factory/Luso-Linkup project is supported by an ANT Mobility Grant from Pro Helvetia Johannesburg, financed by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC). Pro Helvetia Johannesburg is one of five global Liaison Offices of the Swiss Arts Council, supporting and disseminating Swiss arts and culture in Southern Africa. Pro Helvetia Johannesburg promotes artistic and cultural exchange between Switzerland and the Southern African region. To raise awareness of Swiss contemporary arts in the region, Pro Helvetia Johannesburg forges ties with local organisations and event organisers, developing and nurturing long-term partnerships, initiating co-productions with artists from the region and organising residencies.  Pro Helvetia Johannesburg has, since 1998, been investing in transnational collaborations, exchanges and joint projects between organisations and creative practitioners spread across the Southern African region. This Regional Arts Programming is financed through a series of cooperation agreements with the regional office of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) located in Harare, Zimbabwe. Through micro-grants, ANT Mobility Fund supports the development of a more connected cultural field in the Southern African region, supporting transnational collaboration, circulation of relevant new work and skills/knowledge exchange.