[curatorial.net] Forming Ideas Curatorial Development Programme

[Ann Jones]

Dear List Members 
Please find below information about a new programme funded by Arts Council
England - it is open for curators working within the UK:
 

Forming Ideas 

Arts Council England Curatorial Development Programme

As part of its National Crafts Strategy, Arts Council England is funding a
programme of international visits and conferences over the coming two years,
the programme is called Forming Ideas. The aim of Forming Ideas is to
broaden and strengthen debate and presentation of craft in the UK. The
initiative is targeted at curators of craft, design, visual arts and
curators from the museum and galleries sector. Through Forming Ideas we hope
to increase understanding of the international craft and design sector,
establish sustainable networks with colleagues overseas and provide
opportunity for co-commissioning and collaboration regionally,
trans-nationally and internationally.

Forming Ideas will comprise of a series of 3 international visits - Egypt,
the Nordic countries and Brazil. Integral to the visits will be three
related international conferences and a dedicated project website.

Nine curators (27 curators across the entire 3 visits) from across the UK
will be offered places on each international visit following an application
process which is outlined below.

On return to the UK each cohort (of nine curators) will be tasked with
curating an international conference, in order to share their knowledge
gained and continue the debate around issues uncovered during their visit.
Each group will have an academic mentor and some administrative support to
help them with the conference planning. It is expected that invited speakers
will include some of the individuals the group met during their travel.

A Forming Ideas website will be set up as part of the programme to encourage
writers, artists and curators across the visual arts, design, craft and
museum and galleries sectors to exchange knowledge, ideas and information.
The website will feature reports on the international visits, detail the
upcoming conferences, stimulate international online discussion and
disseminate conference ideas and outcomes to a wider audience.

The first visit to Egypt in October 2008 will look at how artists are
appropriating traditional craft methods into their own practice. In
Spring/Summer of 2009 there will be the opportunity to visit all 5 Nordic
countries and gain understanding of the special role craft plays in
Scandinavian culture. In the autumn of 2009 a visit to Brazil will examine
cross-overs between design and contemporary art and include a study of rural
regeneration projects which use traditional craft techniques in making
hand-made objects with a contemporary aesthetic. Each conference will be
scheduled around six months following the relevant international visit.

 

 

Delegates will be asked to make relatively small contributions to the visits
they have been selected for. There will be a sliding scale for those
applying who are salaried, and those who are freelancers. Costs included are
international flights, accommodation, and all internal transportation
including coach hire. Individuals will be required to cover their own
subsistence costs, UK travel costs and visas (ArtProjects and Solutions will
advise on visa application process). Please see below the application
details for the first visit to Cairo.

Curators may apply for more than one visit, however, we intend to involve as
many individuals as possible in the Forming Ideas programme. With this in
mind please apply for the visit most appropriate to your interests.

The visits will be planned and delivered by ArtProjects and Solutions,
www.artprojectsandsolutions.com <http://www.artprojectsandsolutions.com/>

 

Selection process 

Your name has been nominated for participation in the Forming Ideas
programme. We are now inviting applications for the first visit to Cairo
this coming October. If you wish to apply for a place please:

·    Outline your reasons for wishing to travel to Cairo in no more than 500
words. 

·    In no more 250 words outline your organisation¹s exhibition policy/or
if you are freelance your specific curatorial interests, and show how this
visit will contribute to the development of your work.

·     Provide a current CV

·     Clearly mark your application letter with your name, address and if
applicable the organisation you work for.

·    Deadline for applications: 27 June 2008

·    Selection by: 4 July 2008

·    Successful applicants will be notified week of 7 July 2008

·    A pre-travel briefing will be held in London and will provide an
opportunity for the group to meet prior to travel: TO BE CONFIRMED (end
July/early Aug), attendance will be obligatory

Criteria for selection
The ambition for Forming Ideas as part of the Arts Council England¹s
National Craft Strategy (Curator Development) is to broaden and strengthen
the debate and presentation of craft in the UK and establish sustainable
networks and collaborative working practice across boundaries. To this end
we are looking for:

·    A convincing reason to visit Cairo

·     A willingness to share knowledge and network across the region

·     A commitment to work as part of a team to deliver a conference
exploring issues emerging from travel to Cairo

·    A track record of curating and presenting craft and design

·     Illustration of your own and/or your organisation¹s commitment to
presenting progressive contemporary craft.

Please email your applications to: ArtProjects and Solutions
ann at artprojectsandsolutions.com <mailto:ann at artprojectsandsolutions.com>

All applicants will be notified of receipt of application ­ if you do not
receive confirmation that your application has been received please call:
Ann Jones on 07909 963 509

Applications will be assessed by representatives of Arts Council England and
ArtProjects and Solutions.

9 places are to be offered.

 

END APS: 28/4/08 Encl. Context for visit/draft outline itinerary

 
 

 

Forming Ideas 

International Visit 1

 

Cairo, Egypt (Travel dates: 18-24 or 25-31 October 2008)

The last 10 years have seen exciting developments in the contemporary arts
scene across the Middle East and North Africa with key hotspots such as
Cairo, Beirut, Tehran and Dubai emerging as important centres and legitimate
stops on the international art world itineraries.

The art scene in Cairo has flourished. Organisations like the Ford
Foundation, places such as The Townhouse Gallery and educational
institutions like the American University in Cairo have opened up an
international dialogue and have given artists an exposure to new mediums and
professional training.

Alongside these developments there has been a flowering of craft, driven
partly by economic factors but also by the passion and vision of key
organisations such as the Aga Khan Foundation and individuals such as
Shahira Mehrez and Amr Abdel Kami. Practitioners are recognising the rich
cultural heritage of Egypt from Pharaonic times and throughout the Islamic
period. During the centuries of foreign occupation, the European influence
symbolised for Egypt both a quest for modernity but also a burden in terms
of national identity and a local artistic language.

The flourishing of craft production such as textiles, pottery, embroidery,
basket-weaving, jewellery and clothing design in Egypt will be seen in many
different contexts.

Firstly a visit to the famous Ramses Wissa Wassef Art Centre in Giza (close
to the Pyramids) will provide an opportunity to see the home of a unique
experiment in tapestry weaving that has produced extraordinary works admired
and collected by museums and galleries around the world. The life work of
its founder Ramses Wissa Wassef (1911-1974) was dedicated to releasing the
innate creativity of young Egyptian villagers freed from the constraints of
a formal education.

Meanwhile only 100 km outside of Cairo there is the famous Al-Fayoum Oasis.
This has long been known for its distinct pottery style.  The pottery
tradition is so ingrained in members of the Tunis village in Fayoum that a
pottery school has been established in order to combine children¹s education
with this artistic tradition. Fayoum pottery is distinct in its colouring
and pattern and thus can be distinguished from other Egyptian and Middle
Eastern styles.  Pottery production is thus a crucial and identifiable
element of Fayoum culture.

 

Back in old Cairo a visit to the famous Khan El Khalili bazaar is essential
- the goldsmiths¹ and coppersmiths¹ quarters, the tent-making and
saddle-makers¹ bazaar etc. will illustrate the integration and function of
craft production within the economic, social and cultural life of Cairo.
Whilst a visit to Islamic Cairo to see some of the best examples of
classical Islamic architecture will provide an historical continuity and
physical context for the traditional Islamic craft objects seen in museums
such as glass mosque lamps, carved wooden minbars and stucco and tile work
decoration etc. 

In order to understand the historical value imbued on craft the group will
visit one or two key museums in Cairo. Visits to the Museum of Islamic
Ceramics and the Islamic Arts Museum will help the curators understand the
extraordinary richness and diversity of craft traditions across the Middle
East and North Africa.

As well as meeting those key to Egypt¹s craft revival a number of artists¹
studio visits will be scheduled. The curators will meet with practising
visual artists such as Susan Hefuna, Huda Lutfi and Ahmed Askalany examining
how local cultural influences, craft materials and iconography have been
assimilated into a contemporary language that transcends labels and
overcomes boundaries and categorisation. Visits will also be made to one or
two key art galleries including The Townhouse Gallery and Mashrabiya
Gallery. 

Islamic Cairo (Darb Al-Ahmar) is currently the focus of the Aga Khan Trust
for Culture under the ŒHistoric Cities Support Programme¹ which revitalises
architectural heritage and cultural cities where Muslims have a significant
presence. Its objective is to undertake the restoration of historic
structures and rehabilitate urban clusters in ways that can spark social,
economic and cultural development. The kinds of initiatives promoted are for
example the Al Khatoun Gallery, set up by a group of artists, to promote
local arts and crafts which combine traditional materials and innovative
ideas but in a commercial context. Another example is www.zakhareef.com
<http://www.zakhareef.com/>  a recently founded workshop/studio space and
showroom, offering classes in crafts from jewellery to candle-making
mobilising young designers to come together and show their work. Studio 206
is an artist-run cultural centre that was set-up by Noha Sayedalahl ³to
develop individual creativity and expression² and works across art, design
and craft offering arts and crafts workshops as a channel for individual and
social development. It has played a role in developing the crafts industry
by educating practitioners and patrons alike. Meetings will be scheduled
with representatives from The Aga Khan and Ford Foundations and Fair Trade
Egypt. 

There are also a number of commercially successful craft showrooms to visit
that deal in craft and applied arts, one example being the famous Azza Fahmy
shop. Likewise the Nagada Showroom is a textile and fashion company
producing and selling exclusive collections and designs embedded in local
craft traditions such as textiles in Nagada (South Egypt).

Prior to travelling a meeting will be held in London for successful
applicants to discuss the Forming Ideas programme, the forthcoming visit and
conference. It is envisaged that this meeting will be held sometime in late
July or early August. The conference which will be delivered and relate to
the visit will be scheduled for Spring 2009.

 

International visits 2 and 3

Significant dates: 

Application information for Nordic countries will be mailed in October 2008

Deadline for applications to visit the Nordic countries early December 2008

Pre-travel briefing February 2009

Travel to Nordic countries will be in two parts, April and then late May
early June 2009 

Conference relating to the Nordic visit will be held late autumn 2009

 

Application information for Brazil visit will be mailed in Spring 2009

Deadline for applications to visit Brazil July 2009

Pre-travel briefing July 2009

Travel to Brazil late autumn 2009

Conference relating to Brazil visit will be held late Spring 2010 

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://www.curatorial.net/pipermail/curatorial/attachments/20080526/e4ab13c1/attachment-0001.html 
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: Forming Ideas - Egypt.doc
Type: application/octet-stream
Size: 692736 bytes
Desc: not available
Url : http://www.curatorial.net/pipermail/curatorial/attachments/20080526/e4ab13c1/attachment-0001.obj