OPEN CALL:Tropic 08´N-Indigenous Culture & Ecology

We are pleased to announce a new series of artist residency expeditions into one of the richest biomes on our planet, inside an autonomous indigenous province and community. La Wayaka Current’s, Tropic 08°N program presents a rare opportunity to research and develop new artistic & creative practices in a remote natural environment between rainforest and sea, in collaboration with an autonomous, indigenous group at the gateway between South and Central America, Guna Yala province. Respect for community and nature remains at the heart of this place and culture despite increased connections to the globalised world.

Our fluid, site-responsive program introduces artists-in-residence to the local ecology, history, and culture of the place, as well as exploring contemporary socio-political concerns whilst presenting reciprocal benefits to local communities both socially and economically through our presence and exchange. In our fifth year of operation, we cultivate spaces in remote environments that nourish and encourage space for personal and professional growth, through experiential nodes of learning with a focus on research and experimentation to manifest inspiration in an outdoor creative space, beyond a conventional studio or institutional context.

Through this program, we engage with new ecological and cultural perspectives in a multitude of ways, at a complex time of global climate change and mass extinction. We wish to challenge and expand our ecological awareness as creative practitioners. Promoting necessary dialogues between artists from around the world, indigenous cultures, and the environment around us.

We operate as a non-profit, artist-led initiative registered in UK and Chile, working nomadically between South, Central America, and Northern Europe. La Wayaka Current is run by an international collective of people experienced in different fields of arts, cultural and environmental subjects.

Duration of residency

Our programs are run for a duration of 3 weeks with an option to extend to 6 weeks on specific dates. (Enquire for shorter or longer residency availability)
2021 –* April 18 – May 9, 2021 * May 11 – June 1, 2021
2022 –* April 18 – May 9, 2022 * May 11 – June 1, 2022

Accommodation

Residents will live in the heart of an isolated traditional indigenous community, full of native trees, animals and agricultural crops, with no phone signal or internet, residents will be taken away from distractions at a time of hyper-connectivity and technological dependency. Here inside the community, artists will be living/working in the land and sharing the communal shelter made predominantly of bamboo, palm leaves, and natural materials. Rooms will be shared between two persons, with private rooms available on request. (prior to arrival)

Disciplines, work equipment and assistance

This is a multi-disciplinary program open to artists alongside creative practitioners such as musicians, writers, curators, activists, scientists, and others. Residents are encouraged to challenge there practice in the location, be resourceful and respond to local methods, materials, basic tools, and equipment within the community and isolated natural environment.

Studio / Workspace

Participants will be encouraged to use the outdoor tropical environment as there studio and daily interactions with the local community and environment as there source of learning and inspiration.

Fees and support

We currently offer financial aid, support in seeking funding from other institutions, work-exchange opportunities, and bursaries on all our programs. Our aim is to make this residency accessible for all those who wish to take part. Contact us directly for more information on fees and financial support available

Expectations towards the artist

Artists will be free to choose to take part in programmed activities alongside there self-directed practice according to there interests. Depending on the nature of there project residents will be given opportunities to showcase works or work-in-progress.

Application deadline: 2020-10-30

Application information: www.lawayakacurrent.com