OPEN CALL: Tirana Art Residency-Vila 31 x Art Explora in Albania

Art Explora Foundation develops its international programme of artists’ and researchers’ residencies with the launch of Tirana Art Residency—Vila 31 x Art Explora, a new programme in Albania whose first call for applications is open until June 5.

Located at Vila 31, the former domicile of dictator Enver Hoxha, Tirana Art Residency—Vila 31 x Art Explora aims to extend the local dynamic of reopening and reappropriation by the public of this historical venue. The architectural project chosen to renovate Vila 31 is run by the NeM architecture agency, which want to maintain a balance between the duty of preservation of the site and its problematic history and the necessity of introducing neutral spaces to rewrite new (hi)stories.

This residency hub for artistic research and experimentation, which will open in December 2024, aims to be a new platform of intercultural exchanges at the local, national, and international levels. It will support contemporary creation in all its forms, within a transdisciplinary and transgenerational perspective. Tirana Art Residency – Vila 31 x Art Explora will run a dynamic cultural programme in collaboration with local stakeholders, institutions, schools, and associations, including exhibitions, workshops, film screenings, discussions, symposiums, and festivals open to all.

This new programme will accommodate up to around thirty artists and researchers for three-month residencies. Each resident will enjoy a living and workshop area, production and exhibition spaces, as well as a living expenses and production grant to develop their research. Special attention will be paid to artists and researchers based in the Balkans, but all nationalities will be considered.

Until June 5, 2024, artists and collectives, researchers and curators from all around the world are invited to apply for this new residency programme. The application process is open only once a year for all 2024/2025 sessions.

Two programmes are proposed:
–Solo programme for artists
–Collective programme for collectives of artists, researchers and curators

The selection committee is composed of international leading figures specialised in contemporary art, including specialists in the Balkans:
–Pierre Bal-Blanc (France): Independent curator and essayist
–Sam Bardaouil & Till Fellrath (Germany): Curators and co-directors of Hamburger Banhof: Museum of Contemporary Art, Berlin
–Adela Demetja (Albania) : Independent curator, author and director of the Tirana Art Lab, Albania
–Katerina Gregos (Greece): Curator, lecturer, writer and Director of the National Museum of Contemporary Art, Athens
–Alicia Knock (France): Curator in the Contemporary Creation and Prospective Department of the Musée National d’Art Moderne, Centre Pompidou, Paris
–Hans Ulrich Obrist (UK & Switzerland): Art historian, contemporary art critic, curator and artistic director of the Serpentine Galleries, London

Applications are open until June 5, 2024, 11:59pm (GMT+02:00, Europe/Paris).

Find out more informations on our website.