Invitation and application form for artist-in-residence for ‘Social Fabric’, August to September 2015,
Port Elizabeth
Background & Invitation
‘Social Fabric’ is a not-for-profit, art and design-based social development project to benefit South Africa’s textile industry. The industry is important for South Africa but it has suffered massive job losses. The aim of the project is to use creativity to generate fresh thinking around South African textiles and to re-build its innovation pipelines.
This is an invitation for an artist to take up residency at a textile manufacturer and to serve as a catalyst in the innovation process. It is hoped that through artistic experimentation – thinking and working with the textiles and processes, investigating different properties of the materials, uncovering happy accidents in the process – that new thinking may be revealed to the mutual benefit of the textile manufacturer and the artist. The residency offers a unique opportunity for artists to engage in an environment not normally open to them while at the same time offering them the space to use their creativity for good.
Who should apply?
We welcome applications from artists who have completed their education (to bachelor level) and have been working for at least 2 years, whether full or part-time. We would prefer applications from artists who work in the PE / Grahamstown / Eastern Cape environs.
The Host
The residence host is SAMIL, an important mohair yarn manufacturer based in Port Elizabeth.
Timeline
The project runs from August to September 2015 on an uninterrupted but part-time basis.
How the residency works
Step 1: the artist will work as artist-in-residence at SAMIL in August. The artist will work at SAMIL part-time during normal operating hours. The artist is not asked to develop commercial products, but to explore the materials and or the techniques and processes of production. It is the artistic research and engagement that we’re after.
Step 2: the artist will return to the studio / work off-site for the month of September to finish his/her research/work.
Step 3: there will be a 1-day workshop in October for designers to engage with the research/work made during the residence and the textile host’s materials. If possible, the artist is asked to speak on his/her experience and present his/her studies and work(s).
Step 4: the project concludes with a group exhibition of all the artists-in-residence and designers’ works and an on-line forum.
Download details of the project and the application form here. Deadline is 30 June, and responses should be sent to SocialFabricSA@gmail.com
‘Social Fabric’ is an art-based social development project with the ultimate aim of collaboratively helping the embattled SA textile industry. The project aims to instigate innovation into textile production – so that it competes on quality and innovation. The artist’s work/research at the residence will hopefully serve as a catalyst for designers and manufacturers to see what is possible. At the same time we want it to be beneficial to the artist, as an opportunity to research, work and explore in a non-traditional environment, a textile manufacturer’s plant. For more, click here.