for artistic contributions
Keeping a distance from people outside of one’s closest circle has determined our lives during the corona pandemic for nearly a year. For many, this has brought with it the need to seek new ideas and forms in order to be close to others and to maintain everyday processes. For artists, the situation in most cases is particularly volatile: distancing regulations often deprive artists of their full repertoire by curtailing physical contact with colleagues, while performance bans make the emergence of new presentation formats necessary which often entails rethinking artistic concepts and developing new, if possible “germ-free” work formats.
In any case, the protective measures lead to drastic changes that relate to the way we interact with other people. From this, among other things, new relationships to others as well as to our own bodies emerge. The body is now trained, for example, to assess and maintain distances and largely not to touch certain objects. As a result of these changed circumstances, different sensory impressions are received and new perceptual pathways are created, which in turn affect one‘s own perceptual habits and practices.
The project „The artist is distant – a chronicle of artistic practices during the corona pandemic“ takes this as the starting point for a shared artistic investigation and seeks to present contributions from those artists for whom physical live encounters are the focus of their work and who are at the same time particularly affected by the restrictions. The call is aimed at all professional artists from performance, dance and live art whose main field of activity requires physical presence with other people in the same room at the same time (including those watching) or centers on this physical relation artistically.
Over a period of three months, a total of 30 contributions from at least 30 artists who negotiate the topic of their own physical and work practices and perceptual habits in times of corona restrictions will be published on a website. The artistic examination of the implications of the current restrictions on one‘s own practice and the formation of physical, sensory and perceptual habits should be central.
Key questions for this can be, for example, as follows:
– Which working methods are you using in your artistic practice during the coronarelated restrictions that allow you to continue working?
– What changes have you noticed in your interests and working methods over the last few months? What are you paying more attention to now, what has receded into the background?
– Which body practices, movement habits and / or choreographic arrangements have resulted from these changes? And how have these changes affected your activities and translated into your methods?
These questions are intended as inspiration. The respective examination and implementation is open. Wide-ranging and diverse approaches are expressly desired.
The collection of artistic contributions will create an ongoing chronicle that allows both artists and the interested public to observe and share a meta-reflection of the current moment of crisis. Through joint documentation, the possibility for exchange and connection will also be created.
Eventual performance in 2021
Through collecting the contributions, a pool of numerous works will be created, which can then be used to create a live performance. This performance can take place live in Vienna or, if this is not possible, it can be performed and recorded as an online performance together with the participants.
ALL INFO AT A GLANCE:
Who can participate?
Professional artists from performance, dance and / or live art whose main artistic activities require the physical presence of an audience in the same room at the same time or those who artistically explore this relation.
What other conditions apply to the contributions?
Each contribution requires a title and can contain text, images, sound and video material (or a combination of these media). In your own interest, a maximum length of 10 minutes is recommended for sound and video files. As sound files and video material will be embedded on the homepage, so will be necessary to upload them to a separate platform in advance.
How do I apply?
Please send the following documents by email to: theartistisdistant@gmx.net
• Short biography (max. 300 characters)
• First short sketch for contribution including choice of media in which you also explain your interest in the topic (max. 4 sentences)
The call is valid continuously until March 2021. An expense allowance of € 30 each can be paid for the first 30 published contributions.
If you have any questions or other format requests, please send a short email to: theartistisdistant@gmx.net