Art and research residencies 2023/2024 Sculpture everywhere — OPEN CALL

Art residencies are one of the main activities of the Centre of Polish Sculpture. Every year, Orońsko hosts many Polish and foreign artists. Workshops, open-air workshops, seminars, art residencies and exhibitions of contemporary art are held here. Specialised studios – ceramic studio, moulding studio, forge and joinery – provide a comprehensive service for artists and offer the possibility of realising monumental and intimate projects. This makes the Centre a unique venue compared to other contemporary art centres.

The new residency programme, which has been extended to include a research aspect, is a response to the extremely difficult social situation of artists and those researching the phenomena of contemporary sculpture in modern times. Each year, the residencies focus on a thematic axis developed by the curatorial team.

For 2023, the residency slogan is “Sculpture everywhere”.

We want our residents’ activities to be based primarily on cooperation with the institution and the local community, and to exploit the potential of combining many fields of art and science. The programme includes one-month study stays at the Centre of Polish Sculpture, during which participants will be able to discuss their projects with curators, receive support from researchers and art historians cooperating with the institution, and receive comprehensive technical and content-related assistance (from collection and exhibition departments, communication department, education department).

On the other hand, research residents can make use of the extensive collection of archival and digital documents maintained by the documentation department since 1998, which collects information on artists working in the broad field of sculpture and spatial activities. Participants may also use the resources of the Centre of Polish Sculpture’s library, which contains publications on art, the humanities and related fields, as well as documents of social life (posters, leaflets, invitations) related to the institution’s statutory activities. Books, magazines and catalogues of individual and group exhibitions make up the bulk of the collection, with the oldest publications dating back to the 1880s.

The project also emphasises the presentation of artistic or scientific achievements. Above all, we want the programme to be responsive to the needs of the participants, supporting their exploration of a range of socially and environmentally engaged disciplines and projects. At the heart of the residency programme is an awareness of the importance of process as a central element of creative practice, so we anticipate that it will be a time dedicated to developing and exploring new possibilities. The residency programme at the Centre of Polish Sculpture creates an ideal space for exploring original concepts and forms of expression, the results of which may take on an immaterial dimension.

Artists participating in the programme will also be asked to prepare an exhibition project for one of the Centre’s three galleries, the sculpture park or any other space within the Centre of Polish Sculpture.

The programme offers:

a scholarship of PLN 3,000 gross,
to cover the costs of accommodation at the Centre of Polish Sculpture,
to cover the costs of the project in Orońsko up to a gross amount of PLN 7,200,
meetings with curators, art historians, artists and experts in the fields of ecology, social activism and education,
access to the institution’s library resources and archives,
technical assistance,
promotion of the work and results of the residency, including on websites and through meetings and presentations at cultural institutions cooperating with the Centre of Polish Sculpture.

Residency dates:

October 2023 to June 2024

Submission of applications

Please send your applications to the following email address: rezydencje@rzezba-oronsko.pl

Applications should be accompanied by:

a completed application form, including a biography and a brief description of the project,
a description of the project to be carried out during the residency and a visualisation of the project with the estimated time of completion (PDF format, maximum size 10 MB),
a portfolio (PDF format, maximum size 10 MB),
information clause.

Please send your application form, together with a project description and portfolio in PDF format (maximum file size 10 MB), and the information clause on data protection no later than by 15 August 2023 to rezydencje@rzezba-oronsko.pl

Should you have any questions about your application, please email us: rezydencje@rzezba-oronsko.pl

Residency participants will be selected by the curatorial team of the Centre of Polish Sculpture on the basis of the submitted applications. Information about the selection will be communicated to the selected participants of the residency by e‑mail or telephone between 21 and 24 August 2023.

Organiser: Centre of Polish Sculpture in Orońsko

The project is supported by the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage as well as private entities.