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General Information of International Artists Residencies
Theertha International Artists Residencies (IARs) are held two times annually. Usually they are scheduled during May to September each year. The specific residency times will be advertised in the Theertha Website when scheduled. The participants for residency would include international and Sri Lankan artists. Total number of artists participating would be 4-8 depending on the funding available for each program.
Each IAR program would have its own focus. How ever, the overall emphasis of residencies are to support new ideas and experimental art making that would be different to the art practices the participating artists would be doing in their regular art practice.
Primary objective of the program is to provide an environment of collaboration, experimentation and exchange for artists where they could work together in an informal unstructured program. The program expectations are that participating artists would use this opportunity to explore new ideas using the locally available material in response to the local context. Artists are free to choose to work alone or as a collaborative project.
The IAR would end with an exhibition at the Red Dot Gallery, an art space maintained by Theertha. All participating artists are expected to show their work done within the residency in the exhibition. Exhibition will be held for a period of 14 to 20 days.
Events:
The residency program has 2 events.
1) Artist Talk: Each participant is expected to present their portfolio to an artists’ audience. Participants are advised to bring images of their work on CD or on slide. International artists are also encouraged to bring works of their fellow artists to be presented.
2) Exhibition: At the end of the program an exhibition will be held. The works produced during the program will be exhibited. If artists have spare catalogues of their past work please bring so that it can be kept as reference material at the exhibition.
In addition to the above, each residency may organize other events such as lectures, workshops with art students etc which the participating artists are expected to attend.
Requirements for International Art Residencies:
All participating artists are expected to arrive a day prior to the starting date of residency. They need to complete the residency program and take part in the Artists Talk and Exhibition as well as other events organized by Theertha in relation to the residency.
Who Should Apply: IAR give first preference to young and mid career artists whose work have an experimental approach and are willing to work with found material dictated by different contexts (environmental/ artistic or geographical). The program gives preference to artists who have not had too many opportunities to work in international art programs and are exploring such experiences and possibilities to enhance their own art practices.
PLEASE NOTE THAT IF YOU ARE AN ARTIST WHO HAS THE FOLLOWING YOU NEED NOT APPLY:
5) Not willing to work with other artists,
6) Do not have good group dynamics,
7) Do not have the patience to bare the idiosyncrasies of another cultural context,
8) Do not enjoy exploring and experiencing a different cultural/ environmental experiences different to their own
Please note that Sri Lanka is a tropical country and food and weather are both equally hot and spicy. A whole range of animal, insect and plant varieties as well as diseases that usually come with hot and humid weather conditions prevails in Sri Lanka. These may be annoying to the visitors sometimes.
Therefore please be ready to confront the above if you are hoping to apply to Theertha residencies. Because if you are not we are unable to provide you with a pristine and absolutely bug free environment. We are very concern that artists complete their program as time, energy and resource are spent by Theertha on sustaining the IAR programs. We hope that international artists would consider carefully all the conditions of the residency before they apply.
How to Apply:
Please send the following with the application form (given below) for:
e) Latest CV
f) 6-8 images of your work done within last 2 years. (if sending by email please reduce the resolution and image size so that it will not be difficult to down load. If large images are sent we will not be able to down load.)
g) Your brief profile that explains your work philosophy, background, what you are currently working and why you are applying to this residency. (Maximum should be 1 A4 pages)
h) Address (email and regular address) and contact number
i) Your photograph.
If sending by regular mail:
The Coordinator
International Art Program
Theertha International Artists Collective
36 A, Baddegana Road South
Pita Kotte.
Sri Lanka
IF sending by email: theerthaiac@yahoo.com
Click here to access application
Visa: International artists are advised to obtain TOURIST VISA which is given for 30 days. ( workshop visa takes longer time to get approval from Sri Lankan embassy and therefore please do not apply for it). However, please note that Tourist Visa would allow you to stay in Sri Lanka ONLY FOR 30 DAYS. Any extension would cost you 500 US$ or more. As such we would advice you to make the travel arrangements so that your departure date is within these 30 days.
Artwork: Participants are expected to produce any number of artworks (minimum of two works) that is complete or if work in progress that is completed to a level suitable for exhibition.
IMPORTANT: Please note that artists should conceive their art ideas considering the time, resources and finances they can invest during the residency time. In our past experiences we have seen artists attempting very ambitious work that becomes a burden to the artist, Theertha staff and others. Therefore we would strongly recommend artists to think about art ideas that can be managed comfortably within the residency period which are not hugely labor intensive to complete or install in the gallery for the exhibition. If the artwork is hugely labor intensive to install, artists will have to pay for extra labor that gallery has to hire for such purposes. Theertha staff will only be undertaking the installation of work that can be installed within maximum of 3 hours (free of charge). If large changes to the gallery interiors to suit the artwork required by the artists, cost for such alterations will have to be bored by the artists. Such alteration requirements also need to be informed at least 10 days prior to the exhibition.
Compulsory activity: All artists need to help each other to install the exhibition and expect to be present in the gallery help team until the end of installation of all works.
The transporting the work to the exhibition and back to Theertha storage will be done by Theertha. Please note if artists wish to take their work back, the transporting work back to their home country or back to the studios after exhibition from Theertha storage is the responsibility of the artists. Theertha will not sponsor its expenses.
Exhibition documentation: An small brochure will be compiled for the residency. The artists are expected to provide a small text on the work they will be undertaking, images of work done during residency and photos of the artist. This information need to be provided 8 days before the exhibition starts in order to complete the brochure. Photos of art work need not be of the completed works. They can be images of work in progress. If you need assistance to take images of work during residency please let the Theertha staff know about it in advance and schedule a date. Artists are NOT expected to wait until Theertha staff remind them about the above or take initiative.
Press: We would also require 3 images of your past work , CV, photo of you and a small bio ( half page) about your past experience, exhibitions and educational background for the press. We would appreciate if you could send this as soon as possible by email (low resolution picture) once you are selected to the program.
Facilities:
Accommodation:
Free accommodation will be provided for the international artists in the Theertha Art Guest House. Sometimes accommodation will be shared depending on the number of artists taking part in the residency programs. It is an apartment style guest house with 3 bed rooms, kitchen and 2 attached toilets. Artists are expected to do their own cooking and basic cleaning. Theertha cleaning staff will do the cleaning of the apartment and change linen on Mondays and /or Wednesdays.
Allowances: A modest living allowance for each international artists will be given.
Material Allowance: An art material allowance will be given for all participating artists.
Workspace: There is limited work space available. Artists can use the guest house. In addition Theerthe office has 3 outdoor studios. In Sri Lanka one cannot find establish studio spaces and therefore artists use makeshift situations to do their work.
Assistance: Theertha office is situated very closed to (nearly opposite to) the art guest house and therefore internet, computer and telephone facilities can be used from the Theertha office free of charge. Theertha staff will be happy to assist you if you need any help of getting around, require information or to help in your work.
Transport: Art guest house and Theertha office are located in the suburb of the administrative capital. It is close to the main bus route. Most popular quick mode of transport is the three wheeled auto taxies called ‘Tryshows’ which are amply available everywhere. The price has to be negotiated with the driver before hiring as usually they tend to charge more for foreigners ( and some times also for locals ). There are also taxies that can be ordered by telephone which are metered on a hire rate. Public transport is cheap but can be crowded. For long distance trips it is comfortable and cheap to go by train.
Weather: It is very sunny, hot, humid during day time and a less hotter in the night. Therefore best would be light cotton cloths. There are lot of mosquitoes and therefore we advice the international artists to bring adequate mosquito repellent crèmes/ sprays.
Food: Food is very spicy. Colombo has lots of restaurants that offer variety of foods. Large number of taka –a –way outlets, pastry shops, bakeries are available. If you have a sensitive stomach we advice you not to eat from places where the food is displayed outside. There are fresh vegetables and fish/ meats in the markets and there are many supermarkets where foreign spices, pastas and processed foods are available. Tap water is purified but we would advice you to drink bottled water.
Each IAR program would have its own focus. How ever, the overall emphasis of residencies are to support new ideas and experimental art making that would be different to the art practices the participating artists would be doing in their regular art practice.
Primary objective of the program is to provide an environment of collaboration, experimentation and exchange for artists where they could work together in an informal unstructured program. The program expectations are that participating artists would use this opportunity to explore new ideas using the locally available material in response to the local context. Artists are free to choose to work alone or as a collaborative project.
The IAR would end with an exhibition at the Red Dot Gallery, an art space maintained by Theertha. All participating artists are expected to show their work done within the residency in the exhibition. Exhibition will be held for a period of 14 to 20 days.
Events:
The residency program has 2 events.
1) Artist Talk: Each participant is expected to present their portfolio to an artists’ audience. Participants are advised to bring images of their work on CD or on slide. International artists are also encouraged to bring works of their fellow artists to be presented.
2) Exhibition: At the end of the program an exhibition will be held. The works produced during the program will be exhibited. If artists have spare catalogues of their past work please bring so that it can be kept as reference material at the exhibition.
In addition to the above, each residency may organize other events such as lectures, workshops with art students etc which the participating artists are expected to attend.
Requirements for International Art Residencies:
All participating artists are expected to arrive a day prior to the starting date of residency. They need to complete the residency program and take part in the Artists Talk and Exhibition as well as other events organized by Theertha in relation to the residency.
Who Should Apply: IAR give first preference to young and mid career artists whose work have an experimental approach and are willing to work with found material dictated by different contexts (environmental/ artistic or geographical). The program gives preference to artists who have not had too many opportunities to work in international art programs and are exploring such experiences and possibilities to enhance their own art practices.
PLEASE NOTE THAT IF YOU ARE AN ARTIST WHO HAS THE FOLLOWING YOU NEED NOT APPLY:
5) Not willing to work with other artists,
6) Do not have good group dynamics,
7) Do not have the patience to bare the idiosyncrasies of another cultural context,
8) Do not enjoy exploring and experiencing a different cultural/ environmental experiences different to their own
Please note that Sri Lanka is a tropical country and food and weather are both equally hot and spicy. A whole range of animal, insect and plant varieties as well as diseases that usually come with hot and humid weather conditions prevails in Sri Lanka. These may be annoying to the visitors sometimes.
Therefore please be ready to confront the above if you are hoping to apply to Theertha residencies. Because if you are not we are unable to provide you with a pristine and absolutely bug free environment. We are very concern that artists complete their program as time, energy and resource are spent by Theertha on sustaining the IAR programs. We hope that international artists would consider carefully all the conditions of the residency before they apply.
How to Apply:
Please send the following with the application form (given below) for:
e) Latest CV
f) 6-8 images of your work done within last 2 years. (if sending by email please reduce the resolution and image size so that it will not be difficult to down load. If large images are sent we will not be able to down load.)
g) Your brief profile that explains your work philosophy, background, what you are currently working and why you are applying to this residency. (Maximum should be 1 A4 pages)
h) Address (email and regular address) and contact number
i) Your photograph.
If sending by regular mail:
The Coordinator
International Art Program
Theertha International Artists Collective
36 A, Baddegana Road South
Pita Kotte.
Sri Lanka
IF sending by email: theerthaiac@yahoo.com
Click here to access application
Visa: International artists are advised to obtain TOURIST VISA which is given for 30 days. ( workshop visa takes longer time to get approval from Sri Lankan embassy and therefore please do not apply for it). However, please note that Tourist Visa would allow you to stay in Sri Lanka ONLY FOR 30 DAYS. Any extension would cost you 500 US$ or more. As such we would advice you to make the travel arrangements so that your departure date is within these 30 days.
Artwork: Participants are expected to produce any number of artworks (minimum of two works) that is complete or if work in progress that is completed to a level suitable for exhibition.
IMPORTANT: Please note that artists should conceive their art ideas considering the time, resources and finances they can invest during the residency time. In our past experiences we have seen artists attempting very ambitious work that becomes a burden to the artist, Theertha staff and others. Therefore we would strongly recommend artists to think about art ideas that can be managed comfortably within the residency period which are not hugely labor intensive to complete or install in the gallery for the exhibition. If the artwork is hugely labor intensive to install, artists will have to pay for extra labor that gallery has to hire for such purposes. Theertha staff will only be undertaking the installation of work that can be installed within maximum of 3 hours (free of charge). If large changes to the gallery interiors to suit the artwork required by the artists, cost for such alterations will have to be bored by the artists. Such alteration requirements also need to be informed at least 10 days prior to the exhibition.
Compulsory activity: All artists need to help each other to install the exhibition and expect to be present in the gallery help team until the end of installation of all works.
The transporting the work to the exhibition and back to Theertha storage will be done by Theertha. Please note if artists wish to take their work back, the transporting work back to their home country or back to the studios after exhibition from Theertha storage is the responsibility of the artists. Theertha will not sponsor its expenses.
Exhibition documentation: An small brochure will be compiled for the residency. The artists are expected to provide a small text on the work they will be undertaking, images of work done during residency and photos of the artist. This information need to be provided 8 days before the exhibition starts in order to complete the brochure. Photos of art work need not be of the completed works. They can be images of work in progress. If you need assistance to take images of work during residency please let the Theertha staff know about it in advance and schedule a date. Artists are NOT expected to wait until Theertha staff remind them about the above or take initiative.
Press: We would also require 3 images of your past work , CV, photo of you and a small bio ( half page) about your past experience, exhibitions and educational background for the press. We would appreciate if you could send this as soon as possible by email (low resolution picture) once you are selected to the program.
Facilities:
Accommodation:
Free accommodation will be provided for the international artists in the Theertha Art Guest House. Sometimes accommodation will be shared depending on the number of artists taking part in the residency programs. It is an apartment style guest house with 3 bed rooms, kitchen and 2 attached toilets. Artists are expected to do their own cooking and basic cleaning. Theertha cleaning staff will do the cleaning of the apartment and change linen on Mondays and /or Wednesdays.
Allowances: A modest living allowance for each international artists will be given.
Material Allowance: An art material allowance will be given for all participating artists.
Workspace: There is limited work space available. Artists can use the guest house. In addition Theerthe office has 3 outdoor studios. In Sri Lanka one cannot find establish studio spaces and therefore artists use makeshift situations to do their work.
Assistance: Theertha office is situated very closed to (nearly opposite to) the art guest house and therefore internet, computer and telephone facilities can be used from the Theertha office free of charge. Theertha staff will be happy to assist you if you need any help of getting around, require information or to help in your work.
Transport: Art guest house and Theertha office are located in the suburb of the administrative capital. It is close to the main bus route. Most popular quick mode of transport is the three wheeled auto taxies called ‘Tryshows’ which are amply available everywhere. The price has to be negotiated with the driver before hiring as usually they tend to charge more for foreigners ( and some times also for locals ). There are also taxies that can be ordered by telephone which are metered on a hire rate. Public transport is cheap but can be crowded. For long distance trips it is comfortable and cheap to go by train.
Weather: It is very sunny, hot, humid during day time and a less hotter in the night. Therefore best would be light cotton cloths. There are lot of mosquitoes and therefore we advice the international artists to bring adequate mosquito repellent crèmes/ sprays.
Food: Food is very spicy. Colombo has lots of restaurants that offer variety of foods. Large number of taka –a –way outlets, pastry shops, bakeries are available. If you have a sensitive stomach we advice you not to eat from places where the food is displayed outside. There are fresh vegetables and fish/ meats in the markets and there are many supermarkets where foreign spices, pastas and processed foods are available. Tap water is purified but we would advice you to drink bottled water.