Fresh Milk is re-launching our open call for the second stage of our partnership with fellow arts organization Le Centre d’Art, Haiti, as part of a residency exchange programme betwteen Haiti and the wider Caribbean to create opportunities for women arts practitioners, supported by UNESCO’s International Fund for Cultural Diversity (IFDC).

This segment of the programme invites women artists from Haiti or its diaspora to apply for a fully funded, one month residency at The Fresh Milk Art Platform in Barbados from May 4th-29th, 2020. The revised deadline for submissions is February 21st, 2020.

See the current, full open call below, or download the PDF guidelines and application form here.

About Le Centre d’Art

Le Centre d’Art in Port-au-Prince is an institution that works towards promoting artistic creations by Haitian practitioners on the basis of preserved heritage values. Since its creation in 1944, this atypical space with multiple missions has been at the heart of societal and artistic evolutions. As the major protagonist in the reconfiguration of the fine arts realm in Haiti, Le  Centre d’Art has been paving the way for several schools and artistic movements.

Over the years, well-known Haitian artists have been revealed internationally, including Philomé Obin, Hector Hyppolite, George Liautaud, Antonio Joseph, Rigaud Benoit, Robert St Brice, Jasmin Joseph, and Préfète Duffaut.

Le Centre d’Art was the starting point for a wealth of visual creativity–upholding a considerable legacy that is today part of private and public collections, in Haiti and abroad. The establishment is apolitical, non-profit, and has gained public recognition since 1947. The governance is composed of a board of directors, an international scientific council and an executive team

Despite the destruction of the infrastructure during the earthquake of 2010, Le Centre d’Art managed to save more than 5000 works and 3000 archive files, which are today preserved and valued. Since the reopening in 2014, Le Centre d’Art has once again become an essential part of Haitian culture.

Its mission is to support artists and their creations, and to conserve and disseminate Haitian visual arts. It is a resource space for artists, art students, art lovers, collectors and researchers alike.

Residencies Scope

Le Centre d’Art is setting up a synergy project for artistic creation and artistic analysis in the Caribbean, thanks in particular to UNESCO’s International Fund for Cultural Diversity (IFDC). Titled Implementation of a Network for the Creation and Dissemination of Caribbean Art, the project aims to create a link between Haiti and Caribbean places of creation, and to promote the practices of Caribbean artists, especially women, to strengthen the Haitian cultural sector. For two years, artistic residencies will be set up, and will end with an exhibition and a widely distributed publication.

Theme

“The ability of humans to participate intelligently in the evolution of their own system is dependent on their ability to perceive the whole” – Immanuel Wallerstein

Toussaint L’Ouverture, Jean Price Mars, Aimé Césaire, Marcus Garvey, Frantz Fanon, Derek Walcott – long is the list of illustrious men who have shaped the Caribbean as we know it today. What about Caribbean women? University theses on the role of women are rising but they are not written for the general public. Art has the power to make accessible fundamental values and principles, which are too often convoluted. This project aims at highlighting the role of women in the construction of the Caribbean.

About the Residency

For this segment of the residency programme, The Fresh Milk Art Platform will host one Haitian artist for one month in Barbados from February 3rd–28th, 2020.

Fresh Milk supports excellence in the visual arts through residencies and programmes that provide Caribbean artists with opportunities for development and foster a thriving art community. Fresh Milk is located on a working dairy farm in a rural area of St. George, Barbados. The studio is situated under a grove of mahogany  trees, and is linked to the home of Fresh Milk’s director.

The artist will be housed in the Fresh Milk residency flat, a 5-10 minute walk from the studio, and will have the chance to interface with contemporary practitioners living and working in Barbados through cultural activities, community outreach programmes facilitated by the Fresh Milk Team and studio visits with local artists.

Le Centre d’Art will fully bear the costs of residencies in Barbados. The artist will be provided with a workspace, tools and supplies and housing. In addition, the artist will receive per diem to cover all food and transportation expenses throughout the residency. The ticket and the visa will also be covered by Le Centre d’Art.

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Terms of Application

Residency in Barbados, May 4th – 29th, 2020

This call for applications to attend a residency at Fresh Milk in Barbados is now opened to any woman artist from Haiti or its diaspora.

The call concerns exclusively the field of visual arts (any medium). The artist may practice multiple forms of artistic production.

The submitted file must include the following documents in a single PDF document:

• The completed application form (download the document here);
• The Artist’s Curriculum Vitae, including elements describing the artist’s training, her professional career, her experiences, the history of her public exhibitions and shows in galleries (2 pages maximum);
•The artistic statement (presentation of the artist’s practice – 2 pages maximum)
• The residency project related to the theme (2 pages maximum)
• A selection of visuals of the artist’s works (10 works visuals maximum). The visuals must be in color and captioned to legibly specify the dimensions, materials and technique used. For videographers, a page with links to videos accompanied by a brief summary for each one.

Electronic files and any other request should be sent by email to contact@lecentredart.org and Cc judithmichel@lecentredart.org before February 21st, 2020, midnight (GMT).

Selection Committee

The decision is to be made by a selection committee composed of a member of the Board of Le Centre d’Art, a member of the executive team and a representative of Fresh Milk.

Criteria

Special attention to be paid to:

• mastery of the techniques used and the quality of execution
• the aesthetic and technical interest of the artist’s practice
• the coherence of the artist’s proposal with the theme as well as the depth of the readings and interpretations of concepts
• the originality of the works