Amanda T. McIntyre selected for Tilting Axis Fellowship 2025

August 28, 2024Leave a comment

In 2019 Nieuwe Instituut joined forces with Tilting Axis to offer a Fellowship to an applicant based in the Caribbean. We are delighted to announce that Amanda T. McIntyre (Trinidad and Tobago) has been selected as the fifth Tilting Axis / Nieuwe Instituut Fellow. Amanda will begin her Fellowship at the Nieuwe Instituut in Rotterdam starting February 2025 and continuing research and activities through July 2025.

Read this announcement on the Tilting Axis website here.

Amanda T. McIntyre is a Trinidadian writer and artist. She is Creative Director and Lead Designer at Dolly Mas Visual and Performing Arts Company. Her work experiments with harmonising architectural and textile cultures of the Caribbean. She was previously an Art Administrator at New Local Space (NLS), an art studio and gallery based in Kingston, Jamaica. In 2020 McIntyre was part of the faculty for La Pràctica Artists Residency, Puerto Rico, and an advisor for the NLS, Curatorial, and Art Writing Fellowship. In 2021, she was awarded a Futuress Coding Resistance Fellowship for her project Mapping Queer Carnival. In 2023 she was longlisted for the prestigious Queen Mary Wasafiri New Writing Prize.

Project Brief

Present Continuous is a practice-based research project that applies digital intervention towards archiving the materiality and intellectual properties of contemporary Caribbean masquerade cultures, with corresponding designs including architectural elements from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries when masquerade emerged in the Caribbean. The project also assesses non-extractive material considerations in this era of climate emergency attempting to answer the question: Can Caribbean Carnivals be sustained materially? And if so, what are the ways that would best serve the planet and the communities that exist within Caribbean Carnival ecosystems?

Comments on the Selected Proposal

Amanda’s project Present Continuous brings new and fresh ideas, presented in her application with an inviting approach that pulls you into the project, addressing urgent themes. Amanda’s project, centered on festival culture and waste, specifically through the lens of Dolly Mass, offers innovative solutions for archiving costumes. Her research on the Baby Doll, focusing on its representation and parody of women in early Caribbean masquerades historically performed by men, is particularly compelling. The jury felt the proposal which linked architecture, mas, queer studies, and climate justice further raised critical questions about the future of these costumes with an emphasis on non-extractive material focuses.

The jury was compelled by Amanda’s ambitious submission concentrating on urgent themes approached with sensitivity, seriousness, and interdisciplinary approaches. Amanda’s ability to think through carnival culture and the determination to archive these traditions and practices by future-proofing them highlights the importance of documenting the fluid migrations and influences within this culture including its evolution in two other Caribbean islands. Although the proposal had a clear focus, the jury was also impressed by Amanda’s willingness to remain curious, flexible, and open to exchange with partners on ways of archiving. Moving into the fellowship period, the jury suggested further research into deadstock materials from Jamaica and Martinique to enhance her project.

General Comments

Members of the jury were impressed by the wide range of themes approached by the projects, as well as the relevance and timeliness. Fifteen applicants submitted a wide cross-section of projects from all four linguistic territories of the Caribbean. This year’s submissions were strong, competitive, and transgressive, indicative of the Fellowship’s growing profile over the past eight-year period. Proposals were concerned with topical themes such as new pedagogies, maroonage, anti-colonialism, embodied and ancestral knowledge, speculative fiction, myth-making, the circular economy, climate justice, cartographies, vernacular architectures, marine, and spiritual ecosystems, ceremony, and shared rituals of masquerade. The projects demonstrate the creativity and power of practitioners living and working across the Caribbean, highlighting the importance of continued collaborations with those in the region.

Procedure

This Fellowship is supported by lead host partner, Nieuwe Instituut and its collaborators including the Amsterdam Museum, De Appel, Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, and Kunstinstituut Melly. Between the announcement of the open call on May 30th, 2024, and the deadline on June 30th, 2024, Nieuwe Instituut and Tilting Axis received 15 eligible entries in response to the open call from eight countries across the Anglophone, Francophone, Hispanophone, and Dutch Caribbean region including Barbados, Cuba, Curacao, Haiti, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, Trinidad and Tobago and St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

The proposals were reviewed by a committee composed of the following members:

Tijn van de Wijdeven, program manager, Nieuwe Instituut
Holly Bynoe, ARC Magazine, Sour Grass and Tilting Axis co-founder
Annalee Davis, Visual Artist, Founding Director of Fresh Milk, Sour Grass, and Tilting Axis co-founder
Jessy Koeiman, Curator of Collective Learning, Kunstinstituut Melly
Mark Raymond, Director of the Graduate School of Architecture at the University of Johannesburg in South Africa
Lara Khaldi, Director at De Appel
Imara Limon, Curator, Amsterdam Museum & Silke Kamp, Curator-in-Training, Amsterdam Museum
Charl Landvreugd, Head of Research and Curatorial Practice, Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam

The meeting was chaired and moderated by Nieuwe Instituut researcher Federica Notari.

Proposals were evaluated based on their research proposal, methodological approach and connection to the disciplines of architecture, design, or digital culture; and their interest in working with the hosting partners. Four candidates were shortlisted and invited to an online interview with members of the selection committee on July 11th, 2024. Following the interviews, the committee selected Amanda T. McIntyre (Trinidad and Tobago) as the recipient of the Fellowship. The other shortlisted candidates were Lucia Piedra Galarraga (Cuba), Alex Martínez Suaréz (Dominican Republic ), and Johanna Castillo (Dominican Republic).

Open Call: Tilting Axis Fellowship 2025

June 3, 2024Leave a comment

Nieuwe Instituut and Tilting Axis are launching the fifth iteration of the Fellowship program for applicants based in the Caribbean. The initiative aims to foster and support research based practices and stimulate mutual exchange between the Caribbean region and the Dutch cultural field. Together with the leading partners – Nieuwe Instituut and Tilting Axis – other cultural institutions including The Amsterdam Museum, De Appel, Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, and Kunstinstituut Melly will engage with the selected applicant during the Fellowship.

About the Fellowship

This Fellowship focuses on applicants living and working within the Caribbean region offering the space to think through research and practice. The selected applicant will be based in Rotterdam at Nieuwe Instituut and will have access to other partner cultural institutions in Rotterdam and Amsterdam.

The Fellowship will be developed through independent research; individual support and interaction with the Research Department team at Nieuwe Instituut; monthly meetings to discuss thematic and methodological aspects of the project; and diverse collaborations with partner institutions.

Applicants are invited to submit a proposal that addresses their current investigations and research interests through the lens of architecture, design and digital culture.

Read more about the past editions of the Tilting Axis Fellowship with Fellow Sean Leonard in 2020-2021, Fernando Martirena and Anadis Gonzálezin 2021-2022, Israel Mapp in 2023, and Klieon John in 2024.

For whom?

A researcher, designer, writer, curator, or cultural producer based in the Caribbean region who is interested in building new links with cultural institutions in the Netherlands, and developing the research practice around themes related to architecture, spatial practice, design or digital culture.

Neither a curriculum vitae nor letters of recommendation are requested. The Fellowship is open to all degree-levels in design, architecture, and digital culture. Equal priority will be given to those without a degree or institutional affiliation who can also demonstrate a high levels of creativity, critical thought, and other potential in their respective fields. There is no age limit for applicants.

Artists who are residents of and based in the following countries can apply: Anguilla, Antigua, Aruba & Barbuda, The Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bermuda, Bonaire, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Cuba, Curaçao, Dominica, Dominican Republic, French Guiana, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Martinique, Montserrat, Puerto Rico, Saba, St. Barthélemy, St. Eustatius, St. Kitts & Nevis, St. Vincent & the Grenadines, Saint Martin, Sint Martin, Suriname, Trinidad & Tobago, Turks & Caicos Islands, US Virgin Islands.

Resources offered by the Fellowship

Stimulate and visualise curatorial, design, and artistic realities coming from the Caribbean region;
Enhance knowledge exchange and collaboration with a cross-section of Dutch cultural institutions;
Network and exchange with a variety of platforms for professional experience;
Produce critical knowledge on inter-disciplinary exchanges as well as visual culture;
Offer practical support for travel to the Netherlands;
Engage with hosting and collaborating institutions to interrogate and challenge their institutional structures and methodologies;
Utilise the existing Tilting Axis network.

The Fellow will be invited to:

Make a series of presentations in Rotterdam & Amsterdam at host and partner institutions on their research/practice;
Produce a monthly text/sound/video/photo essay as potential options to be discussed with the fellow. The fellow’s research could lead to an installation, exhibition, or further events at partner institutions during or after the Fellowship;
Write a final reflective report on the Fellowship experience is required and will be posted on the websites of Tilting Axis and Nieuwe Instituut, with links to the partner institutions.

The Fellow is not expected to produce an outcome or finished artwork or product but will be encouraged to present their ongoing research interests to the public whilst in the Netherlands. The research will also be published via the Nieuwe Instituut and partner institutions’ websites, newsletters, or other publications.

Research Stipend and Travelling to the Netherlands

Nieuwe Instituut will grant a total stipend of €12,000 to cover living expenses and, in addition to the stipend, will cover one round-trip airfare from any country within the Caribbean to the Netherlands. Accommodation costs will be reimbursed to the fellow in the Netherlands for a maximum of €800 per month. Stipends may be subject to a withholding tax.

Government policies regarding visa restrictions will be adhered to. This means that Fellows who can only reside in the Netherlands for 90 days, will undertake their fellowship partly remotely.

Crossovers Programme

This Fellowship is part of the Nieuwe Instituut’s crossovers programme that aims to stimulate the international exchange of knowledge and research through collaborative fellowships, events, exhibitions, and publications involving designers, researchers, and partners across the world. Broader alliances can contribute to cultural and political change, and eventually to policy adjustments.

Apply

The Open Call for 2025 is available from May 30, 2024, with a deadline for submission on June 30, 2024. Proposals should be submitted to ta-fellowship@nieuweinstituut.nl with the subject Tilting Axis Fellowship 2024<name>.

To be considered, proposals should include the following information:

An introductory video, max 3 minutes, in which applicants introduce themselves, their initial project idea, and what inspired them to apply.
A written proposal of max 1000 words in which applicants detail: a statement of intent which should explain the applicant’s research focus and its methodology, highlighting its connection to architecture, design, or digital culture; the relation between their interests and at least two of the hosting partners and institutions; the proposal should be content-driven and can be based on already existing research or offer new projects; a proposed working calendar with availability to take up the fellowship from February – July 2025; Relevant documentation of previous work (maximum 10 works), and/or links to audio or video files (maximum 5 minutes) in PDF format with an accompanying caption list.

Proposals should be written in English and applicants must have a working knowledge of English. While we understand that English proficiency may vary or that English may not be the applicant’s first or primary language, unfortunately, we are unable to offer translation support at this time. Applicants with specific questions are encouraged to contact ta-fellowship@nieuweinstituut.nlabout the availability of any support service.

Selection process

Proposals will be considered by an international committee including the Tilting Axis and the Nieuwe Instituut teams and representatives from the partner institutions including curators, academics, and museum professionals.

The review committee includes:

Tijn van de Wijdeven, Nieuwe Instituut
Holly Bynoe, ARC Magazine, Sour Grass and Tilting Axis co-founder
Annalee Davis, Visual Artist, Founding Director of Fresh Milk, Sour Grass, and Tilting Axis co-founder
Jessy Koeiman, Curator of Collective Learning, Kunstinstituut Melly
Mark Raymond, Director of the Graduate School of Architecture at the University of Johannesburg in South Africa
Lara Khaldi, Direct at De Appel
Imara Limon, Curator, Amsterdam Museum & Silke Kamp, Curator-in-Training, Amsterdam Museum
Charl Landvreugd, Head of Research and Curatorial Practice, Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam

Shortlisted candidates will be invited to an online interview with members of the selection committee. Candidates must hold the dates July 10th and July 11th, 2024 for the interview.

Read more about the Tilting Axis Fellowship and the call for applications on the website of the Nieuwe Instituut.

Open Studios: Tilting Axis Fellowship 2024, Klieon John

May 9, 2024Leave a comment

On Thursday, May 16th 2024 in a hybrid online and offline meeting, Tilting Axis and the Nieuwe Instituut will discuss the research project of this year’s fellow, Klieon John. Researcher Federica Notari and Tilting Axis co-founder Annalee Davis will discuss his project Nieuwe Bohío, in which he ultimately seeks to translate indigenous Caribbean history, culture and mythology into a cinematic augmented reality experience.

RSVP to the session here

A New Mapp of the Island of St. Christophers being an Actual Survey taken by Andrew Norwood Surveyr. Genll. / A New Map of the Island Guardalupa / A New Mapp of the Island Martineca London. 1698 circa (1750 ca)

Writer, filmmaker and creative director Klieon John from the Federation of Saint Kitts and Nevis is the fourth participant in the fellowship that Tilting Axis and the institute have been offering to selected candidates from the Caribbean since 2019. The Nieuwe Instituut is once again the main partner and host, collaborating with the Amsterdam Museum, De Appel, the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam and Kunstinstituut Melly.

This presentation focuses on the Nieuwe Bohío project. In this, Klieon John is researching the indigenous Taíno and Kalinago cultures of the Caribbean, which he hopes to translate into an immersive AR experience that will have a transformative effect on the viewer. Based on the results of the research, John aims to develop practical applications that can be used in architectural research and social work. Past and present, European and Indigenous Caribbean culture, traditional and contemporary storytelling, building and play techniques come together in a whole that combines innovative design practice with a respectful way of dealing with (Indigenous) heritage and the communities that inhabit it. Read more in the jury report.

A joint programme

Nieuwe Instituut and the art platform Tilting Axis teamed up for a joint programme in the autumn of 2019, offering a fellowship each year to a candidate – a researcher, designer, curator, artist, writer or other cultural practitioner – from the Caribbean. The Tilting Axis Fellowship is open to candidates living and working in the Caribbean and offers the opportunity to combine research and practice.

Fresh Milk’s 2023 Highlights

February 13, 2024Leave a comment

Thank you for your continued support of Fresh Milk!

Fresh Milk is pleased to share our 2023 highlights newsletter, including our work with amazing partners locally, regionally and internationally, while celebrating grants that have us bursting with gratitude and happiness!

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In Barbados, we collaborated with the Future Centre Trust on our project for the Healing Arts Initiative (a programme by UK-based organisation Culturunners), while regionally we worked on an offshoot of the Caribbean Linked residency programme with Ateliers ‘89 Punto di Beyas Arte Aruba, the BIAC-Réseaux and Campus Caraïbeen des Arts (CCA) in Martinique, and participated in the inaugural FUZE Art Expo in the Bahamas. Internationally, our relationships with Rotterdam- and Amsterdam-based partners have grown deeper through the Tilting Axis Fellowship.

We’re also beyond delighted to celebrate with all of you the most amazing news of Fresh Milk having been successfully awarded a grant for 2024-2026 by the US-based Mellon Foundation’s Arts and Culture programme in support of our operating and programming expenses.

Mellon believes that “Art and artists are essential to human connection,” and we couldn’t agree more. We go into action this year to work on elevating the local contemporary visual art community in exciting ways, continuing to support the region’s creative network, while also looking for new partners to come on board. Stay tuned for more information as we focus on the local and Caribbean contemporary visual art community with some exciting plans for the next three years!

Read the full newsletter here

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If you would like to support the work we do in Caribbean arts, go ahead and click on the donate button below! It’s very easy to support us and the artists we work with by making a donation through this PayPal link. Your contributions make our programmes possible, and gifts of any size are welcome.

Thank you for your continued support, and we’d like to express gratitude to the many artists who we have had the honour of working with across the Caribbean as we continue to find ways of celebrating and nurturing creativity.

We look forward to continuing our creative journey together in 2024, and hope for peace and the cessation of war and conflict the world over.

Klieon John selected for Tilting Axis Fellowship 2024

September 20, 2023September 20, 2023Leave a comment

In 2019 Nieuwe Instituut joined forces with Tilting Axis to offer a Fellowship to an applicant based in the Caribbean. We are delighted to share news that Klieon John, from St. Kitts and Nevis, has been selected as the fourth recipient of the Tilting Axis / Nieuwe Instituut Fellowship. Klieon will begin his Fellowship at Nieuwe Instituut in Rotterdam starting February 2024 and will thereafter continue research and activities through August 2024.

See the announcement on the Tilting Axis website here.

Klieon John, from St. Kitts and Nevis

With over fourteen years in the media industry, Klieon John is based in St. Kitts & Nevis where he works as a writer, filmmaker, and creative director. His work in public relations, advertising, and brand development has expanded regionally to include Jamaica and Trinidad & Tobago. Klieon founded the film production and curation studio Twin-Island Cinema in 2019 which is dedicated to research, development, and the preservation of Caribbean history and culture through design and visual storytelling.

Selected project

Klieon John’s project, Nieuwe Bohío: An Immersive Digital Retrospective on Indigenous Caribbean history, culture, and mythology, is a research and design project that seeks to embark on an immersive journey into the Indigenous Taíno and Kalinago cultures of The Caribbean region, with the ultimate objective of creating a cinematic and transformative virtual reality experience. The findings will serve as the foundation for an eclectic spectrum of practical applications including architectural research, sustainable community planning, and the development of an interactive Augmented Reality (AR) experience. By examining the traditional architectural techniques, use of materials, and spatial organisation principles of our Indigenous peoples, we can integrate their cultural elements into contemporary design practices and create physical and digital spaces that pay homage to our indigenous legacy while addressing urgent contemporary challenges like climate change and economic instability.

Jury comments on the selected proposal

St. Kitts and Nevis-based Klieon John will use the Fellowship as a birthing space to develop his research integrating archeological findings, architectural research, sustainable community planning, non-western architecture and the development of an interactive 3D video game universe. Klieon’s examination of traditional architectural techniques, materials, and spatial organisation principles will form a foundation from which these cultural elements will be integrated into contemporary design practices, informing the proposed digital space honouring Indigenous legacies while responding to the urgent and current challenges of the climate emergency and economic crises. His research will explore the integration of gameplay elements with storytelling techniques to effectively convey mythical themes within the game format while encouraging active user engagement and an appreciation for indigenous cultural heritage.

The jury felt that Kileon’s interest in growing his understanding of virtual reality game design as a way to think about the region’s past and potential futures. His submission responds to the moment in compelling ways involving issues of interpretation, conservation, preservation and ethical considerations relating to understanding and working with Caribbean Indigenous narratives and knowledge systems. The jury was inspired by Klieon’s ambitious submission and his goal to create a transformative virtual reality experience informed by the indigenous Taíno and Kalinago cultures of St. Kitts & Nevis and the wider Caribbean. Furthermore, the jury recognised Klieon’s proposed methodology to consult with Indigenous communities and cultural experts to ensure respectful representation while maintaining ethical approaches to working with these communities in the region.

General jury comments on the open call

The members of the jury were impressed by the wide range of themes approached by the projects, as well as the relevance and timeliness. Applicants submitted a wide cross-section of projects from all four linguistic territories of the Caribbean. Proposals included various working methodologies and mediums such as architecture, design, dance and performance, sound work, virtual reality, digital design, and archival research. The projects represent the creativity and power of the work developed by makers and practitioners in the Caribbean, which highlighted the urgency of continued dialogue and collaboration with the region, as projects found resonance in cross-national focuses. Submissions included proposals concerned with topical themes such as sonic landscapes, AI, linguistics, Nation language, folklore, vernacular architectures, indigeneity, the marine environment, Afro-Caribbean spirituality, ritual, and queer futures.

Selection procedure

The Fellowship is supported by the Nieuwe Instituut as lead partner and host, and will include collaborations with the Amsterdam Museum, De Appel, Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam and Kunstinstituut Melly. Between the announcement of the open call on the 15th of May 2023 and the deadline on June 23rd 2023, Nieuwe Instituut and Tilting Axis received 24 eligible entries in response to the open call from eleven countries across the Anglophone, Francophone, Hispanophone, and Dutch Caribbean region including The Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Cuba, Guadeloupe, Jamaica, Martinique, St. Kitts & Nevis, Suriname, Trinidad & Tobago, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

The proposals were reviewed by a committee composed of the following members:

Ramon Amaro, Senior Researcher, Nieuwe Instituut
Holly Bynoe, ARC Magazine, Researcher, Sour Grass and Tilting Axis co-founder
Annalee Davis, Visual Artist, Founding Director of Fresh Milk, co-founder of Sour Grass and Tilting Axis
Jessy Koeiman, Curator of Collective Learning, Kunstinstituut Melly
Mark Raymond, Director of the Graduate School of Architecture at the University of Johannesburg in South Africa
Lara Khaldi, Director, De Appel
Imara Limon, Curator, Amsterdam Museum & Lateesha Verwey, Curator-in-Training, Amsterdam Museum
Charl Landvreugd, Head of Research and Curatorial Practice, Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam

The meeting was chaired and moderated by Nieuwe Initituut program manager, Joyce Hanssen and Nieuwe Instituut researcher Federica Notari.

Proposals were evaluated on the basis of their research proposal, considering their methodological approach and connection to the themes of architecture, design or digital culture; as well as their proposal’s interest in the hosting partners. Four candidates were shortlisted and invited to an online interview with members of the selection committee on July 3rd 2023. Following the interviews, the committee selected Klieon John (St. Kitts & Nevis) as the recipient of the Fellowship. The other shortlisted candidates were Simone Garcia (Cuba), Celine Choo Woon Chee (Trinidad and Tobago) and Matthew McCarthy (Jamaica).