Underskog

ALL PEOPLE WILL AT SOME POINT BECOME ANCESTORS. WHAT LEGACY DO WE LEAVE FOR THOSE WHO FOLLOW US? HOW DO WE PASS DOWN KNOWLEDGE AND WHAT FORM DOES IT TAKE?

Together with Office for Contemporary Art Norway (OCA) and Sami Center For Contemporary Art (SDG), PRAKSIS has invited artists Eliza Naranjo Morse (Tewa, Santa Clara Pueblo, New Mexico, USA) and Ivan Liotchev of International Collaborative Drawing Project (ICDP) to develop its Autumn 2017 residency.

Applications are now open for local, national and international participants in this multidisciplinary residency. Information about the residency and how to apply follows:

In time, we too will become ancestors… will explore intersecting cultural histories and shared philosophies between differing peoples, seeking synergies that transcend geographical distance. It will seek to bring together people of different cultures, to consider concepts of societal progress and value, and explore questions of identity, history, ancestry and sustainable futures, in relation to aesthetic practices.

Narratives of progress, dominated by ideals of growth – acceleration, expansion, yield, profit, gain – have led to environmental imbalance and global humanitarian crisis. Alternative forms of culture and production are beginning to reshape social and cultural models, but the process needs to go a long way further. Dominant concepts of value demand radical re-evaluation.

Eliza Naranjo Morse comes from the Tewa people of Santa Clara Pueblo. Located along the Rio Grande river of Northern New Mexico, this indigenous agricultural population has over centuries developed nuanced systems for collaborating with, and celebrating, its natural environment. Despite colonization and the imposition of western culture and technology, the Tewa have persevered and now pursue a positive, healthy future, adapting to modern lifestyles while maintaining the life systems created by its ancestors. The knowledge gained through this historical transition provides the Tewa an alternative perspective on what is valued as ‘‘progress".

ICDP is an international art project that uses cooperative art-making to create productive dialogue between different cultures and communities. Acting as a mediator and instigator, ICDP will help create situations for the emergence of new perspectives and collaborative production within the residency.

This residency will reserve at least one place for an artist with Sami heritage, whilst welcoming applications from participants across disciplines and from all cultural backgrounds. Generating a ripple-effect of thought and action, the residency will invite participants and audiences to consider their inheritances and their neighbours, and understand the choices they make beyond local perspectives. Residents’ differing histories and perspectives, and the various challenges they face, will be mobilised as a valuable resource for considering fundamental hopes and needs shared by all of humanity.

All members of the residency community will have time to work autonomously on self-directed projects, research and activities, and to participate in developing both internal and public-facing group events and workshops. Potential events and workshops include: storytelling, screenings, talks, seminars, “meet the residents” events, and collaborative artworks such as large-scale drawings, installations, performances, and/or digital interventions.