Vienna | Weltmuseum residency on 'Imagining Caring Futures'

Weltmuseum Wien is launching an open call for a residency and the production of an artwork on the topic of ‘Imagining Caring Futures: Art, Imagination, and Empathy’ using sound as medium.

Artists are invited to submit a proposal to explore the knowledge contained in the museum’s collections or stories behind museum objects in the context of the climate crisis. The residency focuses on questions around planetary precarity and those most affected by the climate catastrophe, such as formerly colonised and indigenous peoples. What can artistic empathy and imagination contribute to raising awareness for the imminent threat our planet faces and the increasing global inequality resulting from said threat? The residency will take place in the framework of the project ‘TAKING CARE – Ethnographic and World Cultures Museums as Spaces of Care’, co-funded by the Creative Europe Programme of the European Union.

Using the collection and permanent exhibition of the Weltmuseum Wien as reference points, the artist should develop a sound-based work addressing the topic described above. Focusing on the ephemeral medium of sound, the residency aims to support a project that serves as a counterpoint to the material collections of the museum.

Timeframe

First phase – research and work on site: The resident will come to Vienna and work/research at the museum in May and June 2022 for the first phase of the project.

Second phase – production & presentation: Production of work. In late 2022 or early 2023, the outcome of the residency will be presented at the Weltmuseum Wien.

Outcome

The expected outcome will use sound as medium in the broadest sense. The project could be a sound installation, audio work, sound walk, interactive audio piece, radio play, etc.

What the organisers expect

• Commitment to stay in Vienna in May and June 2022 and to develop an artwork for presentation at the museum in late 2022 or early 2023.
• Artist talk during time of residency.
• Applications by experienced artists.
• Artist teams or collectives may apply; however, accommodation and fee/stipend have to be shared.
• The selected artist allows the KHM-Museumsverband to use the documentation of the residency and images of the work produced in the frame of this project for documentation, archiving, website and social media, as well as project publications without payment.

What the organisers offer

• Residency stipend May to June 2022: €4000 in total, presence required.
• Fee for the completed artwork: €4000.
• Production costs will be reimbursed for a maximum amount of up to €2500 (only after submission of corresponding list of invoices and copies).
• Accommodation for up to two people in a single apartment and travel costs to and from Vienna (economy) for the residency will be provided.

Deadline: 3 October 2021

The TAKING CARE project explores connections between ethnographic collections and questions regarding the climate crisis and the anthropocene and in this context addresses issues related to the afterlives of colonialism. It positions ethnographic and world cultures museums as spaces that confront these challenges in participatory and creative ways. TAKING CARE is a large-scale European cooperation project led by the Weltmuseum Wien; scheduled to run for four years, it brings together fourteen partner organizations and is co-funded by the Creative Europe Programme of the European Union. The project is framed around the notion of care, caring, and the power relations assumed by those who “care for” someone or something.