The KARP is excited to issue the open call for the KARP Artist in Residence 2024 Program.
We invite you to submit your applications for the 8th edition of International Artist in Residence Program (KARP AiR 2024), which will take place from 04 to 17 November 2024 in the Kamina Radio Station, Atakpamé, Togo. “È WÁARÍ 2024” (“Come and See”- translated from IFE – local language) is the slogan of this year program.
This year program is open to local and international artists who will find themselves in a unique space for creative exploration and development in an artistic environment. Our residencies are process-oriented and encourage artists to experiment, focus on new themes, look for inspiration in their surroundings, and perhaps a creative dialogue with other artists, both international and local. The program is designed to be both supportive and inspiring, enabling you to develop lifelong friendships, professional relationships and future collaborations.
Deadline for applications: May 20, 2024
Announcement of selected artists: by the end of June 2024
Artistic residency program: starts on Monday 4th and ends on Sunday 17th November, 2024
ABOUT THE KARP AiR 2024 PROGRAM
This is the eighth year that KARP organize international residency program and the second year that in addition to the experience of the residence in the ruins of Kamina, the organizers decided to introduce, the È WÁARÍ 2024 Street Art Festival, thus opening the residency program to the local audience.
The two-week stay of international artists will be divided into two parts.
In the first week, visits will be organized in the region, such as at the ministry, tourism and arts center, during which the local authorities will present the ongoing cultural development of the region. This week will be devoted to the implementation and realization of own projects, which will finally be shown at the exhibition during the festival.
In the first three days of the week will also be used to launch KARP in both Lomé and Atakpamé with cocktail meetings. The following people will be invited to the cocktail reception: ministers of culture, businessmen and businesswomen, cultural practitioners, sponsors, donors and artists. The main goal is to raise funds, create opportunities for contact, awareness and present KARP to the public.
The second week, during which the program of the festival will be realized, during which the participants of the residency will have the opportunity to get to know the local culture, creativity, while sharing their own experiences with other artists.
Halfway through the stay (Sunday, November 10), for an additional fee (EUR 80), a trip to the Cascade de Kpimé, Cascade de Womé and art center will be organized. Participation in the trip is voluntary.
*Artists should arrive to Lomé 1-2 days before the AIR program starts (Monday, November 4) and leave 1-2 after the last day (Sunday, November 17) of the program.
The È WÁARÍ Street Art Festival 2024 includes attractions such as:
- Implementation of murals or other forms of street art on the main street from the Karp building to the market square.
- Conferences for local artists, film and film screenings, dramas and storytelling.
- Performances by performing artists on the main street.
- Platforms for playwrights and storytellers (permanent presence of a DJ expected).
- There will be plenty of space for sellers of traditional, local food, fabrics, fashion designers, blacksmiths, weavers and other craftsmen.
Local artists invited to participate in the festival will be encouraged to have direct contact with the audience, our international artists by sharing their own experiences or short workshops.
Participants of the KARP AiR program will not be limited to the exposition of projects in the KARP building in Kamina, but there will be the opportunity for them to work directly in the public spaces during the festival.
The aim of this year’s program is to implement an annual cultural and artistic festival, during which local, regional and international artists will be able to get to know and share the art and culture of the city of Atakpamé – Togo from the Plateau region.
LOCATION
Kamina, a village where the nearest large settlement was Atakpamé (the fifth largest city in Togo by population, located on a hilly wooded savannah on the eastern end of the Atakora Mountain range in the Plateaux Region of Togo. It is an industrial center and lies on the main north-south highway, 161 km north of the capital Lomé. It is also a regional commercial centre for produce and cloth) in Togo (West Africa), was mainly known for its Funkstation: a shortwave radio transmitter developed during the German occupation of 1911-14. Built by Telefunken, the wireless radio station was designed as a hub and switching point for other German colonial radio stations. Just after the start of World War I, Togoland was invaded by British and French forces from the neighboring Gold Coast (Ghana) and French Dahomey (Benin) colonies. The station was destroyed by its operators to prevent it from falling under British and French control. The Kamina ruins then became a forgotten place removed from the world’s attention.
WHAT IS PROVIDED BY THE PROGRAM
- Accommodation in Kamira Lodge in Atakpamé
- Meals (breakfast, dinner)
- Work Space
- Round trip from Lomé to Atakpamé
- Social Media promotion
- Invitation letter
- Certificate of participation
- Metal wedding shop
- Local clay* (please bear in mind there is no oven to burn the sculptures)
- Wood for carvers or sculptures
- Materials like canvas and basic colors paint
- Screen for video projections
Additionally, the program offers professional development activities including mentoring sessions, presentations, and peer-to-peer feedback sessions, organized site visits to local art spaces and other institutions, and opportunities to meet and connect with local artists and arts professionals.
* clay works should be environmentally friendly
WHAT IS NOT PROVIDED BY THE PROGRAM
- Flight Tickets
- Visa Expenses (all supporting documents to get Visa will be provided by organizators)
- Tools and specific materials used by the artist
- Daily Expenses
- Health Insurance
PARTICIPATION REQUIREMENTS
WHO CAN APPLY?
KARP AiR Program welcomes multi-disciplinary artists from around the world.
You are eligible for KARP Artist in Residency 2024 Program, if you meet the following criteria:
- You are a visual or performance artist (Painters, Sculptors, Sound Artists, Writers, Illustrators, New Media Artists, Photographers, Video Artists, Researchers, Vloggers, Creative Influencers, Architecture and Sculpture, Music and Dance, Land Art and Artistic Practices in Public Space, Social Innovation and Community Projects)
- You are an individual artist or cultural practitioner.
- Your practice relates strongly to art and culture and is dedicated to addressing contextually relevant societal topics or issues. We do not accept applications from individuals whose work:
- revolves around academic research;
- is purely developmental (and not cultural);
- is not societally engaged.
The working language of the program is English and French.
HOW TO APPLY
The application deadline is May 20, 2024 at 23:59 CEST. Offers can be sent by completing the form and attachments. Then, the organizers of KARP will select up to 20 international and 10 national artists (the organization may change the number of participants) to take part in this year’s edition of the KARP AiR Program.
Your answers in the application form and information in the supporting documents should be in English.
In the online application form, applicants are asked to provide:
- Personal Details
- Contact Information
- Biography in a narrative form (2,000 characters / approx. 300 words)
- CV as a PDF attachment (2-page limit, 1MB)
- Portfolio as a PDF attachment (10MB)
- Profile picture (1000×1000 px or 1MB)
All applicants will be informed by email about the result of their application, by the end of June 2024. The selected artists will be provided with invitation letters to seek travel sponsorship.
Selection decision is final.
If you have any questions during the time that the Open Call online platform is open (between March 15 – May 20, 2024), about the application or the program, please email karpkamina@gmail.com.
È WÁARÍ 2024 STREET ART FESTIVAL PROGRAM
Day 1: Performance Tours:
Resident artists along with local drama troupes and cultural groups will tour Atakpamé Street featuring fashion, music, dance and body painting
Date: Monday 11th November 2024
Venue: Street from Market to Kamina building
Time: 8 am – 6 pm
Day 2 – Film Shows/movie Cast / Conference with the local artist:
Showcasing current local movies, and tourist documentary, Kamina radio rein presentation and KARP developmental project documentary
Date: Tuesday 12th November 2024
Venue: Afternoon @ Kamina Site / Art Atakpame art center
Time: 1 pm – 3 pm and 6 pm – 8 pm
Day 3 – Day of Remembering / Opening of WORI 2024 Exhibition:
A performance showing how the Germans used the local population to build a radio and power station. Involvement in the program of local theater groups, school theater groups and the local population.
Date: Wednesday 13th November 2024
Venue: Market Road to Kamina site
Time: 2 pm – 8 pm
Day 4: Bomb fire / WORI food Party:
Opening of the exhibition of projects carried out by international artists participating in the KARP AiR 2023 residency in the Kamina building
After the opening, the next part of the festival will begin – the food festival called WORI Food Party, during which you will enjoy consuming local delicacies and drinks together (free or with subsidized prices).
A day when traditional and not only music cannot be missing, which will accompany the participants all the time. We will end the day with a bomb fire on the KARP LAND.
Date: Thursday, 14th November 2024
Venue: Karp Site & Kamina building
Time: 10 am – 5 pm
Day 5 – WORI Street Art Festival Grand Finale / Music Concert:
The last day of the festival. A day when you can admire the works of the participants of the residency, various murals or other forms of performing arts in public space (DJ concert in front of the restaurant). Local artists, dancers rappers and storytellers are actively involved. Local vendors will be able to sell their products along the road.
Date: Friday, 15th November 2024
Venue: The Restaurant, Market Road to Kamina site
Time: 11 am – 12 midnight
Day 6 – WORI Street Art Festival Grand Finale/ Music Concert Continues:
It continues through to the next day and finally close at the middle of the day where everything will be packed and we get ready to set back to Lome for various departure in the next day
Date: Saturday, 16th November 2024
Venue: The Restaurant, Market Road to Kamina site
Time: 6 am – 12 noon