Two Seychellois artists to attend Venice Biennale next month |06 September 2019
Seychelles National Pavilion artists George Camille and Daniel Dodin in Venice
The Creative Industries and National Events Agency has released an 'Open Call' for all Seychellois artists to apply to visit the Venice Biennale in order to experience the type and quality of art work exhibited at the world's most prestigious art biennale.
The successful applicants will visit the Seychelles national pavilion as well as spend a week immersed in the biennale in general. The curator of the Seychelles involvement will be present to lead workshops on aspects of the biennale, focusing on the way in which relatively new technology such as video and installation work has largely replaced painting as the predominant form of creative expression on the international platform.
Creative Industries and National Events Agency (Cinea) chief executive Galen Bresson explained why this opportunity was being offered at this time.
“Cinea organised our national participation at the 2019 Venice Biennale and it was always our intention to send selected artists to the exhibition in order that they might gain a deeper understanding of the standard of work being produced and shown at an event which traditionally exhibits 'cutting edge' art,” said Mr Bresson.
“We know that such an experience will have a tremendous impact upon the work that the artists make subsequently and hope that they will return to Seychelles with an appetite for creating fresh and exciting art which – like much of that on show in Venice – has a strong conceptual base as well as a high standard of technical realisation. In short, sending artists to Venice is a significant investment in the development of culture in Seychelles,” Mr Bresson added.
The selected artists must have a valid passport (with at least nine months before the expiry date) and be prepared to travel to Venice on Sunday October 20, 2019. The return to Seychelles will be one week later. Cinea will cover accommodation, city tax and flight costs as well as biennale entrance fees. The artists will be expected to cover their own personal expenses during the week, including transport within Venice on public boats.
Interested artists are warmly invited to submit an application by the closing date, which is 6pm Seychelles time, Friday September 20, 2019. This can be done by sending an email to MconsultingK@gmail.com or, if preferred, a hard copy of the application to either the Cinea offices at the International Conference Centre Seychelles or the Eden Art Space Gallery at Eden Plaza. All applications must include the following:
- The artist's CV.
- Three images of the artist's recent work, with a short written statement about each piece. This should describe the concept of the work as well as the process/media/technique if this is not apparent from the image.
- A short (maximum 300 words) statement explaining how the applicant believes that experiencing the Venice Biennale will enhance and improve their work as an artist.
- An image of the artist's NIN card.
- The artist's contact telephone number.
Selection will be made by a small committee comprising the biennale curator, biennale commissioner and two other persons from the visual arts sector in Seychelles. The selected participant/s will be informed on Friday September 27, 2019. Unsuccessful applicants will also be notified.