exchange Programme
OPEN CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS
Grand Union is delighted to announce a new collaboration with SOMA (Mexico City)
One arts practitioner from the West Midlands will be selected to spend one month in residence at SOMA
during September 2015. This forms one leg of an exchange which sees Grand Union welcoming an artist
from SOMA to be in residence during December 2015.
Each organisation will provide a residency tailored to their available facilities, and both will give the
selected practitioner the opportunity to explore their practice in a new culture of production, critical
discourse and social engagement.
As such, the focus is upon research and development, rather than a formal or production based outcome.
Application Guidelines
What you will receive
This call is open to Artists, Writers and Curators
based in the West Midlands.
- 1 month dedicated studio time in SOMA to
develop your research
- Arranged meetings and network building within
Mexico City
- Return travel to Mexico City
- Accommodation in Mexico City
- Artist/curator/writer’s Fee
Applicants are required to submit:
- A description of intent for the residency (500
words)
- A biography (250 words)
- 10 images of recent work/2 recent pieces of
writing
- A statement about your practice (500 words)
Deadline 12pm, Friday 26 June 2015.
Submit your application as a pdf document to:
[email protected].
The practitioner will be shortlisted, and be
presented to the following panel for selection:
Cheryl Jones (Director, Grand Union)
Kim McAleese (Associate Curator, Grand Union)
Barbara Hernandez (Director, SOMA)
Laura Cortes Hesselbach (Residencies and
Projects Coordinator, SOMA)
Tania Ragasol (British Council)
SOMA was founded in Mexico City in 2009, as an artist-led institution to platform cultural exchange. Each year, SOMA offers
places to 15 students to participate in their academic programme, akin to a Masters in Fine Art, addressing the lack of any
formal Masters educational course in the city. One of the main objectives is to create and facilitate direct links and exchange
between the Mexican cultural scene and international partners. The residencies are an integral part of SOMA, feeding directly
into the academic programme and enriching the diversity of cultural activity in the city.
GRAND UNION is a gallery and studios, based in Digbeth, Birmingham’s cultural quarter. We aim to create an experimental
and active site for the production of new work. See www.grand-union.org.uk for more details.
This exchange is supported by The British Council and La Embajada de México en Reino Unido, with
support from the Government of Mexico as part of the Year of Mexico in the UK 2015.