LoCA Studio Program
ABOUT
The Livingstone Office for Contemporary Arts (LoCA) is delighted to introduce the LoCA Studio Program. Opened on March 18 2024, this year-long program, focuses on Curatorial and Artistic Studio practices.
We invite emerging artists, writers, and curators to apply to our newly established program with an international faculty of practising artists, art historians, curators, and writers to help and guide the participants in artistic practices, art theory, writing and curatorial studies, research methodologies and professional development.
LoCA-SP stems from the need to fill in the gap within Zambia's artistic practices that suffer from an enormous lack of critical reflection and intellectual and infrastructural deficits; and the need to create local ecologies that employ a process of unlearning- relearning the local knowledge, histories, legacies, technologies and methods within our society.
LoCA-SP for artistic and curatorial practices focuses on criticality, art production, and the need to build on well-researched themes and an understanding of aesthetics within contemporary artistic practices. It supports your individual concerns and development and enables you to navigate your way through theory and practice, various fine art media, and thematic strands within the study of art history and visual cultures.
Curating refers to a wide range of activities, including the care of collections and the development of exhibitions, festivals, screenings, digital platforms and more. Curators engage with historical knowledge and respond to urgent social issues, staging culture to bring together multiple publics. LoCA-SP encourages collaboration and peer support as a vital method; therefore, curatorial participants are encouraged to use the program to stage the work in progress and organise events in which peers can participate.
Benefits of The Program
Gain the expertise that will help you develop independent thought and confidence in your practice.
You will develop your ability to work collaboratively and with your peers towards an open exhibition at the end of the program.
It will help to develop a critical approach to your work and think about it in the broader context of art history through exposure to the theory and practice of fine art.
Through various assignments and close mentorship by our visiting practising curators, you will develop a broad set of curatorial skills, become a more critical thinker and confident researcher, and begin to shape your curatorial practice and prepare you for further studies within the field.
The program faculty are professional artists, curators, academics and writers, here to help you develop your practice, focus your research and respond to your work.
Invited artists, curators, gallerists, administrators and funders will provide you with specialist advice and further information to complement your studies and prepare you for professional life after the program.
A rich exchange and network among peers and visiting experienced local and international professionals.
What we offer
Each participant will have a studio space allocated to them and will have access to the sound and video editing space as well as the tools if needed.
Free access to the Library and the internet.
Who Can Apply?
Our program targets African artists living in Zambia and on the continent. We want to open dialogues on what Livingstone means to Johannesburg, Dar es Salaam, Harare, Maputo, Malindi or Luanda, etc. and what kind of contemporary thought, dialogues and creation of such meeting- points can foster a global discourse.
The LoCA-SP also has two places for international visiting student applicants (or from cooperating institutions).
Visual Artists can be working in any media – painting, text, sculpture, textile, ceramics, photography, sound, video, film and performance art
Upcoming curators and writers from across Africa with at least two years of experience would benefit from close interaction with artists and other professionals.
Applications are open to all artists (with or without formal art education) who have been professionally active for at least three years.
This gives participants a broad range of understanding processes and options for their development and stimulates discussion, thought, and reflection opportunities. Some segments will introduce and focus on non-traditional art-making approaches and curatorial strategies to help participants realise and achieve their unique visions. Participating artists and curators are encouraged to present their work to their colleagues and the facilitators through seminars, talks, and presentations.
How to Apply
Completion of the application form
Well articulated a motivation letter
Portfolio of your artistic practice with at least 12 images
Project Proposal for Curatorial Participants
CV showing your educational background and relevant work experience
Secondary School certificate (applies to international applicants)
Documentation of at least two years of professional practice as a curator
APPLICATION DEADLINE IS NOVEMBER 15TH, 2023.
Instructions concerning the portfolio format (PowerPoint format)
At least up to 12 items representing a variety of your artwork and approaches. These must be .jpg image files, .mov video files or .mp3 audio files.
The work submitted should demonstrate independent enquiry areas emerging in your art practice.
We are interested in seeing your ability to go beyond a given brief's requirements: your working process and visual curiosity. Please only include work that is central to your practice and concerns.
Conditions of Acceptance:
All Participants must be based in Livingstone for the one-year duration of the entire program.
Please do not apply if you cannot attend the whole program.
The LoCA-SP will be conducted principally in English, and participants must have at least a conversational English level.
For the local artists (based in Zambia), we encourage you to attend the interview in person. ZOOM interviews will be conducted for applicants based outside Zambia selection.
For additional information, please contact loca.contemporary@gmail.com
Program Costs
There are no costs attached to the program itself, but each participant must pay a 600 kwacha (ZMW) semester fee.
Additionally, each participant must be able to document approximately 1, 700 $ US or equivalent, which would cover their living expenses, food, and local transportation.
Non-resident participants must bear their travel costs to and from Livingstone and their living costs for the duration of the program.
LoCA will subsidise food by supplying a food box with mainly vegetables, eggs and milk every month- made available by a local community of women small-scale farmers.
LoCA does not offer accommodation at the moment nor does it offer financial support to cover accommodation, (this will change in the future when the facility dedicated to the program is completed). Therefore participants are advised to be ready to cover for the duration of their stay.
Student hostels in Livingstone range from 650 Kwacha to 1, 200 Kwacha (ZMW) - monthly rates
A room shared among 4 cost 650 Kwacha (ZMW) per head
A room shared between 2 costs approximately 800 Kwacha (ZMW)
A single room costs approximately between 1, 000-1, 200 Kwacha (ZMW)
A standard two-bedroomed house outside the town centre is approx 1, 700 Kwacha -2, 000 Kwacha (ZMW). Water and electricity are not included
Participants applying from neighbouring countries are encouraged to apply for funding from their home countries or other sources to support their fees, travel and living expenses.
Several possible resources for funding for African applicants are as follows:
Pro Helvetia in Johannesburg and Cairo: http://www.prohelvetia.ch/Johannesburg
Prince Claus Fund- British Council https://princeclausfund.org/mobility-fund-2
Goethe Institutes in your respective countries
British Council in your respective countries
NOTE: We advise you to apply for travel funding whether or not your participation in the program has been confirmed to not miss the application deadlines.
Art Moves Africa (AMA): www.artmovesafrica.org
The African Arts Trust (TAAT), based in Kenya, eligible to artists from East Africa: http://www.theafricanartstrust.org/
