DIY 2020: Tim Etchells and Vlatka Horvat – A Way Away: Correspondence Course
A Way Away uses the mode of correspondence course to explore ideas around distance – spatial and temporal, physical and social, imagined and real.
This DIY is run in partnership with Heart of Glass.
About the workshop
A Way Away: Correspondence Course is a peer-to-peer artist development project exploring the idea of distance, approaching it not only as the topic of our investigation but also as a condition of living, as a situation to work in, as both a material and a tool. A Way Away will use various forms of exchange over distance, including the old genre of correspondence course whereby dispersed participants send materials to one another by regular post. Conceived – and likely realized – in the ongoing pandemic in which social distancing and lockdown frame all social interaction, the project looks at distance both as an obstacle, a hurdle or barrier to be overcome and as an opportunity to connect, work and think in new ways.
We are thinking about distance in multiple senses – from the physical and social distance imposed in the reactions to COVID-19, to the distance between classes and communities impacted so differently by the situation, about the distance between artists and audiences, between artworks and viewers, between objects and bodies, between strangers and lovers and family members and friends. We are also thinking about communication frames and cultural practices that generate alienation and conflict and those that might create intimacy or collaboration. We want to explore the constraint imposed by the lockdown to create a radical zone of possibility, to develop a kind of thinking, exchange and ways of working with others that would not be conceivable or possible in a more ‘usual’ social, economic and temporal rhythm.
Dates, time and location
Dates: The project will take place over a 10-week period, to account for the slow time of postal exchanges.
Start time: end of January 2021.
There will be one communal meeting session conducted online with all participants. This will take place towards the end of the project – end of March / early April – with the precise date to be agreed with the participants.
Location: Wherever you are in the UK, as long as Royal Mail can reach you.
How to Apply
If you would like to participate in A Way Away: Correspondence Course, follow this link and please write approximately 500 words about the idea and materiality of distance in relation to your practice and/or life. Alternatively you can record a 5-7min video or audio and send it to us on [email protected] using WeTransfer. Please also send us a short narrative bio/artist statement and let us know where in the UK you will be based for the duration of the project (late January – early April).
We’re interested in dialogue and exchange between different kinds and ‘levels’ of practice, different approaches, agendas and artistic languages. We welcome applications from artists working across a wide range of forms and disciplines – including, but not limited to, performance, dance, visual art and writing – at any stage in their practice.
We will select 12 artists for the project, with the view of bringing together a diverse group of participants with different practices and backgrounds, different levels of experience, based in different parts of the UK.
Applicants will be notified before the end of the year whether or not they have been selected to participate in the project.
Each participant will receive £40 to cover postage and materials.
About the artists
Tim Etchells and Vlatka Horvat each have a varied artistic practice that moves between different forms, from sculpture, installation, performance and writing to drawing, photography and video. In addition to pursuing their individual practices, the two artists have had a close collaboration for almost 20 years, working together on a range of projects and initiatives. These have included making collaborative videos, installations and performances, as well as devising and co-organizing workshops, live events and exhibitions internationally.
For more info on our practices, visit:
Tim: www.timetchells.com
Vlatka: www.vlatkahorvat.com
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