THE PAIR in Practice
The P.A.I.R. (Portable Artist in Residence) is a mobile initiative and offers a temporary residence to artists on a new location. The residence consists basically of two six-‐metre containers. The artists selected make the given theme their starting point, relate to their surroundings and neighbours, and make use of their knowledge, art and tools. Do we want good education? Is art the language that we need to express our worries? Is nature a partner or a subject to realise our wishes? How are we going to feed our selves? Do we want to create a community or do we want to get different communities together? What is the role of people of different ages? “Few understand why it is imperative not only to have the effect of art take shape and execute the reader or spectator but also to explain art, and to explain it in such a way that the explanation does not kill the emotion” – L.S.Vygotsky
(a possible description of working with the PAIR for one year)
Mission On-‐site!
Every site, any site has a history and a theme of its own. Every site involves people. It’s the people, their stories, histories and individuality that inspire. A workshop is a place for hammering, sawing and welding. A workshop is also a place where makers can gain practical experience. Working on-‐site means you start from what the site has to offer: these may be things, the place itself…but always people and the people’s stories. That is the basis for your work. You need to spend your days and nights there to get to know the people and their
stories. An occasional visit for working out a plan at home doesn’t work. It’s important that you take time for a relationship to develop. Making site-‐specific art is a challenge. And always you reinvent yourself while doing it. The P.A.I.R. so far had it’s focus on visual art. It never was restricted. And always new how to give voice to the history and landscape.
traditional art forms in order to give a theme its proper due or to be able to tell a story in the proper way. Theatre can be a play, with a script and actors playing their parts, it can be a dance performance, music or a combination…or something completely different. PeerGrouP productions tend to cut through existing boundaries and in doing so break new grounds.
For example the cutting edge between argumentation and storytelling. The performances are known for their documentary nature with the attention focused not on the story or a character, but on a theme, an event or a history.
Art forms, boundaries…breaking new grounds
The visual aspect plays an important part. Performances are carried by strong and well-‐chosen imagery. But performances are also encapsulated in visual play. To have the public taste or eat something together has proven to be a form of theatre that reaches out to the public, without the public minding this involvement. Finally, the cutting edge between professional and amateur. Regularly, performances are played by combinations of professionals and amateurs. We trie to connect with local people and uses ideas and methods from community arts, but never gives the initiative completely over in the hands of the community.
Henry, the P.A.I.R.’s initiator and curator, produces site-‐specific theatre that steps outside the boundaries of accepted, classical or
P.A.I.R. The P.A.I.R. (Portable Artist in Residence) is a mobile initiative and offers a temporary residence to artists. The residence consists basically of two six-‐metre containers, one for living and one for working, is self-‐sufficient in water and electricity, and is provided with some tools, books and wood to make a fire. The artists selected make the given theme their starting point, relate to their surroundings and neighbours, and make use of their knowledge, art and tools.
Project in 5 steps
In five steps we show how the process could look like. 1. Call for Artists 2. Selection of artists 3. Artists working in Nikola Lenivets 4. Presentation 5. Publication and evaluation 1. Call for Artists Henry J. Alles writes the text for the recruitment of the artists. Henry recruits artists through Trans Artists and personal email list with a international network. This has so far some 30 project submissions at a time yielded. The high quality of the entries is striking. The P.A.I.R. is popular and is well known. The entries come from almost all continents.
The call indicates: • Description Location. • Introduction to the annual theme. • Period: exact dates and location will be discussed with the selected artist (s). • Residence: Two six-‐meter containers: one in which to work and to live. What tools and books. Limited electricity through a solar panel, 600 litres of clean water, and a wood stove. • Request for a brief project proposal by mail to send. Any comprehensive documentation can be displayed online. • Deadline for submission. 2. Selection of artists Important selection criteria are: • authenticity of the artist; • project contributes to the development of the artist; • the population is involved; • it is interesting for the local population and also for art lovers; • (un) consciously the suggested literature, in the call, plays a role in the project; • the location itself plays a role in the project, the artist 'doing something' with the location; • the project dares to experiment. 3. Implementation of the plan of the artist Henry is often quite familiar with a location or environment in which the site is located. This may mean that there are already discussions have taken place with local organizations. Henry J. Alles is aware of the local situation, networks, structures and places.
The selected artist resides for a period of six weeks in the PAIR and carries out his or her plans according to the proposal submitted and under the following conditions:
• the P.A.I.R. projects work in such a way that the working environment is not affected and there is nothing (material thing) at the site is left. Unless we decide differently. The PAIR projects are temporary and only leave an impression, both literally and figuratively. • the artist builds on local structures and shall only temporarily introduce new structures.
The knowledge and expertise of the local is on a different than usual way unfold. • during the work period, the residence is open for visitors. In the search for the relationship between the local and the global, the artist and his work are part of a conversation about art and landscape. Use is made of the (farmers) neighbours, their knowledge and tools, and they are invited to a meal in the portable residence. • P.A.I.R. pays the following costs for the artist: Life and work: € 1500, -‐, Travel and material (maximum) € 1.000, -‐ • the results of the project will be shown to the public. • what is made within the framework of the PAIR be documented and may be used by the Peer Group for publication. • the artist must be communicative and able to deal with a great interest in his project.
4. Public meeting and presentation Each PAIR project is concluded with a public meeting, where the work is presented. This is usually a collaboration between the PAIR artists and the local people.
5. P.A.I.R. completion At the end of the year, the results of the various operating periods of PAIR are processed in one or more small publications.