Half a House is a 5 day project initiated by the artists Sonia Gómez (ES), Leonardo Delogu (IT), Brogan Davison (UK), Gosie Vervloessem (BE) and Pétur Ármannsson (IS) as part of the European project N.O.W. New Open Working process for the performing arts, taking place in Florence from 10 to 14 May 2017 within the Fabbrica Europa Festival.
Half a House is inspired by the work of Chilean architect Alejandro Aravena, who after the earthquake and tsunami in 2010 in Chile, built half houses that could be finished by their inhabitants according to their own needs and in their own taste.
Half a House is an invitation to investigate what artistic practice would look like if, in times of pressure, we don’t put all our energy in finishing the walls: what if we leave the house ‘half’ and take time to reflect and restructure, explore new ways of operating, faced with the wind blowing through the unfinished walls?
Instead of resurrecting the walls, Half a House proposes to renovate by ‘sharing’ practices and ideas, merging workspace and daily life between different players within and outside of the arts field – curators, artists, programmers, theoreticians, scientists, activists, social workers – researching questions related to artistic practice and beyond.
The artistic investigation will collectively carried out through a co-living format, merging daily tasks and abstract topics, workshops, experiences, guests and performances.
Through this Call Half a House is seeking 10 participants based in Italy, to join a process of co-creation, co-habitation and sharing of practice: artists and curators who want to challenge their practice by opening it up to accidental encounters, negotiating new ways of living and who are not afraid to spend intensive time in a collective working space.
During 5 days selected participants will co-habitate with the N.O.W. artists and partners and the physicality of the space itself will be a process of sharing. The group will build and craft their own private space as well as the communal areas. Mobile and flexible modules will be used and organized by the artists, partners and participants accordingly to the activities and the questions that arise in the process.
Through working in a horizontal structure and playing with the concept of hierarchy, the project aims to create a community that supports the sharing of knowledge, interdisciplinary practice, openness and risk.
For more information about the project and how to apply follow this link.
The application deadline is Thursday, March 30, 2017