Call for grants 2023/2024

The Santa Mònica residency grants are aimed at transdisciplinary creators working in the relational or participatory field.

The aim is to promote the development of prototypes of artistic mediation devices that explore transmedia formats that open up the questions posed by Santa Mònica's exhibition programme to different audiences.

Each of the transmedia devices developed during the residency acts as a prototype that may or may not remain as a stable future device, available to Santa Mònica, but they do not have to respond to the demands or objectives set by the centre. The prototypes generated and the future stable devices are not conceived as works with intellectual property and individual authorship, but as projects that can be replicated by future grant holders or the institution itself.

The exhibition cycles that will take place between September 2023 and July 2024 are based on the following questions:

• Exhibition cycle #1: what would the world be like if Europe had never existed? This cycle explores this question from a decolonial perspective, hosting some of the artistic proposals of the exhibition Afrofuturisme Cimarron by Yuderkis Espinosa and Katia Sepúlveda, which will also have its exhibition venue at the centre de la imatge La Virreina.

• Exhibition cycle #2: how do altered states affect our consciousness? This cycle proposes an exploration of altered states from the perspective of psychoanalysis, shamanism, drugs, dreams, the metaverse, mental health and transformism, among other practices, realities and discourses.

• Exhibition Cycle #3: what effects has the biennial had and has on the art world in terms of the market and competitiveness? This cycle proposes a reflection on the so-called 'politics of biennialisation' and biennials as global art institutions, based on the observation of their impact on the structures of production and circulation of art, as well as the art profession.

The residencies are designed as temporary stays of 11 months in a shared space at the Santa Mònica. During this time, the residents set up and participate in research processes that end up materialising in various prototypes of artistic mediation devices. At the same time, they are invited to share their lines of research and the resulting prototypes within the framework of other education and mediation programmes and projects at the centre, such as the curatorial training programme at Santa Mònica, Situations (making) the educational project Sojornar and the Festival de Cultura Raval(s) coordinated by the Tot Raval foundation.

The grant holders work on-site at Santa Mònica, in order to promote the exchange of knowledge within the group and the collective dimension of the different research processes. The group of residents has a production grant for the development of prototypes and a follow-up of their stay and their research processes by the management and the technical team of the centre.

In addition, there are 5 intensive residency periods during which the artists and the technical team in charge of accompanying the residency can collectively deepen, review and evaluate the research processes underway as well as the internal work dynamics and the relationship with the institution.

The 2023/2024 scholarship programme intensives will take place during 2 consecutive days of the following weeks:

• Intensive #1 (welcome, presentation of the group, immersion in the context and environment of Santa Mònica): 5 and 6 September.
  
  
• Intensive #2: week of November 13th.
  
  
• Intensive #3: week of February 5th.
  
  
• Intensive #4: week of April 29th.
  
  
• Intensive #5: (final evaluation and closure): week of 22 July.

The modalities of the grants 2023/2024 are:
 

a) Participatory mediation research (3 grants)

These are grants for research into experimental forms of mediation and the activation of audiences, that is, research into the creation of alternative forms of reception and participation in artistic and cultural events by audiences.

b) Spatial mediation research (3 grants)

These are grants for research that rethinks content in terms of the design of exhibition spaces and ephemeral architectural devices, as well as constructions in public space. Research in this modality may also investigate experimental audience arrangements.

c) Digital mediation research (3 grants)

These are grants for research into experimental forms of content mediation through apps, platforms and other digital projects.

d) Communication mediation research (3 grants)

These are grants for research on experimental forms of mediation understood as communication and dissemination, both physical and digital.

e) Editorial mediation research (3 grants)

These are grants for research into experimental forms of mediation through design and editorial production.

f) Educational mediation research (3 grants)

These are grants for research experimenting with diverse educational and training activities, as well as around digital training actions.

g) Gastronomic mediation research (3 grants)

These are grants for research that explore strategies of cultural mediation and socialisation through gastronomy as an artistic creation.

The amount of the grant is 9,200.00 euros for a duration of 11 months, from 1 September 2023 to 31 July 2024.

The payment of the grant is processed as follows:

1. A first payment, consisting of an advance of 50% of the amount of the grant, as of the publication of the award.

2. A second payment, of 30% of the amount of the grant, once the beneficiary has justified the partial completion of the project, in accordance with the temporary work plan, by means of supporting documentation (a supporting report detailing the activity carried out until then and a planning of the activity to be carried out in the remaining period) in accordance with the temporary work plan of the research project.

3. A third payment of 20% of the amount of the grant, once the beneficiary has justified the completion of the grant project, by means of supporting documentation (the report containing the description of the work phases carried out, according to the nature of the project, the timetable and the methodology used, as well as an explanation of the results obtained and the future prospects). The document must be at least ten pages long.

• Natural persons domiciled in Catalonia are eligible to apply for these grants.
• In order to obtain the status of beneficiary, applicants must meet the following requirements and conditions, in addition to those set out in general basis 3:
  • Each applicant may only submit a single application and for a single modality.
  • Applicants must hold a university or higher artistic education degree that accredits the corresponding speciality in accordance with the type of grant applied for, or accredit an academic-technical career related to the type of grant applied for, or accredit a professional career related to the type of grant applied for during a minimum period of three years.
  • The activity must be carried out at the Centre for 11 months between 1 September 2023 and 31 July 2024.
• The grant cannot be awarded to anyone who has obtained another grant in this line twice consecutively or three grants in this line in the last five years.

These grants must be processed online through the portal of Generalitat. You can also consult the terms and conditions at the same link.

The period for submitting applications is from 18 April to 11 May, both days included.

When submitting the application, the following documentation must be provided, together with the documentation stipulated in general conditions 7 and 11.5:

• Detailed curriculum vitae of the applicant, specifying at least the university or higher artistic education qualifications, academic-technical career or professional career related to the modality applied for, in accordance with the provisions of base 3.1.b).

• Copy of the university or higher artistic education degree that accredits the corresponding speciality and documentation accrediting the academic-technical or professional career that has been included in the applicant's curriculum vitae. In the case of official Spanish university degrees, these do not have to be provided, except in the case of express opposition from the applicant, which the examining body will check ex officio.

• Description of the research project to be carried out, which must be written in Catalan and must indicate: the motivation for the research in relation to the artistic or social context on which it is intended to have an impact; the objectives of the research; the planned methodology and also the means that will be required from the centre. This description may not exceed 3,500 characters or three pages in length.

Application period: from 18 April to 11 May, both days included.

Information sessions: 18 April at 12 noon and 4 May at 6 pm.

Communication of shortlisted candidates: week of 29 May.

Interviews: week of 6 June. ATTENTION DATE CHANGE: Interviews will be held during the week of 12 June.

Resolution: week of 12 June. ATTENTION DATE CHANGE: Resolution will be communicated during the week of 19 June.

To solve doubts and to learn about some examples of the research developed in previous editions, we invite you to come to one of the two information sessions. Check the date and time in the 'Calendar' section of this web entry.

If you have any doubts about the content of the grants and the residency, please contact: Marta Gracia Valladares (martagracia@gencat.cat)

For technical questions and incidents in the application process, you can contact: Andreu Carreras i Novich (andreucarreras@gencat.cat)