Locis: Leitrim County Council Arts Office
Locis was a collaborative programme, co-funded by the Culture Programme of the European Union, between Leitrim County Council Arts Office, Ireland; the Centre of Contemporary Art in Toruń, Poland; and Botkyrka Konsthall, Sweden. Locis was designed to provide knowledge, resources and opportunities for artists to engage internationally and to reinforce the principle that a vibrant arts practice should, and can, be maintained from anywhere and that networking across borders can occur from anywhere and with anyone.
The programme comprised of a two-year, three-country artist-in-residence programme where each of the three partners sent and received a leading artist from their country to work with, and mentor, groups of artists from all three regions. Each group met together three to four times throughout the year culminating in an exhibition and seminar which was representative of, or the culmination of, their time together.
The first edition of Locis in 2013 was thematically oriented towards the concept of space and how we use it, how the things we build are a manifestation of the society which we wish to develop for ourselves. The second edition of Locis in 2014 was based on an exploration of our physical, social and political environment, looking at alternative or self organized forms of artistic and social interaction.
Following the six residencies, a publication was produced, which as well as documenting the programme, also contained essays by three writers who were asked to reflect on the programme in their country and to consider how residencies relate to their contexts and/ or provide developmental opportunities for artists in a particular location. In addition, three other writers – Doreen Massey, Anik See and Saša Nabergoj were invited by the three curators to write essays on broader topics of specific interest to the three partners.
For further information please go to www.locis.eu