The association Chercheurs d’art is organising a residency of 4 to 5 weeks at the Centre d’Art et de Recherche de Mana (CARMA), in French Guiana, around the theme ‘design, furniture, wood’. The residency is aimed at professional or emerging visual artists working in the field of wood sculpture and/or furniture, design, cabinet making.
The aims of this residency are:
- To allow a French or foreign artist to carry out a research project related to Guyanese vernacular practices in the field of sculpture, design and cabinet making.
- To create an exchange with the sculptors, woodcutters and lumberjacks of La Route de l’art (The Art Road). Several roadside woodcutters offer to the public remarkable pieces of wood cut into slices or trays in rich and colourful species. Attempts to make pieces of furniture with a raw design are not very successful due to a lack of technical means and a lack of openness to the market of furniture creation. Tables, pedestal tables, benches, armchairs, lights, shelves and other furniture could be designed with simple and efficient techniques of execution. It is proposed to the invited designer to elaborate with these isolated and precariously installed sawyers, a collection of interior objects with a modest tooling and basic materials (flat or round irons, hardware, bolts…).
- To produce a line of prototypes with variations as well as works that could be integrated into future seasons of CARMA (Garnished altars, Memories of Guiana).
- To encourage the meeting of artists with the inhabitants of the region and the users of CARMA.
- To participate in weekends dedicated to La Route de l’art (The Art Road), an artistic and tourist route that highlights the know-how of West French Guiana’s artist-artisans.
The selected candidate will be granted a residency period of four to five weeks beginning 11 October 2021 (or another proposed period).
The resident’s travel to Mana will be paid for by the association directly from his/her main place of residence. They will be housed in Mana in a provided accommodation and given a meal budget of 30€ per day upon presentation of receipts. They will additionally have a budget of up to 1800€ for artistic production (equipment, materials, tools) and access to a studio.
At the end of the residency, CARMA may offer the artist a contract for the acquisition and transfer of exploitation rights for the entire artistic production produced during the residency for an amount ranging from 2000€ to 3000€.
