The European project HALAQAT, organised by the Goethe-Institut together with Bozar - Centre for Fine Arts Brussels and co-funded by the European Union, is organising a music residency. Serving as a bridge between the Arab world and Europe, HALAQAT offers a contemporary journey into artistic imaginaries shared by both regions and focuses on the diversity and richness of cultural collaborations today to support and strengthen them in the future.
The Goethe-Institut and Bozar together with Werkplaats Walter in Belgium and the Amman Jazz Festival in Jordan are starting a music residency programme in 2021/2022 and are looking for six motivated emerging professional musicians from both the Arab World and Europe to meet, exchange ideas and perform in Brussels (Belgium) from 29 November to 5 December 2021. The concept of the residency programme is to focus on free improvisation, experimentation, and real live exchange of musical ideas. It aims to bring together musicians who don’t necessarily know each other and to give them the opportunity to perform, improvise, experiment and search for common ground together.
The open call for this first residency focuses on jazz and electronic music. (A second residency later in 2022 will deal with improvisation, ethnic and folk music.)
Each residency will result in a concert at the Centre for Fine Arts Brussels. The residency will provide a mentorship programme according to the needs and expectations of the selected artists. A first online meeting will be organised in September/October 2021 to allow them to introduce themselves and share first artistic ideas.
Applicants should be emerging musicians with professional experience from the Arab World or from Europe, and nationality and residency of a state of the League of Arab States or an EU member state (including UK and pre-accession countries), and should be no more than 40 years old.
Each artist in residence will receive a per diem for accommodation, food expenses, local transportation in Brussels and from/to the airport or train station. The per diem will be payable for each overnight stay between date of departure and date of return. The organisers will cover the travel costs (max. 500€ per person for international travels) and possible expenses linked to the visa procedure. Bozar will provide the musicians a gross fee of 400 € per person for their participation in the public improvisation concert.
