SACO Contemporary Art Festival has taken place annually since 2012 in the Region of
Antofagasta, in the north of Chile, as an independent initiative of the SE VENDE Mobile Contemporary Art Platform Corporation. Its objective is to install a permanent nucleus of reflection, critique and dialogue in the Atacama Desert, through the gathering of artists, experts, curators, works and the public, in an area marked by the absence of institutions dedicated to these ends. In a region considered the ‘copper capital’, it proposes an alternative by digging deeper for the renewable wealth of creativity and dialogue.
The 9th edition of the Contemporary Art Festival invites artists to participate in the open call for its main exhibition, Now or Never. The selected artists will take part in a week-long residency at ISLA, Latin American Superior Art Institute, with all expenses paid, for the realisation and installation of their works. After the opening, they will participate in an immersion trip within the territory, into the interior of the Atacama Desert. The residency and trip will take place 22 July – 4 August 2020. Visual artists of any nationality may participate.
The Now or Never exhibition itself will take place at the Melbourne Clark Historic Pier in Antofagasta. Proposals for intervention outside of the pier (in the sea, among the rocks, on the breakwater, etc.) will not be accepted, nor will projects that use electricity of any type (projector, television, etc). The exhibition will only run during daylight hours. The winning works must guarantee an exhibition period of no less than two months.
SE VENDE Collective covers:
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A roundtrip airfare from the capital city in the artist’s country of residence to Antofagasta, plus transport to and from the airport in Antofagasta.
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Technical and logistical support in the installation of the work.
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Shared accommodation (double and triple rooms) with self-serve breakfast in the common dining area of the residency centre.
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Lunches and dinners, during the entire residency.
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A maximum of USD $1500 for each intervention on The Melbourne Clark Historic Pier in Antofagasta.
