CALL FOR PARTICIPANTS: SIAN KA'AN BIOSPHERE RESERVE
Fonoteca Nacional and Biosphere Soundscapes are calling for participants for the inaugural residency in Sian Ka’an Biosphere Reserve, October 26th to November 4th, 2015.
As part of the Mexican Soundscape project, Fonoteca Nacional is working in collaboration with Biosphere Soundscapes to produce an artistic residency and interdisciplinary laboratory focusing on the creative and scientific possibilities of listening. Biosphere Soundscapes is designed to inspire communities across the world to listen to the environment and explore the value of sound as a measure for environmental health and ecological engagement in UNESCO Biosphere Reserves. The inaugural residency in Mexico will be centered on sonic exploration of the Sian Ka’an Biosphere Reserve in Quintana Roo, Mexico.
This residency is part of an educational program designed by Biosphere Soundscapes with a focus on collaboration, experimentation and exploration. This interdisciplinary learning laboratory will involve participants exploring the environment through sound, learning about the Sian Ka’an biosphere reserve and collaborating with a dynamic team at the intersection of art, science and technology.
This open call is aimed at artists, scientists, researchers and other professionals working with sound. Applicants should have an interest in acoustic ecology, bioacoustics, field recording or other fields working with environmental sound.
The residency will take place over 10 days and will involve daily field recording sessions accompanied by interdisciplinary workshops and presentations. Participants will learn about the biodiversity of each recording location through presentations with local scientists and conservationists. At the end of the residency participants will have the opportunity to share their creative or scientific discoveries during a showcase.
The residence will be guided by the Biosphere Soundscapes team along with guest artists, specialists from Fonoteca Nacional and scientists from the Sian Ka’an Biosphere Reserve.
As a result of this open call, six participants will be selected, three of which will be Mexican nationals and three internationals. The residency will cover the costs of accommodation, food and local transport for the duration of the residency for selected participants through a full scholarship. The costs of international travel to Quintana Roo are to be covered by the participants.
REQUIREMENTS FOR PARTICIPANTS
- Participates are required to contribute to an interdisciplinary dialogue throughout the residency, this is a creative learning laboratory, not a traditional artist residency.
- Participants require a basic level of experience in field recording and an understanding of acoustic ecology or bioacoustics.
- The residency will be facilitated in English and participants will be expected to have English proficiency in order to contribute towards the sessions.
- Participants are required to take responsibility for their own health and travel insurance and must be over the age of 18.
The 2015 review committee will include an international panel drawn from the Biosphere Soundscapes Advisory Board, Fonoteca and The World Forum for Acoustic Ecology.
Read the call in Spanish here
SELECTION CRITERIA
1. Creative Merit
2. Skills and experience
3. Interdisciplinary capacity
4. Potential to expand dialogue, practice and contribute to the broader project
DATES
The residency call opens on July 5th and closes on August 5th 2015 (extended to August 9th!). Selected participants will be notified by email after August 18th 2015.
The residency will take place from the 26th of October to the 4th of November in Quintana Roo, Mexico.
Participation in this call implies the acceptance of all its requirements and the assumption that the resulting recordings and their rights will remain intellectual property of the author, but it must be considered that these recordings will form part of the Fonoteca Nacional's Mexican Soundscape Archive and will be incorporated into the contents of the Biosphere Soundscapes platform. Likewise, select recordings might be used by Fonoteca Nacional for cultural purposes that the institution might deem appropriate without requiring further authorisation from the author and always respecting his/her rights.
Our inaugural residency in Sian Ka'an Biosphere Reserve in Quintana Roo will begin in October 2015. The call for participation is now closed, selected participants will be notified after August 20th, 2015.
