SERDE Residency Centre – Aizpute, Latvia
June 26 – July 7, 2014

The Cast Iron Art Symposium at the residency and workshop centre SERDE is part of the art and ecology events series. Artists are invited to use diverse raw materials and supplies for recycling and creating art works – old out-of-date cast iron radiators will be used during the cast iron art symposium. In the hands of professional artists they will be transformed into amazing masterpieces of art.

The 11th International Cast Iron Art Symposium will be held from June 26 until July 7, 2014 at the Residency and workshop centre SERDE in Aizpute, Latvia. During the symposium we expect the artists to take part in the whole casting process and be able to work independently in the creation of molds. Melting and casting iron will be open to the general public and all interested audiences during the symposium days at SERDE and at night by the Tebra riverside.

Cost of participation: The cost of participation is 400 Euros and includes catering, accommodation costs and materials for up to 20kg object (for bigger objects we offer cast iron for additional price). SERDE provides residents with accommodation (shared room) and working premises.

To Apply:
Your full name must be on all application materials.
All materials are accepted via email to: smg.serde/at/gmail/dot/com and tamsie/at/spiritone/dot/com

1. Symposium proposal: A written description of the work you propose to explore during the residency including a statement about interest and experience working with cast iron. (Previous experience casting iron is not a requirement – 1 page limit)
2. 3 Images: Recent work that demonstrates an ability to work in cast iron. Images should be saved in JPEG format, no larger than 1920 x 1920 pixels, 1.8MB maximum file size per image. Images should be labeled with your name, and numbered 1 through 3, indicating your preferred viewing order. Ex. 01_SmithDavid.jpg.
3. Image Script: Included a numbered list that corresponds to the submitted images. For each image, include the title, date, materials, dimensions, and if necessary, a brief description of the work. (1 page limit)
4. Current Resume or CV: In addition to your full name, address, telephone and email address, this document should include information about your education; exhibition history; awards and honors; grants and residencies; professional experience; reviews or catalogues about your work; and references. (2 page limit)

You can pay the participation fee in SERDE workshop by PayPal:
https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=YEBQB2FC7NMYW

Applications will be accepted until there are no more available positions.

If you have more questions about the symposium, please contact smg.serde@gmail.com
Email all application materials to: smg.serde/at/gmail/dot/com and tamsie/at/spiritone/dot/com

We are looking for residents who are professionals in their field and can relate to inter/trans- disciplinary processes; who are able to work independently and produce their work in unusual circumstances, but are also open for cooperation with local audience and hosts.

Residencies duration 2-4 weeks for the period between May and October, 2014.
Thematic residencies - priorities will be given to the applicants who are interested to explore the rural and local context and produce site specific work or use the city as playground (6-8 grants available for Nordic and Baltic artists).

Deadline for applications 31th of January, 2014

More here

Pinhole photography workshop led by Marcis Bendiks, one of Latvia’s most experienced photographers and a black and white master. The three-day workshop took students through some of the theory relating to photography in general and to pinhole cameras specifically, as well as covering the practical side of building a pinhole camera. Participants designed and built their own cameras and developed the prints they took.

Pinhole photography is a challenging and interesting area of photography. It forces even experienced photographers to think again about what photography is and what it means to them. The methods of pinhole photography are unusual and the equipment strange, but even for first-time pinhole photographers it can provide unexpected and beautiful results. Pinhole cameras are home made and so the process of photography involves not only taking photographs, but also the process of building the camera.

Workshop documentation here

Supported by: EU Culture programme 2007–2013 (M4m project)
This project has been funded with support from the European Commission.This publication reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

M4m – M for mobility – is an international project based on cooperation of seven partners from six countries of the European Union and a number of associated partners. At the heart of the project M4m are 30 interdisciplinary artistic residencies involving as much as 130 artists and people working in the cultural field from the European Union as well as non-European countries, all of that within the period of 2 years. During the creative processes, residents will not only encounter local artists and representatives of culture but also the local public. Therefore, a precious intercultural dialogue is launched, expanding the scale of artists' possibilities. It is this dialogue that lies at the core of the project M4m.

The theme of residences for M4m project in SERDE in year 2012 was: "Ethnobotany, Gardening and Society". There were selected fallowing artists and researchers to develop a project in relation with the mentioned theme: Kati Hyyppa, Ramyah Gowrishankar, Joanes Simon-Perret, Tiago Patricio, Gwenn-Ael Lynn, Gitte Bog, Daniel Allen.

Documentation  about artists work in residences here

Tiago Patricio (PT) and Gwen-Ael Lynn (FR)

Gitte Bog (DK)

The project also includes thematic workshops that foster direct encounters and exchange of know-how between participants from different countries, cultures, and artistic domains.

The interdisciplinary art group SERDE held 2 workshops:

TRANS-DISCIPLINARY ARTS, ETHNOGRAPHY & CULTURAL HERITAGE

24.-26.05.2012, Interdisciplinary Art Centre SERDE, Atmodas iela 9, Aizpute

The event brought together persons from various disciplines--arts, design, science, heritage--to share and

explore practice and methods of ‘doing it with others’ (D.I.W.O.), as well as collaborative documentation and representational strategies including online platforms (for example Etherpad, Google Picasa, Booki). More about seminar-workshop http://transartsch.blogspot.com/

PINHOLE PHOTOGRAPHY

12.-14.04.2013, Interdisciplinary Art Centre SERDE, Atmodas iela 9, Aizpute

SERDE was holding a pinhole photography workshop led by Marcis Bendiks, one of Latvia’s most experienced photographers and a black and white master. The three-day workshop took participants through some of the theory relating to photography in general and to pinhole cameras specifically, as well as covering the practical side of building a pinhole camera. Participants designed and built their own cameras and developed the prints they take.

More about workshop here