4-03-2021

The Absent Map – Rural Jerusalem in an Alternative Narrative 

Application period: March 5 – April 5, 2021, 11pm (Jerusalem time)

Riwaq - Center for Architectural Conservation, invites artists, architects and researchers to submit proposals for a four-month research-based project and intervention. The project contributes to Riwaq’s research on the genres of mapping and counter mapping in rural Jerusalem, entitled: The Absent Map: Rural Jerusalem in an Alternative Narrative. This project is granted by the Research on the Arts Program, co-funded by the Arab Fund for Arts and Culture (AFAC) and the Arab Council for the Social Sciences (ACSS).

Riwaq will select three creative individuals to contribute to the research using their practices and tools to rethink the map of Jerusalem/rural Jerusalem, and to implement a public intervention based on their research. The purpose of this invitation is to open mapping experiments to creative encounters to present multiple readings of the history of the Jerusalem area. We aim at bringing rural Jerusalem to the core of the processes of history making. The selected proposals will contribute to a new mapping platform developed by Riwaq, aiming at creating a counter map of Jerusalem area, and will be presented as Riwaq’s intervention within the 5th edition of Qalandiya international.

Applicants are invited to engage with the notion of mapping critically and not literally or thematically. Mapping could be observed as a recollection of practices and experiences of a territory utilized for serving future practices and experiences. It can also be seen as a tool to document and bring to the fore the local know-how, the forgotten, the unknown and the informal. Thus, mapping becomes a conceptual approach for a process-based fieldwork.

This call is part of Riwaq’s ongoing research on rural Jerusalem. Riwaq’s archive and research material is open for applicants to explore and to set the basis for their work. Since Riwaq’s project is situated in the north west and north east of Jerusalem, namely in Jaba’, Kafr Aqab, Qalandiya, and Al Jib villages, researchers are encouraged to build on the knowledge of these communities as sites of research. The works will contribute to Riwaq’s existing research but also contribute to creating knowledge on the notion of public art. The outcome of the project are public art interventions; site-specific works that take into consideration the place and its inhabitants.

Before applying make sure to read the project’s full text Here

Explore Riwaq's research on rural Jerusalem "The village as a production unit" Here

Application requirements

Applications are only eligible by submitting the following in a combined pdf document, no later than April 5, 2021, 11pm (Jerusalem time) to the e-mail info@riwaq.org

• Applicant’s full name and contact information: e-mail, mobile number, telephone number and current place of residence.
• Motivation letter demonstrating the interest in the topic and context. (Max. 500 words).
• Brief biography. (Max. 300 words).
• The project’s concept note including working title. (Max. 1000 words).
• A portfolio and sample text of previous research, and/or link to individual’s website.

Other complementary, but not mandatory, documents may include: CV and links to published works.

Conditions

• This open call is only applicable to artists, architects and researchers based in Palestine who are knowledgeable on the territorial politics of Jerusalem.
• The grant comprises 1,000 USD artist fee and a production fee of up to 1,500 USD.
• The grantees will have to engage in the framework of the call, and attend the different events that are part of the project, including the roundtable discussions and collective events.
• The project and its outcomes need to adhere to the projects’ overall timeframe.

Expected outcomes:

A minimum of 1 collective event which engages with the community during the course of the project development, between  May 1, and September 1, 2021;

Sharing material of any relevant medium documenting the research process, no later than  August 1, 2021;

• Preparing a body of text around the project (around 3000 words), no later than September 1, 2021;
• A public intervention, to be implemented between  October 1, and November 15, 2021; and
• Contribute to the development of the online platform along with the curatorial team.

Timeframe:

• Proposals deadline April 5, 2021.
• Applications review maximum by April 25, 2021.
• Selected projects announcements by April 30, 2021.
• Projects development between May 1, and September 15, 2021.
• Public interventions between October 1, and November 15, 2021.
• Project’s final roundtable around March 2022.  

Projects will be selected by the project’s curatorial committee and a selected jury panel.