Short Summary

Short Summary

Artists Residency programs are very important communal spaces and networks for artists, thinkers, critics, "artivists", activists, writers, researchers and many more to deliberate and contemplate on their own practices, forms and medium in spirits of creation, reproduction, experimentation and processing. Currently, most artist residencies take place in European, American, and Asian nations, while African nations (including Ghana) support few residencies across the continent.  Yet the art-world is aware that African nations are vibrant sites of creative and artistic production, experimental projects and cultural hub. With the pIAR residency, we hope to establish an African based residency where artists from within and outside of the continent are invited to exclusively concentrate on  performative art projects, collaborations and cross-pollinating conversations. pIAR was thus established to bring artists from all over the world to experience, explore, exploit and refigure the vibrant artistic and cultural winds blowing over Africa continent with Ghana in focus.  It aims to create and expand local and international networks for many emerging and established artists who could share their individual and collective experiences and knowledge

perfocraZe International Artist Residency- [pIAR]

perfocraZe International Artist Residency- [pIAR] hosted by “crazinisT artisT studiO” is an interdisciplinary artists' program and a performance ‘hatchery’. It serves as an incubator, laboratory and an interactive platform for artists, activists, researchers, curators and thinkers to develop and engage with one another in a rich variety of artistic research projects. The studio is located in the hub of Kumasi, the second largest city of Ghana and the capital of Ashanti Kingdom.

pIAR has been designed as a site and point of contact for promoting cultural exchange between international and local performers, interactive artists and film/video/photography artists. Participants are encouraged to explore the contemporary spirit and rituals of performativity in multigenerational societies and cultures, as well as questions of race and politics, especially through performance art, installations, music, video, and film/moving images. The residency runs from January to end of August each year. We invite and accept proposals from international and local artists to stay and develop their projects over a period of  4 weeks. By focusing on processes and projects rather than products, we encourage collaborative relationship between local and international practitioners while sharing experiences through discussions, research, workshops, presentations, lectures and experimental performative/participatory works. Projects developed in the residency will be eligible for exhibition at Chale Wote Art Festival, Alliance Francaise, public spaces, schools and other alternative art spaces.

Our focus is on performativity while aiming to merge contemporary art, culture and the people through collaborative practices.

   Screenshot: http://manhyiapalace.org/  (The seat of the Asantehene)

The Ashanti Kingdom is full of performative expressions, rituals,  festivals and artistic cultures that we believe our artists in residence will gain from collaborating with the people and learning from the cultural experiences.

"I believe performance is an embodiment of life, perhaps subtle but intensive and ephemeral, which could provide an intimate dialogue between the performer/s and the audience (co-performers). It is important using performance as a potent medium to re-examine our own colonial and post colonial history from dynamic experiences and views." crazinisT artisT

reThinking-naZa, performance by crazinisT artisT

(performing at the Asogli Traditional Yam Festival, Ho Ghana)

Selected Artists for pIAR 2019