Short residencies and dialogues on research processes, fall 2024 – spring 2026
How do we deal with a world that is melting, flooding, and drying up? What can we learn from rivers and bodies of water about our own being-in-the-world? What transformative forces are engaged by the temporalities of waterscapes, and how do these translate into our bodies and our collectivity?
Liquid Stays is a collective process of artistic field research exploring relationships to more-than-human beings and capacities for change. The group investigates interactions between water and time, materiality and metaphor, landscape and body, ecosystem and art.
Over a period of 1.5 years, the group formed of artists, researchers, and students with a specific interest in water bodies, more-than-human dimensions, and temporalities meets regularly for an exchange of practices. In a series of short site-specific residencies, the group members use their individual artistic approaches to engage in shared experiences, develop connections and create a resonance space for senses of the more-than-human with and by the water. Together, the group experiments formats of reciprocity, which will ultimately lead to a joint research exhibition.
LS is part of the IfCAR project "River Calls: synergies for future-oriented senses of respect, rhythms and relationalities", an artistic research project initiated by Laura von Niederhäusern.
Framework
LS will organize three joint weekend retreats (short residencies, 3-4 days) at locations associated with the river/water projects. In between, the participants will exchange ideas online in shorter peer-meetings. The outputs will contribute to an MFA seminar “Art & Research” and a public presentation format within/as an exhibition, making the resulting artistic projects and the joint discussion accessible.
Stay 1 (Melting resources): September 20-24, 2024 (near the Swiss glacier of the Rhone)
Stay 2 (Going with the flow): May 8-12, 2025 (near a river)
Stay 3 (Conjunction and dissolving): September 24-30, 2025 (near a lake or sea)
Research exhibition/presentation: Spring 2026
Group composition
All 12 group members are active artists and artistic researchers, one position is hold by an independent curator. For each stay, 1-2 selected international artists/curators will be invited in addition. All participants are invited based on their interest in exchanging on field research and previous practices and projects related to water bodies, issues of time and more-than-human dimensions.
- 2 DFA PhD/predoc candidates: Marit Mihklepp, Maëlle Cornut
- 2 ZHdK artistic researchers: Nina Willimann, Mayumi Arai
- 3 artists from Zurich: Esther Kempf, Claudia Kübler, Sabine Schlatter
- 3 MFA students: Costanza Giorgi, Moselle Kleiner, Peiran Wang
- 1 curatorial position (tbd)
- IfCAR project lead: Laura von Niederhäusern
- Guest members (each for one stay): 1-3 international artists or curators (tbd)