- Echo Gone Wrong - https://echogonewrong.com -

kim? Contemporary Art Centre announces the winner of the kim? Residency Award 2016

kim? Contemporary Art Centre is pleased to announce that the winner of the kim? Residency Award 2016 in partnership with International Studio & Curatorial Program (ISCP) in New York is Ieva Epnere. Ieva Epnere will spend two months in New York in the Fall of 2016 as the first resident artist from Latvia in ISCP’s 20 year history.

The award ceremony for the kim? Residency Award 2016 took place on 31 May at the The Mill in Riga, with the participation of Kari Conte, Director of Programs and Exhibitions, International Studio & Curatorial Program (ISCP), New York. The artists nominated for the kim? Residency Award 2016 by the international jury, were as follows: Ēriks Apaļais, Ieva Epnere, Inga Meldere and Katrīna Neiburga. During her visit to Riga, Kari Conte met the nominees and visited their studios to later discuss her impressions and together with kim? Contemporary Arts Centre selected the winner.

“All of the nominated artists have strong artistic practices and would be a great addition to the ISCP community. However, Ieva Epnere has a singular vision in her work that deals with situations and contexts lesser known to New York, and this will certainly enrich the arts landscape of our city. At the same time, the fertile ground that ISCP and New York provides for artists, will push her practice and research even further. I am excited to see how Epnere’s investigations into forgotten histories and tradition in modernity develops in New York, a strikingly different context to draw upon than that in her previous work,” says a jury member of the kim? Residency Award 2016 and Director of Programs and Exhibitions, International Studio & Curatorial Program (ISCP) Kari Conte.
The annual kim? Residency Award is an opportunity for a single Latvian artist or a group of two artists to take part in a residency program with one of kim?‘s partner organizations. In the summer of 2015, the first winner of the kim? Residency Award Darja Meļņikova spent two months at KW Institute for Contemporary Art in Berlin, while the 2017 winner will head off to the Gasworks Gallery, Studios and International Residency Programme in London.

Patron of the kim? Residency Award 2016: Vita Liberte, Attorney at Law, says “The award presented by kim? Contemporary Art Centre is the only award of this kind in Latvia and an opportunity for a Latvian artist to benefit from a residency of international significance. I am glad to support this initiative, for I am convinced that the time spent in New York will be an invaluable experience and will inspire the receiving artist’s future creative work, as well as allow to establish lasting connections with other art professionals.”
The ten artists nominated in round one of the kim? Residency Award in the fall of 2015 all met the criteria for the award: they actively participate in exhibitions and parallel events in Latvia and abroad, they are aged under 40 years and they have taken part in at least one kim? project in the last six years.

The finalists for the kim? Residency Award were chosen by the following international jury members: Alessio Antoniolli and Robert Leckie (Director, Gasworks & Curator, Gasworks, Gallery, Studios and International Residency Programme, London), Anne Barlow (Director, Art in General, New York), Adela Yawitz (Curator of public events and residencies, KW Institute for Contemporary Art, Berlin), Kari Conte (Director of Programs and Exhibitions, International Studio & Curatorial Program (ISCP), New York), Maria Lind (Director, Tensta Konsthall, Stockholm; Artistic director, 11th Gwangju Biennale 2016) and Nicolaus Schafhausen (Director, Kunsthalle Wien).

The International Studio & Curatorial Program (ISCP) supports the creative development of artists and curators and promotes exchange through residencies and public programs. Housed in a former factory in Brooklyn, with 35 light-filled work studios, two galleries, and a project space, ISCP is New York’s most comprehensive international visual arts residency program, founded in 1994. ISCP organizes exhibitions, events and offsite projects, which are free and open to all, sustaining a vibrant community of contemporary art practitioners and diverse audiences. Over 1,200 artists and curators from more than 62 countries have undertaken residencies at ISCP. With an International Residency Program and Ground Floor Program for New York City-based artists, ISCP strives to establish a global network of exemplary artists and curators. Tailored for professional growth, the programs serve as an active mediator, creating visibility and immersion for all of its residents in New York City. ISCP’s programming is conceived to facilitate dialogue and collaboration. Integrated activity areas including the Residency Programs, Exhibition Program, ISCP Talks and Off-Site Projects, make ISCP an unparalleled platform for producing, presenting and contextualizing contemporary art through a diverse range of international perspectives.

http://www.iscp-nyc.org [1]

Acknowledgements: Alessio Antoniolli & Robert Leckey, Anne Barlow, Kari Conte, Maria Lind, Nicolaus Schafhausen, Adela Yawitz

Supporters: State Culture Capital Foundation, Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Latvia, Riga City Council, Embassy of the United States in Riga, The Mill, ASTRO, VKN, Absolut, Gardu Muti, Rīga TV24, Satori, Delfi, Latvijas Radio 3

Image: Ieva Epnere. Photo: Kristīne Madjare