Other Lands
Other Sounds
A Residential Course for
Collaborative Arts Practice in Góis, Portugal
August 28 - September 09, 2019
An intensive residential course in Góis, Portugal, bringing together visual artists and musicians to work collaboratively over ten days, creating new works combining photography, moving image, music, and sound art.
Surrounded by the beautiful mountainside scenery of Góis, Portugal, Other Lands Other Sounds 2019 offers a supportive environment for advanced musicians and visual artists (professionals, amateurs, students) who want to develop their practice through cross-arts experimentation and collaboration.
Sessions will be balanced between led workshops, creative group work, individual study, and one-to-one tutorials with course leaders. Musicians will work closely with composer Filipe Sousa to explore composition, improvisation, and collaborative music-making processes. Visual artists will work with Beatriz Martinez, exploring photography and video, merging aesthetics and concept into multi-disciplinary projects. In the second half of the course, small cross-arts groups will form and work towards the curation of a final group show. Artistic outcomes may encompass anything from installations, to live performance, to performance art, and more.
Participants will gain insight into their own personal practice, as well as how to navigate in a group dynamic. They will develop tools for working with artists from different backgrounds, learning how to translate ideas and processes across mediums.
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Develop music composition skills, exploring different creative processes, and expanding creative thinking through improvisation
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Learn creative methods and techniques to expand the artistic practice, and receive inspiration for producing new bodies of work
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Strengthen collaborative skills through joint creative tasks, event curation, and performance
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Engage in active discussions and analysis about projects focusing on the qualities that makes them distinctive and unique
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Deepen critical reflective practice through one-to-one tutorials and group discussions
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Work closely with other visual artists and musicians and benefit from the exchange of ideas, experiences and backgrounds
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Create a range of possible performance outcomes including installation, performance art, film, live music etc.
Overview
Participant learning objectives
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Daily Schedule
Participants and staff will live together in joint housing in the main town of Góis, and work will be carried out in Bordeiro, the old school house on the hill. Breakfasts and lunches will be provided at Bordeiro and work will conclude by 5pm each day. Evenings will be free to explore the town, swim in the river, or go on hikes in the mountains. We will have one full day off with a planned outdoor activity, such as a visit to the iconic slate villages, or to nearby waterfalls.
8am - movement class
9am - breakfast
10-1pm - morning session
1-2pm - lunch
2-5pm afternoon - session
Meals
Breakfast will be simple help-yourself set-up with bread, jams, butter, cheese, yoghurt, fruit, tea, coffee etc. Lunch will be traditional Portuguese food catered by a local restaurant. We will provide three dinners over the course of the residency; our welcome dinner, a home-cooked meal mid-residency, and our celebratory good-bye dinner. Otherwise, you are free to explore the town and dine where you like. We have a friendly local cafe/bar which we highly recommend for afternoon coffees with pastel de nata, as well as late night aperitifs.
Lodging
We will be living in single and double rooms in dormitory housing provided by the local council. Towels and a cleaning service are included.
Work Spaces
Our primary work space will be in the old school in Bordeiro, which hosts two large studios, a downstairs living area, a garden, and two outdoor patios. In addition, we have access to various other spaces around the town. If needed, RaizVanguarda can secure us access to a range of sound equipment and visual arts materials including: projectors, use of the photocopy machine, printer, paper from the Paper Factory, speakers, etc. We may also work in other spaces around Gois, including the Casa da Cultura de Góis, a 280 px capacity theatre-style auditorium, full equipped with quad sound, audiovisual equipment, lighting rig, projectors and more. Please let us know in advance if you will need any particular equipment or instruments and we will see what we can do to source them for you.
Details
Violinist, Croatia
Delara
This collaboration was always open for everyone, always supportive and giving you strength - this was a life-changing experience… This opened my eyes, ears, and my heart. Thank you!
Visual artist, Brazil
Sofia
I want to thank you immensely for these 12 days of intense diving. I will carry a piece forever, all of you in my heart. Thank you for showing me such a musical, inspiring and light environment. It is worth every second, every moment, every movement and every laugh.
Pianist, Malta
Maria
This course is a wonderful way of bringing creative practitioners together, offering us a safe space to create collaborative projects of real artistic value. Kate, Filipe, and Bea are excellent workshop leaders, offering the right balance between challenge, inspiration, guidance, and lovingly holding all the participants together.
Visual artist, The Netherlands
Mikki
I want to thank you for facilitating a truly beautiful environment… There was no judgment, pressure, or competition. The quality is really high. I hope you keep doing this!
Our Home - Góis, Portugal
Curiosa offers this course in partnership with Raizvanguarda, a non profit arts cultural organization based in Góis, Portugal, a beautiful mountainside village. We will be living and working within the old town of Góis, a charming river town nestled in the mountains Northeast of Lisbon, Portugal. Within the last half century, many of Góis' residents have moved to larger towns, leaving surrounding villages largely empty, yet there remains a vibrant cultural life in the town and municipality. It is visited by locals and tourists all throughout summer for its river beach, with crystalline clear water and beachside cafe bars. Every year Góis also hosts a motorcycle festival which brings thousands of people to the town. There are many hikes up into the surrounding hills, as well as short day trips to nearby ravines with cliff-side diving and beautiful picnic spots.
Price
€850
We require a €250 deposit to reserve your space.
Please note, your deposit is non-refundable. However, if you find someone who is able to take your place on the residency (pending application), then you can transfer your payment into their name.
What's Included
- lodging (towel and cleaning service)
- breakfasts, lunches, three dinners
- space and equipment
- mid-week excursion
Does not include transportation to Góis.
Funding
We encourage all participants to apply for funding, and we are ready and willing to support you through the process.
Please get in touch with us for recommendations of specific funding sources.
Team
Kate Smith, Producer
Kate Smith is a versatile singer and producer who has worked in New York, Beijing, and London. She earned her BA in Film and East Asian Studies at Columbia University (2009), studied Classical Voice at Guildhall School of Music and Drama (2015), and recently completed her MMus in Leadership at Guildhall (2017). Kate’s work focuses on creating dramatic performances that cross genre-boundaries through creative collaborations. She is currently developing a new project marrying improvisational dance and voice, THAT! Ensemble.
Previously, Kate was known as the “singing madame” of Beijing’s cabaret scene (Global Times), in addition to being a bilingual Mandarin-English video producer for brands including Volkswagen and Ogilvy. Kate was also a regular on the Beijing music scene as a member of The Confectionaires, Honky Tonk Angels, Moonglow Burlesque and Contraplans.
Filipe Sousa, Course Leader
Filipe Sousa is a Portuguese pianist/composer and workshop leader based in the UK. He works with artists and communities of ranging age, ability and background. He founded Quest Ensemble and has been commissioned to create sound installations and to write for music ensembles, film and dance. Filipe regularly leads workshops and presents work in the UK and across the World.
Trained at the Lisbon Gregorian Institute, Hot Club Portugal, and the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, his work as a composer and performer is often concerned with motion and movement, driven by a strong sense of rhythm. His background is in classical and jazz piano, but his interest in the details and minutiae of sound has taken him into the realms of sound art, sound design for dance and theatre, composition, and performance. Filipe is interested in performance as experience and in generating immersive sound environments.
Beatriz M Barrio, Course Leader
Beatriz M Barrio is a visual artist and art therapist based in Madrid, Spain. She is interested in the therapeutic qualities of art making and believes in the healing power of creativity. She combines her teaching activity as coordinator of the International Contemporary Photography Master Program at EFTI School of Photography in Madrid, with her practice as an Art therapist and the organization of creativity workshops.
She has a Bachelor of Fine Arts at Complutense University of Madrid (1996), and has received fellowships to complete her studies at Leeds Metropolitan University (1995) and at the School of Fine Arts in Athens (2000). She was also granted “La Caixa Felloship” to fulfill a Master of Fine Arts at New York University (2002). She has participated in group shows in United States, Greece, and Spain. She is a Gestalt Therapist, a Río Abierto Corporal and Transpersonal Therapist and collaborates as a professor at different Art Therapy Schools in Madrid.
This course is intended for both established and emerging professional artists from all around the world. We accept applications on a rolling basis. To apply, please send your answers to the following questions to DiscoverCuriosa@gmail.com
Name
Your Location and Nationality
Email address and phone number
1. Please tell us a little about yourself and your arts practice.
2. What is your experience with collaboration?
3. Why do you feel this course would be right for you?
4. Please include links or attachments to some examples of your work so we can better understand what you do.
Your application will be reviewed by the Curiosa team, who will aim to select a compatible and diverse range of participants. We will let you know our decision as soon as possible.
