The Mistra Environmental Communication Research Programme Component at the Institute of Communication Studies and Journalism (ICSJ)

AiR@CU Call (closed)

The Mistra Environmental Communication team at the Institute of Communication Studies and Journalism (ICSJ) at Charles University (CU - Univerzita Karlova) are excited to facilitate one artist-in-residence (AiR) in Prague in 2022!

The AiR@CU offers the opportunity to investigate and explore the environment and sustainability through immersion in the Mistra Environmental Communication research that is ongoing at ICSJ. In intersecting academia with their practice, we hope the selected artist would materialise unconventional perspectives that enrich contemporary academic discourse on environmental issues. By awarding a compelling grant, access to some of our facilities, affiliation with an academic host, and organisational support from our team at ICSJ we wish to offer a fulfilling opportunity to examine how the environment and sustainability is understood and expressed in a politicised, polarised and complex world.

Conditions

The AiR@CU is performed on location in Prague (Czech Republic) from the 1st of August until the 30th of September 2022. It is facilitated by the Mistra Environmental Communication: Work Package 5 – Media & Art team at ICSJ, with additional support from the NGO Sqridge.

The artist selected for the AiR@CU is supported with;

(1) dialogical exchange with an academic host,
(2) organizational support to showcase their produced work twice,
(3) immersion in the Mistra Environmental Communication research and community,
(4) access to library and IT network facilities,
(5) a 34 000 SEK grant of which;
- 27 000 SEK are earmarked to cover accommodation and living costs in Prague for 2 months,
- 3 000 SEK are earmarked to cover material costs,
- 4 000 SEK are earmarked to cover travel costs.

The artist selected for the AiR@CU is required to;

(1) produce work relevant to the Mistra Environmental Communication research programme,
(2) produce one blogpost for publication in Mistra Environmental Communication research media channels,
(3) showcase (a selection of) the work produced during the AiR@CU at the end of the AiR@CU,
(4) feature selected work from the AiR@CU in one collective AiR@MISTRAEC exhibition in late 2023,
(5) be able to invoice Charles University, following University rules, in order for us to award the grant.

While our team is able to provide advice, orientation and some practical support, the artist themselves must organise transportation and accommodation for the duration of the AiR@CU.

All output created by the artist remains their intellectual property.

Application

We welcome artists in any discipline, from visual, to sculptural, to digital media, and beyond, to submit an application for the AiR@CU to derya.yuksek@fsv.cuni.cz until the 30th of April 2022.

(All information provided to the Mistra Environmental Communication research team in relation to the AiR@CU is treated in accordance to GDPR regulations. By submitting an application for the AiR@CU you confirm its accuracy and truthfulness. You approve of sharing the application within the Mistra Environmental Communication research team. You approve of our team contacting you with questions and results. All content within your application remains your intellectual property.)

The application must include:

• Name & contact details,
• CV,
• Confirmation of the artist’s ability to invoice (e.g. F-skattsedel in Sweden),
• Project proposal,

Project proposals will be evaluated by the AiR@CU team against the following key criteria:
▪ relevance for, and creative contribution to, the Mistra Environmental Communication research project,
▪ affiliation to Swedish society,
▪ feasibility within the AiR@CU frameworks.

Before applying, candidates are strongly recommended to familiarized themselves with the Mistra Environmental Communication research project at ICSJ. The project website is at https://mistra.fsv.cuni.cz/

Incomplete applications will not be considered.

Timeline
• Application deadline: 30 April 2022
• Artist invitation: Early July 2022
• AiR@CU in Prague: 1 August until 30 September 2022
• Artists blogpost deadline: September 2022
• AiR@CU showcase: Late 2022
• AiR@MISTRAEC programme exhibition: Late 2023

AiR@MISTRAEC programme

The AiR@CU is part of a series of AiRs at Mistra Environmental Communication research programme. These AiRs invite artists to collaborate in a dialogical fashion with academics and to become immersed in the Mistra Environmental Communication research programme, to develop creative work that situates environmental communication in art and explores academic research through an artistic lens. The dialogues with researchers serve as inspiration for artwork(s), and enriches the perspectives of the researchers. The goal of the AiRs is to foster collaboration between participants and to unlock new perspectives on environmental communication.

The AiRs is coordinated by the Institute of Communication Studies and Journalism at Charles University, and includes three artist-in-residencies:

• AiR@CU is hosted by the Mistra Environmental Communication research team at Charles University in Czech Republic,
• AiR@SLU is hosted by the Mistra Environmental Communication research team at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences in Sweden,
• AiR@USC is hosted by the Mistra Environmental Communication research team at the University of the Sunshine Coast in Australia.

The programme concludes with a collaborative exhibition in late 2023 featuring (a selection of) work from artists produced during AiR@CU, AiR@SLU and AiR@USC.

MISTRAEC@CU

About the Mistra Environmental Communication research programme at the Institute of Communication Studies and Journalism at Charles University

The Mistra Environmental Communication research programme is a large research programme, coordinated by the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences and Uppsala University in Sweden, which examines how the environment and sustainability is treated in contemporary Swedish and global society. It aims to uncover keys that unlock more efficient, equitable and empowering environmental communication to advance societal transformations towards sustainability.

The Mistra Environmental Communication team at ICSJ in Prague (Czech Republic) is one of the many teams that work within the framework of the Mistra Environmental Communication research programme. One of the responsibilities of the ICSJ team is the so-called Work Package 5, which focuses on media and art. At ICSJ, we focus our research on how sustainability and the environment is constructed, talked about and acted upon in media and art. By examining channels such as Facebook groups, art exhibitions, documentaries, TV-series and more, we aim to understand the formation of environmental and sustainability discourses and to develop thinking tools to examine and open up these discourses so that environmental communication advances and can be used to affect policy, culture and actions towards supporting a thriving planet.

Together with artists, journalists, influencers, academics and more, we aim to:

(1) to understand the formation and nature of environmental and sustainability discourses as expressed in Swedish arts and media, and how they influence scope for individual and collective action;
(2) in a transdisciplinary team, to develop thinking tools to examine and challenge discourses in order to open up existing discursive patterns and constellations for a constructive engagement with new or marginalised perspectives.

The AiRs have been developed as a meeting place where artists may examine and challenge the mainstream assumptions about the environment and sustainability so that our research includes more diverse, unexpected and creative perspectives and materials. The AiRs contribute to the Mistra Environmental Communication research programme by inviting external perspectives to reflect on our work and create spaces for the unanticipated.