OBJECTIVE:
Art Factory is dedicated to the international exchange of artists, as well as facilitate cultural exchange. We aim to provide an opportunity for creative development in all areas of art in the beautiful city of Bialystok, Poland and surrounding areas.

DESCRIPTION:
Visiting artists spend 8 weeks working in close contact with other artists and cultural organizations in Bialystok. Outside of ordinary constraints such as day jobs, commissions and exhibition deadlines, residencies offer artists the time, space, and resources to experiment with their work and try new approaches. The residencies provide artists with an environment that encourages the exchange of ideas and often instigate experimentation with new concepts and materials. Residencies are non-prescriptive and process-based, allowing artists to develop projects in response to their new environment. Collaborative projects are strongly encouraged.

DURATION: 8 week-long sessions

FACILITIES:
Studio space is provided by THE WORKSHOP, which is located in the center of Bialystok, nearby the Branicki Palace and Farny Church.

ACCOMMODATION:
Will be provided separately in university dormitories or with a host family. Artists are responsible for their own meals, materials, and transportation.

EXHIBITION:
All artists will be provided a space to publicly exhibit/present their work at the end of their stay.

TYPES OF ACCEPTED FIELDS:
Art (performance, multimedia, fiber, craft, painting, drawing, conceptual, photography, installation, etc.)
Design (fashion, graphic, architecture)
Writing
The residency is open to all professional artists at any level in their career.

APPLICATIONS (in English or Polish):
Need to include:
-- letter of intent
-- brief resume of professional work
-- visual documentation of recent work (min. 10 slides, CD, DVD, photo, video, catalogues) or samples of recent writing or current project
(We also accept visual documentation through email in .jpg format or a website.)
Send to: art.factory.bialystok@gmail.com

CONTACT:
Urszula Humienik
ul. Wyszynskiego 9/77
15-888 Bialystok
Poland

email: art.factory.bialystok@gmail.com
tel. 048 784 780 491




WHAT MAKES ART FACTORY DIFFERENT?
1. location – Bialystok in the Podlasie region, known as the "Green Lungs of Poland"
2. travel to areas around Podlasie (planned trips: On the trail of Podlasie's ethnic handcrafts, Biebrzanski National Park, and much more)
3. learn Polish (at least the basics)
4. learn about Polish culture and the history of the region
5. visit many museums and galleries
6. you're not isolated – interact with other artists as well as the artistic community in Bialystok and the locals



ABOUT BIALYSTOK:

Bialystok, with a population of almost 300 000, is a city located in north-eastern Poland, serving the function of the capital of Podlaskie province. It is the administrative, economic, and academic centre of the region which, due to its exceptional environmental assets, has been termed the Green Lungs of Poland.

The location in the environmentally clean region, full of tourist attractions, as well as the rich infrastructure of Bialystok, makes the city and surrounding area a great place for living, recreation and development of tourism.

Bialystok has evolved as a place which is the melting pot of different nations, religions, cultures, customs and traditions, where the occidental rationalism meets the oriental mysticism. It has become an example of the integration of ethnic and religious groups, a meeting place for Poles, Belorussians, Jews, Lithuanians, Germans, Russians, Ukrainians, Romanies, Muslims and Tatars. The multiethnicity of the city was the reason for the Bialystok-born Ludwik Zamenhof to start his work on the universal language of Esperanto.

The location of Bialystok, in the proximity of borders with Belarus, Lithuania and Russia, as well as the convenient transportation links, create excellent conditions for developing economic and cultural contacts with the countries of Eastern and Western Europe.