How to apply
The open call is for designers, residing in Sweden, with a special interest in the fields of interdisciplinary projects, craft, product design, research, design innovation, prototyping, social design and other related fields. The program covers travel costs, accommodation, grant, workspace and professional support as well as connections to the local creative community from the design incubator Nova Iskra in Belgrade.
The program is of an open-end character, which means that there is no requirement to work on a specific project. Candidates will be selected based on the importance of the residency in the light of their personal and professional development. A diploma/degree from a creative faculty is required (applied arts, design, architecture, fine art etc.), as well as relevant professional experience. The quality of the portfolio, unique approach to projects and motivation of the candidates to take part in the program are the main selection criteria. The candidates are not required to propose a specific project to be developed during the residency, but they should do so in case they have a specific plan for their potential one-month stay in Serbia.
Candidates are required to fill in the online form and send their portfolio by email to design@formdesigncenter.com no later than August 17th 2014. The shortlist of candidates from Sweden will be selected by local partners, while the final selection will be made by the Serbian hosts. The candidate selection will be finalized by September 1st, after which logistical details will be specified.
About Nova Iskra
Design incubator Nova Iskra is the first design hub in the region of South East Europe, a multi-faced platform focused on employing innovation and creative approaches in the fields of design, architecture, coworking, education, entrepreneurship, social enterprise and project management. The Design incubator NOVA ISKRA officially opened the doors of its multifunctional 350 m2 workspace in downtown Belgrade on December 6th 2012, while just less than two years since its opening, in October 2014 will present an extension of another 100m2 - with a total of 39 workstations for designers and creative professionals alike.
The coworking segment of Nova Iskra supports young, emerging professionals of diverse creative and design backgrounds by offering them the use of a one of a kind, full-capacity office and workspace for up to 25 members, at below-market value fairs. Through the innovation platform, Nova Iskra thinks initiates, develops, designs and implements diverse thought-provoking, education and social awareness programs. The focus on the creative business domain establishes conditions for the elaborative and fruitful collaboration between the creative practitioners and forward-thinking businesses, mediated by the experienced Nova Iskra team. Thus, Nova Iskra is not just a coworking space, but a platform enabling young creatives to personally and professionally develop by supplying a fluid non-institutional framework of support.
In the same way, being one of the strategic partners of the Create In Residence program, Nova Iskra will provide workspace, hospitality and full professional support of its team and facilities to the selected Swedish designers visiting Belgrade in the period October - December. The team will be tailoring each of the residencies according to the Swedish guests and their expressed activity plan during their stay in Serbia. This may include networking with the local colleagues from the creative scene, meetings with companies relevant for the guest's work, consultations with experts, educators or legal teams, or even visits to the local universities or crafting workshops.
The Swedish guests of Nova Iskra will be accommodated in an apartment in central Belgrade, and will be sharing office for one month with the Nova Iskra team and other coworkers active in their incubator. Travel expenses, accommodation, workspace and grant will all be covered by the program.
www.novaiskra.com
About Create in Residence
CREATE IN RESIDENCE is a new, multidisciplinary international program initiated by The Swedish Institute dedicated to residential stays of artists from Serbia with partnering institutions in Sweden, as well as of Swedish creatives in Serbia.
In its pilot phase, the program is particularly focusing on two creative domains. Along with the Writers in Residence program organized in collaboration with festival Krokodil, Baltic Center for Writers and Translators and Malmo Comic Art Centre, The Swedish Institute is also initiating a unique mutual exchange of emerging designers between Sweden and Serbia. The Designers in Residence program is aimed at emerging talent and motivated young professionals from a range of design disciplines, and will be conducted by three Malmo-based organizations – Stpln, Malmö Högskola and Form/Design Center/Svensk Form Syd – in collaboration with Design incubator Nova Iskra from Belgrade, who will conduct the open call in Serbia and host three Swedish designers in the period October – December 2014. The program is supported by the Embassy of Sweden in Belgrade.
Interdisciplinary work and tailoring of each residency stay towards the needs of its participants and the specifics of the host organizations are the main specifics of this approach. The format of the residency within this program is treated as an important instrument of cultural diplomacy and international collaboration, but also as a platform that will place the residency format into a new context by developing a model of collaboration that may be applied to other creative and geographical domains.
For more information, please contact:
Johanna Sjögren Duthy, project manager at Form/Design Center johanna@formdesigncenter.com
+46 (0)40 664 5150
or
Helene Larsson Pousette, Head of Events Unit at the Swedish Institute
helene.larsson-pousette@si.se
+46 (0)8 453 78 50