Creative Practice as Civil Action
Photo credit: Deepa Shrestha
Creative practice as Civil Action – a transdisciplinary exchange workshop
9 – 27 November 2024
We are excited to announce this open call for our upcoming exchange program Creative Practice as Civil Action, an intensive transdisciplinary workshop that is run in collaboration with leading creative practice institutions—Pathshala South Asia Media Institute (Bangladesh) and RMIT University (Australia)
In this workshop, three mixed groups of students from Pathshala, photo.circle and RMIT will collaborate with local partners in three different parts of Nepal — KTK Belt Project in Eastern Nepal, Jatayu Vulture Restaurant in Nawalparasi and the residents of Khokana – who work across biodiversity conservation and environmental learning and Indigenous activism. Selected participants will be part of a transdisciplinary team listening, learning, sharing perspectives and co-creating outcomes with peers and our local partners. The project would suit (but is not limited to) students from art, photography, development studies, media studies, journalism, environment studies, architecture, design, sound, communication, creative writing backgrounds.
Building on successful workshops in 2016 & 2018 this is the third iteration of this program. The workshop participants will break into three groups and travel to Dharan, Chitwan, and Khokana, in addition to spending time together in Kathmandu before and after their field work.
Program Timeline
9 – 10 – Nov Introductions + Orientation in Kathmandu
11-13 – Nov Pre-fieldwork symposium. Venue: Yala Maya Kendra, Patan Dhoka
(a pre-fieldwork symposium led by local experts and guest mentors to get to know our peers and partners and begin to unpack the questions of working across cultural, institutional and disciplinary boundaries.)
16-24 – Nov After the symposium we will divide into three teams and undertake intensive infield collaborations across three locations from Nov 16-24. The three locations are: Khokana (near Kathmandu), Nawalpur (for Jatayu Vulture Restaurant) and Dharan (for KTK Belt). We will then return to Kathmandu to share and reflect on the work and learning we have done.
24 Nov – Travel back to KTM
25 Nov – Group debrief day in KTM
26 Nov – Wrap up
The program is led by photo.circle (Nepal) and Alan Hill & Kelly Hussey-Smith from RMIT School of Art, along with academic staff and mentors from photo.circle and Pathshala South Asian Media Institute including NayanTara Gurung Kakshapati, Sagar Chhetri, Shristi Shrestha, Prasiit Sthapit, Diwas Raja Kc, Shehab Uddin, Saydia Gulrukh and Taslima Akhter.
Important information
– The workshop is free of charge.
– Travel to the field and accommodation will be provided for all selected participants.
– Participants should be comfortable in English as this is an exchange program with non-Nepali speaking students from Bangladesh and Australia.
– Participants are expected to commit for the FULL workshop period from 9-27 November, 2024
How to apply for this workshop?
Please send in the below mentioned documents to learning@photocircle.com.np by the end of Friday, 20 September 2024
– An updated CV
– A portfolio that includes some of your recent work that best showcases your practice. Your portfolio could include 15-20 photographs or a writing sample or links to video or design work, etc. Please note: The project would suit (but is not limited to) students from art, photography, development studies, media studies, journalism, environment studies, architecture, design, sound, communication, creative writing backgrounds.
Application Deadline: Friday, 20 September 2024
Please feel free to contact sagar@photocircle.com.np for any queries re. the workshop and/or application process.