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
2 – 4pm, Mon, 7 Oct: First online meeting with the entire group including students and staff from RMIT, Pathshala, and photo circle.
Wed, 16 Oct: Online meeting to Introduce photo.circle. (one hour max)
Wed, 23 Oct: Online meeting to Introduce Pathshala. (one hour max)
Wed, 30 Oct: Online meeting to Introduce RMIT team, the overall concept and framework of this exchange program. (one hour max)
9 – 10 Nov: Introductions + Orientation in Kathmandu (in person)
11-13 Nov: Pre-fieldwork symposium
Venue: Yala Maya Kendra, Patan Dhoka
This pre-fieldwork symposium will be 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.
14 Nov: Day Off
15 Nov: Travel day to respective field locations by bus.
16-24 Nov: Intensive infield collaborations across three locations.
24 Nov: Travel back to KTM
25 Nov: Group debrief day in KTM to share and reflect on the work and learning we have done.
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 RMIT, photo.circle and Pathshala South Asian Media Institute including Marnie Badham, NayanTara Gurung Kakshapati, Sagar Chhetri, Shristi Shrestha, Prasiit Sthapit, Shehab Uddin, Sadia Marium, 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.