Port-au-Prince, Haiti
Deadline: 10 May 2019
Red Fire in Saint Domingo, 1791.
‘Every form of enslavement generates in one way or another an opposing struggle for liberation’ Carolyn E. Fick, The Making of Haiti, (The University of Tennessee Press 1990)
The Haitian Revolution, possibly one of the most important and overlooked, revolutions of the world appears to have been written out of Western history.
‘The silencing of the Haitian Revolution is only a chapter within a narrative of global domination. It is part of the history of the West.’ Michel-Rolph Trouillot, Silencing The Past, (Beacon Press, Boston 1995)
The GHETTO BIENNALE welcomes projects that both memorialise, and challenge the memorialization of, the Haitian Revolution. GHETTO BIENNALE is looking for alternate narratives to the Slaves Revolt and invites complex readings of the leaders as well as alternate histories from below. GHETTO BIENNALE encourages non-binary, queer, surreal and magic versions of the slaves revolt.
GHETTO BIENNALE is asking for historically reflective, contemporarily comparative and future speculative projects which use the Haitian Slaves Revolt as a starting point.
‘The paradox between the discourse of freedom and the practice of slavery marked the ascendancy of a succession of Western nations within the early modern global economy.’ Susan Buck-Morss, Hegel, Haiti and Universal History, (University of Pittsburg Press 2009)
The 6th Ghetto Biennale 2019 will take place from the 29th November until the 20th December 2019. All works must be made and exhibited in Haiti. Artists and curators will be invited to pass, no less than ten days and up to three weeks in Haiti before presenting their work in the neighbourhood.
The deadline for proposal applications is midnight FRIDAY 10th MAY (BST). The decisions will be made and announced by mid-May.
Application
Applicants for the 6th Ghetto Biennale 2019 must provide a written synopsis of their project proposal covering conceptual background, methodology, and a production and exhibition strategy for the proposed new work in no more than 500 words.
The whole proposal should take up no more than one sides of A4 including illustrations.
This should be accompanied by a one page CV.
Both documents should be formatted as a pdf and named SURNAME_FORENAME_PROJ & SURNAME_FORENAME_CV. Not accepted are any proposals or CVs longer than one side, no attached images and neither website links as a proposal component.
Only works that will be created during the three-week period in Port-au-Prince, Haiti will be considered. No work that is already created will be accepted. Projects are welcome that may require collaboration with local artists. The biennale team would be able to help connect artists beforehand.
There is no funding for this event and you will be expected to cover the cost of your flight, accommodation and materials. The team will supply a reading list, there is a film about the Grand Rue sculptors online and they will be more than happy to help (via email) with any research and information needed, both before your application and leading up to the event. Advice can also be given about the practicalities for the production of specific projects and budgeting for the trip. If your work involves intensive interviews they will advise you to budget for your own translator. Artists should be aware that Haiti has only a 50% literacy rate and text heavy projects could be problematic for the local audience. All hotel bookings and airport pick-ups will be organised by the biennale team.
By loading the video, you agree to Vimeos’s privacy policy.
The Ghetto Biennale site remains a lens-free zone for none-Haitian artists but there will be a photographer on site to document the projects at the end of the event for anyone needing images for documentation. The lens-ban will be relaxed to accept film and photographic project proposals for works made in other areas of the city outside of the site.
A call for artists and curators (calls in Kreyòl, 官话, Português, لغة العربية, Español, русский, Ελληνικά, Deutsche, Français, नॉट ) will be available soon on http://ghettobiennale.org/6th-ghetto-biennale-2019/calls/
Order a copy of the Ghetto Biennale catalogue here: https://www.centralbooks.com/ghetto-biennale-geto-byenal-2009-2015.html
Enquiries, applications & questions contact: Leah Gordon at Leahgordon@aol.com
