The Inevitable Ether 2022 *APPLICATIONS ARE NOW CLOSED*

OPEN CALL: The Inevitable Ether – A Residency Award from Greywood Arts & the National Space Centre 

Greywood Arts & the National Space Centre invite expressions of interest from artists working in any visual, installation, or time-based medium who engage with themes of outer space, technology, and speculative futures in their work. This six-week residency from October 15 – November 25 is an incredible opportunity for an artist whose practice would benefit from observing the workings of a busy satellite groundstation campus before immersing themselves in the creative environment of The Residency at Greywood Arts. The award includes an opportunity for the selected artist to showcase their research and creative process, and to experiment with installation of work from the residency at the National Space Centre. Deadline: August 19th.

The Big Dish

The National Space Centre’s Elfordstown Earthstation, a secure 5-acre campus and hub for space tech companies, is not typically open to the public. It is home to the 32m in diameter Big Dish, as well as 37 satellite antennas, bee hives, and a fascinating historic space flight collection.

We are seeking imaginative proposals investigating big ideas – how can we conceive of the infinite possibilities the universe has to offer? What do our actions in outer space tell us about our relationship to Earth and to each other? From philosophy to science fiction, the complex themes that emerge might include space exploration and colonisation, space tourism, the regulation and control of outer space, satellite technology, space debris, radio and light pollution, climate change, planetary origins, asteroids, and the possibility of life in outer space. 

We encourage applications from early career, women-identified, and minority artists. This award is named for Agnes Mary Clerke (1842-1907), an Irish astronomer and writer from County Cork, Ireland. Through her quarter-century career, she became a leading commentator on astronomy and astrophysics in the English-speaking world. She was the author of Modern Cosmogonies, whose chapter “The Inevitable Ether” inspired the title of this award.

The award includes:

  • Accommodation and studio space at The Residency at Greywood Arts, Killeagh, Cork, Ireland. www.greywoodarts.org 
  • Transportation between Greywood Arts & the NSC
  • €2,000 Stipend to be used for travel, per diem and materials at the discretion of the artist.
Detail of Full Throttle by 2021 Space Waste Residency Awardee Nicklas Lundberg

The artist will:

  • Have access to the National Space Centre’s Elfordstown Earth Station for 5 working days (3 days in week 1, plus two additional visits in weeks 2-4).
  • Engage with Earth Station staff, including the Chief Technical Officer and Operations Manager, at pre-scheduled times.  
  • Have the opportunity to share their creative process and experiment with installation of work from the residency at the National Space Centre, which will open to the public November 18-20th. This opportunity to interface with the public will be showcased alongside an exhibition from our STEAM education programme.
  • Participate in a public conversation about their research, practice and residency experience at the showcase launch at the NSC.
  • Receive access to satellite imagery, data from the European Space Agency, NASA and the James Webb Telescope. 
  • Receive access to audio data from the Big Dish archive and Blackrock Observatory. 
  • Get feedback and curatorial support from Greywood Arts.
  • Receive support in engaging with the community, if applicable. 
  • Have the opportunity to select a book for, and participate in, Greywood’s Meaningful Conversations Book Club session on November 22nd.  

Applications from pairs of collaborators will be considered, but they must be willing to share a bedroom. Artists must be fully vaccinated to access the NSC campus. 

DETAILS:

Residency dates: October 15th – November 25th, 2022

Showcase dates: November 18-20 at the National Space Centre 

Application Deadline: August 19, 2022 

Application Requirements: About You – Your work & experience, CV and/or Artist Statement, 2-3 work samples.  EOI – Your interest in the residency, how it fits with your work, your wild ideas & instinctive imaginings, practical needs and feasibility, impact on your practice. 

Apply online: Application Form

The application is a google form. Please contact us at create@greywoodarts.org if you require assistance.

Hello Future World STEAM project @ NSC 2021

“This is a pivotal time in space exploration,” explains NSC CEO Rory Fitzpatrick. “We’re looking at manned Martian exploration in the near future, while Jeff Bezos and Richard Branson have launched space tourism as a viable industry. At the same time, there are more than 125 million pieces of space garbage orbiting our planet. It’s an ideal moment to examine questions around our responsibility to live sustainably not only on Earth, but beyond it.”

FAQ

  • Am I eligible to apply as an artist outside Ireland? Yes, but you must be able to secure the appropriate visa to visit Ireland ahead of the residency start date, or be from an EU or other country where a visa is not necessary. We are unable to cover the costs associated with securing a visa.
  • When will I hear from you? We hope to notify everyone by September 2nd, however we are on track to exceed the number of applications received in 2021, and review is a time consuming process for a small team! We’ll do our best to let you know either way, as soon as possible!

updated 15 Aug 2021