Kai Lossgott wins 2013 Sylt ResidencyKai Lossgott, a South African transdisciplinary visual artist, has been awarded the 2013 Sylt Residency Award. He will take it up at the Sylt Foundation's headquarters on the island of Sylt, Germany in early 2014. This new residency opportunity, awarded annually to a mid-career South African visual artist, is a significant benefit to the contemporary arts sector. It is offered as part of the Sylt Foundation's Residency Programme. "Thank you for enabling me to do this work. In the current economy, free time is a rare and beautiful gift, most especially for an artist. I look forward to making a meaningful contribution to the fluid exchange that is possible between environmental science, informal communities and artists," said Lossgott on being informed of his selection as the 2013 residency winner. Multi-disciplinary residency programmeThe foundation is located on the island of Sylt, off the coast of Hamburg, Germany. The foundation's multi-disciplinary residency programme has been running for several years providing opportunities to South African and international visual artists, writers and photographers. The foundation's Residency Programme seeks to offer artists with opportunities to consolidate their practice or develop new works and ideas. It is managed under the directorship of literary scholar and curator Indra Wussow. With strong links to South Africa, the Sylt Foundation established this residency specifically for South African visual artists. Luminaries such as Strijdom van der Merwe, Mbongeni Buthelezi, Paul Emmanuel, Bernie Searle, Santu Mofokeng, Mary Sibanda and the 2012 residency winner Jacki McInnes have all previously benefitted from this programme. An opportunity to develop ideas"Our aim is to provide artists with an opportunity to develop ideas, research or even reflect on projects", said foundation director Wussouw. "So much emphasis is placed on the production and exhibiting of work, as well as managing projects and opportunities, that artists find very little time for the vital process of conceptualisation, reflection and research. So many awards, competitions and residencies challenge artists through defined goals, outputs and production imperatives. Artists need to have the time to focus on developing their practice by engaging meaningfully with the ideas and work that interests and drives them. This is critical for the conceptualising of work that sustains their careers. This process is often lost when balancing the pressures of industry, commissions and career imperatives. Therefore, unlike many other residency opportunities, this one is not solely output focused, but designed so that the artist may use this time as it suits his creative needs. It's similar to research sabbaticals available to academics". |