Language:
English, Moroccan Arabic and Arabic
Founded:
2009
Duration:
3 weeks to 3 months
Paid by artist:

The residency fee is dependent on the length of the residency. There is a scaling rate of fees, so to offer this opportunity to practitioners of a variety of career levels and geographic and economic backgrounds, enriching the program and experience for all. Find the rates and terms & conditions on their website. Travel, insurance, production costs and per diem are also covered by the participant.

To work with a facilitator/ translator, or local artisans, find the current rates on the website.
All modules are facilitated through AiR Sefrou, and are offered at standard rates to ensure a fair remuneration to their partners and sustainable practice for the organization.

Application guidelines:

Online application

Deadline:
Ongoing for self-directed
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Culture Vultures

Culture Vultures

Air programs
Description

At the foot of the Middle Atlas Mountains in Morocco, Culture Vultures presents AiR Sefrou. Embraced by the community of the semi-rural market town of Sefrou, it is an artist-run residency set up in 2014, a place for Moroccan and international artists and researchers to reside among this community. The residency program is part of the portfolio of Culture Vultures, an artist-led initiative founded in Sefrou some years before. This market town lies 25 kilometers outside of the imperial capital and crafts hub of Morocco, Fez, while it is connected to more traditional ways of living.
AiR Sefrou offers a self-governing resident the balance of focused time and space and to immerse oneself in a traditional Moroccan old city (medina). As a market town on the traders route across North Africa, Sefrou has received visitors from far and wide over millennia. As an organization that often facilitates encounters between the local and the international, Culture Vultures is grateful to Sefrou’s community who continually encourage, question and engage us. Located in the vibrant heart of North Africa, AiR Sefrou is surrounded by the rich tapestry of Amazigh, Jewish and Arab traditions, green landscapes, diverse heritage, rich history and a community renowned for its warm hospitality.

The residency at the edge of the medina offers a perfect base for sociological research, mappings on multiculturalism or -lingualism, community-driven performances, a writers retreat, and creative and technical collaborations. AiR Sefrou welcomes artists and researchers from diverse disciplines such as visual arts, literature, design, architecture, performing arts, as well as academic and artistic research.

Self-directed residencies are scheduled all year long, for a period from 3 weeks to 3 months.
Programmed residencies for 2024 and 2025 are as follows:

  • Application Deadline 15/03/24 - Commences 01/06/24
  • Application Deadline 01/06/24 - Commences 15/09/24
  • Application Deadline 01/07/24 - Commences 01/11/24
  • Application Deadline 01/09/24 - Commences 01/01/25
  • Application Deadline 15/01/25 - Commences 01/04/25
  • Application Deadline 01/03/25 - Commences 01/06/25

*For people applying on shorter notice, please email for availability.

Outcome

There is no subscribed outcome to a working period at AiR Sefrou, this is totally up to your project and practice. It is recommended not to come with a specifically pressing (exhibition- or project-) deadline, as local connections need time to grow and things generally move slower here than most visiting residents are used to. Self-governing practitioners looking for focused time and cross cultural dialogue are the most suitable candidates.

Studio Information

Studios spaces for Open AiR residents are available (at a reasonable extra cost) if needed in the heart of the artisan quarter of Sefrou where carpenters and tailors work and Culture Vultures hosts an office for community heritage projects and a micro-museum on multiculturalism. Former residents have worked in these studios but most residents have preferred to work on roofs, in coffeeshops and open-air spaces in Sefrou as its (artisan) community have formed their main interlocutors to the incoming residents.

Accommodation Information

Artists are accommodated in an apartment on the edge of the ancient medina of Sefrou. The house has two bedrooms, a bathroom, a salon, a working table and a well equipped kitchen.

Technical Information

Internet access, local contacts for printing, process and presentation of artwork.

Location

Sefrou, a market, medina town at the base of the Atlas Mountains some 25 km from the crafts capital of Morocco, the ancient city of Fez.

Contact information

Sefrou
Fez
Morocco

Email
info [at] culturevultures.ma
Phone
00212645223203
Website
https://culturevultures.ma/air/